One aspect of Breakfast on Pluto that I believe every reader can agree on is that there is a very rich political undertone that took place throughout the novel. Political violence in Northern Ireland is the largest problem that Ireland has faced over the last century, with Britain’s rule over the isle and the partition of Northern and Southern Ireland being the cause of this violence. To be able to truly grasp a full understanding of the novel and the events that take place in it, being that it took place during the prime of an era known as the “Troubles”, it is imperative to as a reader have knowledge on Irish history.
Like any conflict there are two sides, and in the case of the Northern Ireland conflict the Protestants and the Catholics headed those two sides. The chief issues between the two groups, besides the obvious difference in religious beliefs, were the socio-economic and political inequalities combined with the opposing views on the future of the state of Northern Ireland. On one side, the Protestants, the dominant portion of the population, were for continued ties with Britain, seeing themselves as British subjects and wanting to remain a part of the United Kingdom. On the other side, the Catholics, the minority in the state, were in favor of Northern Ireland disbanding from Britain and rejoining the Republic of Ireland in a united Ireland. This notion of becoming a united Ireland was unacceptable to the Protestants because in a united Ireland they would be the minority instead of the Catholics.
Breakfast on Pluto takes place during a period known as the Troubles, a name used to depict the political violence in Northern Ireland from 1968 all the way through to 1999. At the beginning of this three decade long struggle the circumstances were further intensified by the mobilization of both Protestant and Catholic paramilitary groups, the two most famous known respectively as the Ulster Defense Regiment and the Irish Republican Army, or IRA. Both groups were determined to take matters into their own hands, and both groups were the cause of the violence to takes place throughout Breakfast on Pluto. The battle between the Protestants and Catholics was not merely a clash over religion. The escalating utilization of state repression measures combined with the lack of democratic solutions to Catholic grievances concerning allocation of housing, jobs, franchise, and gerrymandering by local councils in Northern Ireland served to further the growth of Catholic extremists. These Catholic extremists, mostly affiliated with the IRA, took the standpoint of "We are here. You have to talk to us. If we have to bomb our way to a negotiating table, we will."* During this period Northern Ireland was on the verge of civil war.
In 1968 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) was created in response to the inaction that was taking place in regards to Catholic inequalities in employment, housing, education, and the right to vote. With the creation of the NICRA civil rights marches began throughout Northern Ireland.
“The beauty of that was that it meant that they weren't going down the road of the Nationalist Party in demanding a united Ireland. What they were saying was that, "We are British subjects and we demand British rights." Such things as employment for Catholics, good housing for Catholics, fairness, under the law, for Catholics.”*
Between 1968 and 1969 many of the marches that took place in Northern Ireland were marred by violence committed by not only the police, but also members of the Protestant community who believed that the civil rights movement was just a deceptive tactic used by the Catholics in their goal to tear down the union and replace it with a united Ireland.
An end to civil rights marches tragically came on January 30, 1972, in Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland when British soldiers monitoring the march opened fire on the crowd killing fourteen unarmed civilians. One of the bloodiest events of the ensuing fight, this day became known as Bloody Sunday. Being one of the largest events to take place in the Troubles era it should come as no shock to find that there are many references to Bloody Sunday made throughout Breakfast on Pluto.
“We got home and heard thirteen people had been shot dead by British Army paratroopers in Derry. I was absolutely mortified.” (BP 39) Bloody Sunday was one of the contributing factors in Pussy’s decision to leave Tyreelin for London. “If things had improved even a little bit, I think I might have considered staying around Tyreelin for another while but if you look at those first six months of 1972, you would have to ask: ‘What person in their right mind who had a choice would stay five minutes in the fucking kip!” (BP 45) Pussy would later discovery that not even England was safe from the violence of Northern Ireland.
In the aftermath of Bloody Sunday political violence spiraled out of control, becoming increasingly sinister and lethal in nature. Since 1969, more than 3,200 people had died in the era of the Troubles from Catholic victims of Protestant paramilitary groups and British troops, to Protestant victims of IRA attacks, and victims in Britain resulted from IRA bombs.
Mirroring the increase in violence following Blood Sunday, incidents of savage violence in Breakfast on Pluto began to arise on a much more frequent basis. One such incident of unmerited vicious brutality in the novel took place when a boy with Down’s syndrome was murderer in his own home, after his mother was raped, for being Catholic. “Quite what he must have made of two completely strange men standing in his living room…when they started asking him questions…he raced up the stairs so enthusiastically to get his rosary beads when they leaned in close and asked him, smiling: ‘What religion are you?’ I think it was the first Down’s syndrome boy shot in the Northern Ireland war. The first in Tyreelin, anyway.” (BP 46) While this example of violence is not only unjust, but also malicious it did serve a purpose. “When we speak of soft targets we're talking about people or property which are very easy to target, very easy to pick off. And, obviously, the easier they are, the more successful you're going to be…They all were to demonstrate that Northern Ireland was ungovernable.”*
The Troubles was an era marked by repression, violence, and terrorist bombings. Throughout Breakfast on Pluto there were countless examples of the influence that the violence of the state on Northern Ireland had on Pussy and those around him. From the death for Dummy, Irwin, and Pat, to the multiple bombings that took place in London, understanding the significance of these events to every person in Ireland and England during this period, Patrick McCabe does a brilliant job of showing how, even if you were not associated with it directly, the effects of Northern Ireland violence created a large impact on one’s life.
