Perspectives

Historical perspectives

The short story “The Wall-Reader” by Fiona Barr takes place in Belfast, during the period known as The Troubles. This was a time of political and social unrest in Northern Ireland that began in the 1960s and lasted until 1998. The conflict was mostly nationalistic in nature, but it…

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Works with the same themes

The short story “To Keep the Faith” by Michael Becket also deals with the theme of friendship and the connections that people share with each other. Like Fiona Barr’s “The Wall-Reader”, “To Keep the Faith” takes place in Ireland during the Troubles. In the short story, the main character, Jean, who is a Protestant, loses her husband in an explosion allegedly set up by the IRA. Her best friend, Siobhan, who is a Catholic, and whose husband was killed by English troops, tries to maintain a connection, despite the resentment that Jean is feeling. When analyzing the two short stories, you could focus on how characters from both stories form connections with those considered on opposite sides.

The short story “A small, good thing” by Raymond Carver also deals with the theme of forming connections. In the short story, a couple loses their son after he is hit by a car, and they form a connection with the baker who made his birthday cake. When examining the two stories, you could look at what makes the characters form connections with each othe…