John McCreedy

Outer characterisation

John McCreedy’s outer characterisation tells us that he is an Irish immigrant (l. 15) who lives in North London (ll. 31-32) with his wife Hilda and their two children Katy and Michael. He is about to turn 46 (l. 7).

His physical appearance is described indirectly through a description of Katy’s physical attributes: “Because Katy resembles her dad. Short neck. Short sight. Pigeon toes.” (ll. 28-30). The narrator also mentions his thin shoulder blades (l. 204).

The story suggests that he regularly goes to the same pub: “The pub, he thinks but doesn’t say. With the fellas from work. Get the Guinness down. Tell some old Dublin jokes. Laugh till you can’t laugh anymore” (ll. 10-11).

Inner characterisation

The writer mixes the third-person point of view of the narrator with the protagonist’s reflections. However, we can't be sure the narrator’s words are always McCreedy’s own reflections.

Relationship with his wife

In the opening paragraph, the narrator seems to convey McCreedy’s feelings about his wife. It is suggested McCreedy feels like he is treated like a stranger by his wife, Hilda, as she always called him by his last name (ll. 4-5). Furthermore, the story hints that both McCreedy’s wife and his son Michael perceive him as grumpy (suggested by the fact that they give him a Mr. Grumpy T-shirt for his birthday).

McCreedy’s attitude towards Hilda is critical and one of rejection. When she rejects his wish of going back to Ireland, McCreedy thinks: “Time she was dead, he thinks. Time the smoking killed her.” (ll. 22-23). Then, when she is pleased that he made birthday plans, the narrator remarks that “she looks pleased for once” (l. 112), suggesting that McCreedy believes Hilda is very hard to please. He also compares her imagination with an old tea stain (ll. 94-95) and wants to divorce her because she gifted him socks and a T-shirt, which he believes is pathetic (ll. 98-99).

His frustration with his gifts pushes him to go to the pub before his birthday dinner, although he implicitly promised Hilda ...