Work Cited:
*Online Artifact:
“The IRA & Sinn Fein: The Conflict.” FRONTLINE's web sites are produced by FRONTLINE and Entropy Media. Web site ©1995-2010 WGBH Educational Foundation. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ira/conflict/
Other Sources:
"An End to the Troubles? (Special Report)." Encyclopedia. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, May 1998. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
http://www.2facts.com/article/xn01070
“Northern Ireland Conflict: Key Events.” Facts On File World News Digest: n. pag. World News Digest. Facts On File News Services, 16 Apr. 1998. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
http://www.2facts.com/article/1998097650
I got an idea on what was going on throughout Ireland while reading the novel but I definitely had to do some other research to further understand what exactly the “Troubles” were. I would explain my research but you have that explained already in your blog! I have to say that reading your blog helped me further understand my research—it’s difficult sometimes for me to translate a lot of information from the internet into something I can easily understand, but when other people explain it so well like you did, then I feel like I am more capable of fully understanding everything, so thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that because of religion, decades and decades of violence can continue on and sometimes they never stop, like in the middle east with Israel and Pakistan. However I like how you say, “The battle between the Protestants and Catholics was not merely a clash over religion. The escalating utilization of state repression measures combined with the lack of democratic solutions to Catholic grievances concerning allocation of housing, jobs, franchise, and gerrymandering by local councils in Northern Ireland served to further the growth of Catholic extremists. These Catholic extremists, mostly affiliated with the IRA, took the standpoint of "We are here. You have to talk to us. If we have to bomb our way to a negotiating table, we will."* During this period Northern Ireland was on the verge of civil war.”
This is a very good point. But I think that religion is not only the initiator in some major conflicts, but can also be the accelerator.
Wow you did a great job explaining the history of the conflict in N. Ireland as well as tackled the root of it. I also liked what you said,
ReplyDelete"The chief issues between the two groups, besides the obvious difference in religious beliefs, were the socio-economic and political inequalities combined with the opposing views on the future of the state of Northern Ireland."
It is really sad when a grudge is carried through centuries of generations...and when people are pushed far enough (through harsh inequalities) that they feel that violence is the only option (like always taking an eye for an eye or fighting fire with fire). And like you said there is much more underneath this conflict than just religion. It is a war over identity, social equality, grievances and rights to territory.
I know I already mentioned this on Celtic Dreamers blog, but I've found many similarities between the conflict in N. Ireland and the birth and enormous expansion of African American gangs in L.A. I have been doing a lot of research about the Bloods and Crips in L.A. and have found that they're urban warfare is spawned from a long history of racial suppression and other sociological issues. The sad thing is that no one is paying attention to the problem when it is one of the largest and longest running social conflicts in history. If anything like it happened in another country with its citizens, the U.N. would most definitely called on to act. Here is an interesting video about it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ciQBDxkLE
Anyways, I really liked your post! There is so much good info and I thought you did a great job relating Breakfast on Pluto to its historical context.
Great job breaking down all the historical references within the Novel. I liked how you were able to pull exact quotes out of the novel that present the specific historical events,
ReplyDelete“Bloody Sunday was one of the contributing factors in Pussy’s decision to leave Tyreelin for London. “If things had improved even a little bit, I think I might have considered staying around Tyreelin for another while but if you look at those first six months of 1972, you would have to ask: ‘What person in their right mind who had a choice would stay five minutes in the fucking kip!” (BP 45) Pussy would later discovery that not even England was safe from the violence of Northern Ireland.”
After reading everyone’s historical breakdowns this week, I wish I hadn’t returned my book to the library already because there are sooooooo many historical references within the novel. Probably way more than I picked up on while reading. It’s kind of funny because as I was writing my blog entry I was trying to do a bit of research and I stumbled along this review. Someone was comparing Breakfast on Pluto to the “Irish Forrest Gump”
“Both Forrest and Pussy do take us back to another era; but, Pussy’s journey doesn’t have the same overtly postmodern historical references that Forrest throws at us.”
Haha I think we would all have to disagree. Clearly (especially after doing all of our research) Pussy’s identity issue is a direct symbol of the discrepancies between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland at that time.
Very interesting comparison of the violence in Northern Ireland and the creation of violent American gangs. I also found myself nodding in agreement with Lucky's comment "But I think that religion is not only the initiator in some major conflicts, but can also be the accelerator." I think when you talk about religion and the damage (especially violent damage) it can cause when you fight in the name of it, can be traced back to the beginning of the Catholic Church. Not to offend any Catholics here, but the Catholic Church has a history of imperialism, bullying, sadist tendacies.... (I don't think I need to continue my list of grievances with the Catholic Church) and I don't think it's any surprise that such heartbreaking violence is used in religious conflict when it was once a measure employed by the Church to conquer and convert.
ReplyDeleteAs for the article "Lacanian Pussy" I'm still too confused to provide any insight on that ;)