Characterisation of the narrator

The narrator is the main character in the short story “Smile” by Roddy Doyle. He is a developing character, which means that he changes as a result of the plot.

According to his outer characterisation, his name is Victor Forde. At the time of the narration he is “older” (l. 14), but at the time of the events he was 13 years old, the first year in secondary school, and he “wasn’t like a girl or a man” (l. 63). This implies that he considers he looked like any other teenager, midway through his physical development.

Inner characterisation

The narrator’s inner characterisation follows his development from when he was 13 years old to when he was 16 years old, as a result of being bullied after a male teacher implies that he is attracted to Victor.

His inner characterisation is constructed in relation to Brother Murphy, his school and school mates, and in relation to his mother.

In relation to Brother Murphy, the adult narrator is able to understand that the man was very unhappy: “I’m older than he was back then and I think I recognise it now: he was miserable. He was lonely.” (ll. 14-15)

However, as a teenager, he could not understand men, or adults in general, and he mocked them (including Brother Murphy): “They seemed far away, in another room or country. I didn’t understand men. I wasn’t alone. My mates were with me: all men were fuckin’ eejits.” (ll. 3-4)

This may in part be because the boys are all aware of the sexual abuse that goes on in the school, which they try to avoid but accept as normal. Their reaction is to consider all men “fuckin’ eejits”.

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The narrator’s development

Part of your essay should focus on the narrator’s development, which is representative for his inner characterisation.

The narrator starts off as a naïve freshman in secondary school and soon becomes the target of bullying—first because he is in the first year, then because Brother Murphy is attracted to him and others use it as an excuse to call Victor "Queer".

The naivety and happiness from the first day of school soon disappear when he becomes the target of constant bullying:

But then he singled me out. He’d smiled at us all, but he’d announced that I was the one whose smile he couldn’t resist. I knew the others would kill me. I knew it as I began to understand what he was saying and what it meant. I knew the other lads would destroy me… (ll. 105-108) 

After becoming nicknamed “the Queer” (l. 130) and being constantly picked on because of the teacher, the narrator begins to hide these things from his mother and avoids going to school when he has French classes, although he likes school:

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