Characterisation of other characters

Brother Murphy is a secondary character in “Smile” by Roddy Doyle, but he is essential to the story’s themes and plot, so we will also briefly analyse him. The collective character of the school boys is relevant for the social setting, so we will focus on them in the subsequent section of this study guide.

Brother Murphy

Brother Murphy is a secondary character in the short story, presented from the narrator’s perspective.

Outer characterisation

His outer characterisation informs us that he teaches French at a Catholic school, and the appellative ‘Brother’ most likely implies that he is a monk: “The Brothers’ house was beside the school. All the Brothers lived in there.” (ll. 57-58)

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Inner characterisation

The man’s inner characterisation is only sketched, based on what the narrator observes about him and his attitude. His attitude towards the boys and his statements (particularly concerning Victor) suggest that he might be a homosexual who likes young boys: “And this violent man with the Desperate Dan head liked me. I knew this – everybody knew this – because of something he’d said when I was thirteen, in first year. – Victor Forde, I can never resist your smile.” (ll. 16-18); “But the grin was inappropriate. It was all inappropriate. He was being taunted and teased by a room of boys and he was loving it.” (ll. 39-30)

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The school boys

The school boys function as a collective character and illustrate aspects of school life in an all-male Catholic school.

In the story, the older boys bully and mock the younger ones, simply because they are new at the school:

…I’d got lost and ended up in the senior yard and got kicked by a gang of lads who were okay, wouldn’t have touched me, outside school. But I wasn’t alone; we were all thrown, all the first years, all around the place. (ll. 72-75)

As a result, the narrator and his friends form their own group, the group of bullied students.

When everyone realises that Victor is favoured by Brother Murphy, they begin calling him names, and beating him up:

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