Themes and message

Abuse of Power

The theme of power abuse is explored in the short story through the so-called IRA men, who forcibly take John in their car. Because the men are part of a violent armed paramilitary organisation (The Irish Republican Army) and have guns, they are in a position to exploit their power advantage over John, who is a common citizen walking his dog. Their abuse of power is obvious from the beginning. First, they force John in the car by the threat of a weapon. Then, they interrogate him by ...

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Violence and mistrust

The theme of violence and mistrust is explored in the text through all the characters. Firstly, both John and the so-called IRA men have a violent vocabulary, either offensive of threatening: " 'Come on. Get in," said the guy with the gun. "Nice and slow or ...