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In the novel Cal, the author Bernard Mac Laverty has used different settings to influence the reader to respond in certain ways to the ideas presented. The ideas that are raised in this short, but inspiring story are love, compassion, depression, truth, the dehumanisation of humans and the loss of innocence at war, fear and religious hate and finding ones own sanctuary from life's miseries. Maclaverty expresses these ideas very effectively throughout the novel and conjures certain emotional responses from the reader towards the ideas raised. He does this through the different settings in the novel such as the library, where we are introduced the ideas of love and innocence and then the abattoir where the reader is confronted with death and killing. The church, the derelict cottage and Cal Mc Luskey's are also settings used by Mac Laverty to influence the reader to respond to the ideas raised.
Throughout this novel we come across many locations where important events take place which in turn illustrate certain ideas discussed in the novel. On the first page we are introduced to the protagonist, Cal as he goes to visit his father Shamie at his work in the local abattoir. Mac Laverty has placed the first scene at the abattoir in order to demonstrate to the reader Cal's disgust at the smells, sights and sounds of killing and how they make him feel ill inside. This has raised the idea of killing and death and how it was a big part of Cal's life and most people living in Northern Ireland at the time. Mac Laverty describes this place of death as Cal sees it, "Men in white coats and baseball caps whistled and shouted as they moved between hanging carcasses…" "…the crack of the humane killer echoed round the glass roof.". These quotations give very negative connotations to the abattoir as the reader now begins to associate it with the death and killing happening in Northern Ireland. This setting has helped the author to shape the readers reaction towards the killing of animals and humans. The reader now sees the killings as callous, despite the so-called "humane killer" and shares Cal's attitude towards the abattoir.
Another idea that is raised through the setting of the abattoir is the dehumanisation of people at war, as the reader witnesses the way in which the workers go about their work, not noticing the pain, suffering and death that surrounds them, for instance in the text when Crilly, Cal's acquaintance who also works in the abattoir, sees Cal and stops work to sharpen his knives. The author has chosen to include this detail in the scene to show how blind humans can be to their own wrong doings and to also introduce the reader to the character of Crilly. The reader is now confronted with this man whom so casually sharpens his knives which he will no doubt later use to carve up a carcass, and negative connotations are given to Crilly as he becomes just another person caught up in the war, immune to the blood and the smell of the killing, because it had been a part of his life for so long. This makes the reader respond very negatively to the war between the IRA and the Protestants in Ireland, and how it can strip people of love and warmth, basically dehumanising them and the reader loses respect for that character. The idea of fear is well explored through this setting of the abattoir, through Cal's fear of death and killing, the reader can relate to Cal and feels pity for him because he has to live in a world where such things are more common place. Negative feelings from the reader are formed towards the abattoir and its sinister, and brutal purpose.
College papers on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty
The library where one of the main characters, Marcella Morton works is an extremely important setting in influence the readers response to the ideas of love and innocence. The fragile love that Cal has for Marcella is born in the library and the development of their relationship is mirrored through happenings in the library. The reader, from experience, relates the library to silence and reading, obtaining information and borrowing books. Through these associations the reader sees Cal's love for Marcella slowly growing as he goes into the library to observe her going about her work, to obtain information about her personality, her thinking and to admire her appearance. Also the fact that the library is such a quiet place where there is little speaking, the reader gets the feeling that Cal's love is very secret and forbidden, like a schoolyard crush. The reader responds to this idea of love with warmth, and also slight curiosity as it is made obvious that there is some significance about Marcella, "He studied her face, trying to read into it whether or not she was the Marcella". This quotation alerts the reader to the fact that there is something unique about this Marcella character and that somewhere in Cal's past he has encountered her.
