Themes and message

The difficulties of adapting

The story is about McCreedy's struggle to adapt to his current life. McCreedy seems to be experiencing a midlife crisis – he is dissatisfied with his family life and thinks about cheating on his wife (ll. 116-117), his relationship with his children is distant, and he is nostalgic for his youth and home country, Ireland. These issues suggest that he was not able to adapt to his life as an immigrant, but also that he cannot adapt to the issues in his family and a new period in his life – middle age.

This theme is connected with the theme of family dysfunction, in the sense that McCreedy’s relationship with his family is distant, and he does not know how to adapt and resolve the issues in his family life.  

The narrator never explicitly states that the protagonist has trouble adapting and dealing with the issues he faces. However, various details in the story convey this about him. For example, he experiences homesickness for Ireland, where he wishes he could return and remain for good. Because he cannot do this, he finds comfort in going to the pub and drinking Irish beer (Guinness) with his Irish friends and telling old Dublin jokes.

He also mentions to his son that he can no longer remember his exact age, but that he could before he left Ireland, long ago (ll. 65-66).

The protagonist most likely associates his past with youth and joy, as the narrator seems to convey McCreedy’s feeling that his son Michael behaves like he is invincible because he represents the future (l. 58). The narrator’s words suggest that McCreedy is envious of Michael’s youth – implicitly, it means that he is frustrated by his own age and that he does not expect his future to be bright. He feels used up (ll. 167-168) and confused about how he should approach this period in his life.

The protagonist does try, however, to figure out his present circum...