At Swim, Two Boysin Search of the Nation of Freedom
ISSN: 1699-311X
Year of publication: 2007
Issue: 2
Pages: 14-31
Type: Article
More publications in: Estudios irlandeses = Journal of Irish Studies
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to show how in At Swim, Two Boys, Jamie O'Neill demystifies one of the crucial moments in the history of Ireland by means of the subversive and liberating power of laughter. He points out the contradictions and absurdities of the Rising and unmasks the fanaticism and dogmatism of the revolutionaries. In order to undermine the heroic vision of the insurrection and the months that preceded it, O'Neill has created a series of characters, Anthony MacMurrough, his aunt Eveline and Mr Mack, through whom he offers us a different perspective of the political milieu of the time and testifies to the many-sidedness of human beings and the chaotic, random and absurd essence of life.