Throughout the beginning of the novel Cal returns to the library a few times, almost as if he is stalking Marcella, his crush on her becoming more intense on each visit as she plagues his mind. It is important that the reader sees this loving, innocent and childish side of Cal, because later in the book, when we learn of his involvement in the killing of Marcella's husband Robert Morton, instead of feeling disgust and anger the reader feels sympathy for Cal, because we know he is not really a cold blooded killer. Instead we see Cal as the victim, we have seen him in love with a woman, childishly in love, carrying her shopping bags, taking up work on her property, just so he can be near her, and through this we see Cal's true innocence. The reader knows that he is not a killer, rather a victim of the pressures of IRA, and the inescapability of its sinister power over people. In one of Cal's later visits to the library he is contemplating taking out a book and searches for something that would not seem too easy and even the slightest bit intellectual to impress Marcella, and so the crush continues. The library has become a foundation for Cal's love for Marcella and the reader understands the importance of this love to Cal as it the one thing that has drawn him out of his misery, to actually think about someone other than himself for a change. Towards the end of the novel, Cal, and the reader learns of a plot to blow up the library, this not only signifies the impending doom of Cal and Marcella's relationship, as it has blossomed from the library which is now to be destroyed by the people Cal hate but is never the less is involved with, but also Cal's innocence, he is sick of the killing and the threatening and tells Crilly that he is not interested in being a part of the IRA any more. The idea of innocence, and how just because you do something wrong does not mean you should be branded an evil person for life, is highlighted through the setting of the library as it helps the reader to witness Cal's more endearing traits and the reader becomes very fond, if not sympathetic of this character, despite wrong doings.
Cal's home, where he lives with his father, his mother and brother having passed away years before is an important setting is raising the ideas of religious hatred, the decaying of family relationships and fear, as these are all issues Cal and his father Shamie have to deal with in day to day life in their home. The author has chosen to make Cal and Shamie live as the only Catholic residents on a Protestant estate to highlight their differences the environment they live in, almost like aliens. Because of the ongoing religious battle between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, the reader knows that tis is a particularly precarious situation that they are in and the danger they face is displayed quite early in the novel when they receive a threat in the form of a small note reading GET OUT YOU FENYAN SCUM OR WE'LL BURN YOU OUT. THIS IS YOUR SECOND WARNING, THERE WILL BE NO OTHER. UVF. This highly threatening note shocks the reader, as a home is supposed to be a sanctuary, not a death bed, and the fear that something might happen soon the pair is evoked. If Cal and his father had been living in a safe estate with other Catholics, there would not be any anxiety from the reader and no immediate sympathy. This setting forces the reader to see the danger in which Cal and Shamie are living and the reader responds very negatively towards the idea of religious hate and the fact that it can turn civilised humans into irrational killers. The fact that this threat is actually carried out and the house is burnt is leaves the reader utterly bewildered that some people would want to remove such innocent and harmless people from their home. The burning down of the McCluskey's house marks the beginning of the end for Cal and his father. Their last pillar of strength, the family home has been destroyed, and this symbolises the destruction of their hope and especially Shamie's will to live as his mental condition deteriorates and he slides into severe depression.
The reader is left feeling total sympathy for Cal and Shamie, they are seen as victims of the immoral violence and vindictiveness of the Protestant fanatics. This leads to the idea of fear, the fear that Shamie especially feels in his own home as he states in the text, "Isn't it a terrible thing…that those bastards have us whispering in our own house." After the pair receives the threat that they are to be burned out they start some kind of practiced routine that it seems that they have been through many times before, suggesting they live in constant fear and danger of an attack. The reader finds this very hard to relate to as the closest we come to this routine is locking out doors at night. Shamie and Cal however, are making sure they have a gun at the ready, Cal checks he has a weapon under his bed and that his shoes are ready to be put on should he have to leave in a hurry. They also have a blanket and supply of water in the bath should they have to put out any fires during the night. The reader responds to this idea with total disbelief that these poor people should have to whisper in their own home and be prepared to be attacked in the middle of the night. This kind of fear is unimaginable for the reader and in turn the reader feels extreme sympathy for Cal and his father, as they are imprisoned in their own home.
Cal's house also helps to discuss the idea of the decaying of family relationships. As a result of the burning down of the McCluskey's house, and years of depression and not communicating with each other the relationship between Shamie and Cal is destroyed. The first evidence of this is when Cal returns to find his home burning and when he sees his father sitting pathetically on a chair with a rug wrapped around him, instead of hugging and crying with relief that they have found themselves both alive after the attack they merely shake hands like stranger, the reader even learns that Cal was frightened that Shamie would try and kiss him in front of everyone. It shocks the reader that Cal would have such a stupid and rather cruel thought on his mind instead of a feeling of love towards his father and relief that he didn't perish with the house. The burning down of the house signifies the end of any chance that Cal and his father had to mend their relationship. Their understanding of each other and any will to save their relationship was burnt in the fire and so Cal uses this time to break away from his father and to try and find his own way of tackling his life and his guilt.
The Catholic Church that Cal attends during the novel is also a very important setting as it poses as a "safe house" where Cal can retreat to and feel at peace, as it states in the text, "He liked this time. It was a time of comfort, of hearing but not listening. The noise of the words kept him from thinking his own black thoughts and yet the words themselves were not interesting enough to make him think of them. He was in a kind if warm limbo." Quotations such as these lead the reader to believe that Cal found not only physical safety in the church, but also a sense of emotional safety from his own depressing thoughts and fears. The words "warm limbo" remind the reader almost of a mother's womb, a sanctuary where the baby is kept warm and safe, not having to think about any thing, to fear anything. The church opens the reader's minds to the idea that even in Cal's terrible life of constant fear and depression he can still find a place where he can drift away into safety and comfort, however, the reader begins to feel anger towards religion, because in fact it is the Catholic AND the Protestant religions that have caused Cal his problems, he is supposedly fighting in the name of this almighty religion, when it actually is the cause of the suffering of many Irish people. The reader becomes very confused as to why Cal can find sanctuary in a place that condones and even promotes the thoughtless killing of innocent people and the intense hatred among so called good Christians. The Church has turned not only Catholic against Protestant, but also Catholic against Catholic and Protestant against Protestant. During the novel Cal remembers his mother and her devotion to the church, " She went to mass and communion every morning and each night she made them say the family rosary before the table was cleared." This shows to the reader the extent that people went for their religion and somewhat explains the fanaticism is witnessed throughout the novel. A love for ones God however does not mean that one can kill in their name.
The derelict cottage on the Morton property, that Cal finds himself living in during the novel, helps in persuading the reader to respond to the ideas of depression and guilt with sympathy towards Cal as he goes through many ups and downs, and lives in general limbo for about 6 weeks. It is here in this small broken down cottage that Cal attempts to rebuild his life and become part of Marcella's. The simpleness of the life Cal leads while living in this cottage lulls him into a sense of false security, in this self-imposed prison he tries to undo all the pain he has caused Marcella and her family. The author has tried to introduce the idea of depression and guilt through this cottage, as Cal is living on the Morton's farm he is forced to face Marcella every day and the reality that he will never be able to have a life with her. Cal tries to face his guilt over Robert Morton's death by spending time with Marcella and her daughter Lucy, he starts to imagine himself as a husband for Marcella and a father for Lucy and lives in this fantasy world knowing all along that in the end the truth will have to come out and the past is something that can never be erased. This underlying truth that Cal must face makes the reader feel such sympathy for him, throughout the novel the reader has seen Cal punishing himself wether it be through swearing at himself, "merde, Crotte de Vache" or the love bites he gives himself late in his bed. This constant self flagellation is a forewarning to the reader that Cal is never going to be able to be at peace no matter how much he is punishes himself, because deep inside he feels only someone else will be able to punish him sufficiently enough for his crime. While Cal's time in the Cottage runs into weeks, and it seems that he is quite at peace with himself, the reader knows that Cal is digging a hole for himself, getting attached to someone he can never have, and a life he will never lead. The reader sees the depression that Cal sinks into, he has tried to escape his past, but the explosion made by the cow stepping on a mine is the timely reminder that this fantasy life, even in this idyllic location, a beautiful old farm, is not real and he must face the reality that there is still killing going on, and that he still has a father who is very ill, and all his worries about pressure from Crilly and Skeffington to stick with The Cause are still lurking in the back of his mind. This sets Cal back into his depression and his longing for someone to make him face his crime and set him free of his guilt returns. The reader responds to this guilt and depression that Cal feels with such sympathy because the reader, unlike Marcella, knows of Cal's true innocence, that he not a killer as she will probably think him when she find out his deed. The reader finds it hard to deal with the fact that Cal has to live with so much pain inside him, scarred form the past and unable to ever lead a peaceful and truly happy life.
This novel Cal by Bernard Maclaverty opens the readers' minds to the many depressing issues that surround the fighting and hatred between the Catholics and Protestants living in Northern Ireland. However more importantly Maclaverty has discussed the ideas of love, compassion, the dehumanisation of people at war, religious hate and finding ones own sanctuary from life's miseries. He has done this through many techniques but has used different settings throughout the novel especially well to communicate these ideas and to encourage different responses form the reader. After reading Cal, the reader is left feeling disillusioned, sad, and sympathetic towards the protagonist Cal. Living in such a peaceful and tolerant society like Australia it is hard to imagine the hardships and injustices that happens every day to normal people fighting for the simple religious rights that most others around the world enjoy and expect. Please note that this sample paper on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty, we are here to assist you. Your cheap research papers on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
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