Literary Tour of '07-'08
During the 2007-08 school year, we are spending more time sampling literature from the three dialects: Ulster in the fall, Connaught in the winter, Munster in the spring.
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Literary Tour of '07-'08During the 2007-08 school year, we are spending more time sampling literature from the three dialects: Ulster in the fall, Connaught in the winter, Munster in the spring.
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03/24/08 |
Tour 07-08 |
Vocabulary | Summaries | 07-08 Tour Home | Book Lists | Back to Will's Class |
Johnny Chóil Mhaidhc would typically write a play and act in it, usually at the Taibhdhearc Irish-language theatre of Galway. He played the role of Ned in the first production of this play.
The text comes from the version published by Cló Iar-Chonnachta as An Cruastóir agus An Mhéar Fhada 1995.
Well done, all!
We had a slew of casting idea pop up at this last one! Previously, we mainly had these two suggestions:
But on the 3rd, ideas started to fly, including the following suggestions (I'm sure I missed a few, sorry):
This text is not terribly standardized, so you see spellings and forms you might not expect. More challenging are modern idioms that can be very difficult to decipher at times.
In general, look for the following dialect issues throughout the play:
Conditional Mood: there is a lot of use of the conditional in this dialogue, a good chance for you to brush up on that form.
Again, if you fall behind, just read the English summary below and keep moving ahead.
Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3A | Scene 3B | Scene 3C | Scene 3D | Scene 3E | Scene 4A
In a filthy, old-fashioned bedroom that looks much as it did 100 years ago, Jim is lying in bed. Ned comes in to tell him that the bread van is at the shop, to ask how much bread he should take, and to get money to pay the bread man.
Jim answers him rudely, and they argue nastily, setting the tone for the entire scene. Jim is very defensive about saying that the shop is his, while accusing Ned essentially of stealing, trying to get control of his shop, spending time in the pub when he should be working, and so on.
As it turns out, all the money is under the mattress on which Jim is lying, and Ned has been working for him for 25 years, apparently without pay.
After Ned extracts some money and goes off to pay the bread man, Jim mutters to himself about how unfortunate he is not to have a son of his own, to have to depend on Ned. He makes a vague, angry reference to his "harlot" daughter.
And (something he'll do again and again) he mutters something threatening along the lines of "If I get back on my feet again, I'll . . ."
The second scene opens in the same room, unchanged, with Jim sleeping. Ned is talking with the parish priest, who is inquiring about Jim's prognosis. Ned tells him that it is 50-50, and then complains that he had to pay the doctor for that opinion.
In general, during this passage Ned's comments alternate between indicating that Jim has had it, and vigorously shushing the priest for fear of waking Jim (not out of sympathy, but because he doesn't want to deal with him).
The priest starts to hint at whether Jim might have anything to leave the church -- out of duty, mind -- and also indicates, once or twice, that Jim must be a man "without sin". Those comments drive Ned ballistic.
In the end, the priest tells Ned to "leave Jim to me" and escorts Ned out. Then he wakes Jim to talk to him. The priest comments that it is odd that Ned didn't call him, didn't let him know Jim was badly off, but that just sets Jim off on a rant about Ned, and more threats.
The priest suggests the hospital, but Jim says he cannot afford it. Then the priest asks if there isn't any way Jim could bring himself to contact his daughter, but Jim makes it clear he could not do that. He says that she shamed him before the community and he banished her . . . leaving him with Ned, which launches another round of ranting and threats.
Then the priest suggests getting a couple of nuns in to help, and that really gets Jim's attentions. His attempts to dissuade the priest are ineffective, and Father promises to stop in at the convent on his way out.
When we see the bedroom this time, change is in the air. The bed has been pulled out, Jim is naked from the waste up, and he grimaces as the nuns flip him back and forth, one with a scrub brush and the other with a washcloth.
"Big Sister" is in charge --very old, and looking more like a man than a woman, say the notes -- and she goes on about how dirty everything is (including Jim and Ned). Ned is thoroughly enjoying Jim's suffering.
Sister Carmel doesn't speak Irish very well, and doesn't have much to say. Big Sister is calling for Jeyes Fluid (a powerful disinfectant concoction formulated in 1877 and still available) and calling out next steps in the cleaning effort.
Ned scoffs at her, talking about the Korean War and how he saw bodies piled up, tough guy stuff. But when they lift Jim up and retrieve the bed pan, Ned is most grateful to hear the bell and head for the door, running like a coward.
Big Sister, however, tells him to close the shop until everything is cleaned. During this exchange, Jim launches into his usual angry claim that the shop is his.
As Big Sister leaves to get more cleaning supplies, including the Jeyes Fluid, she leaves cleaning instructions for Ned and Sister Carmel. She also tells Ned that it will be his turn for a bath next, and that the sisters will be happy to help him, if necessary.
This section starts with Ned grumbling mightily about having hands of his own and not needing any from the sisters. They leave, and Ned starts a conversation with Jim that is, for Ned, almost sympathetic. He establishes that the nuns washed Jim "from stem to stern", as Jim complains that his only comfort was "the fags", and asks Ned if he has any cigarettes.
Ned goes off on a rant about "Where would I get fags?", but after Jim offers to pay for a whole box when he's better, Ned continues to mutter about the nuns while he gives Jim a fag and lights it for him.
The nuns come flying back in, Big Sister with bucket and scrub brush and Sister Carmel with pajamas for Jim. Big Sister then proceeds to give direction to Ned about scrubbing the floor, which Ned complains is already like crystal, clean enough to eat off of.
Ned then offers the excuse that with reumatism and sciatica, if he got down on the floor he'd never be able to straighten out. Big Sister doesn't buy a bit of it, telling him that it will be good for him, that he is stiff through idleness and some scrubbing will limber him up. She drags him to the bucket and puts him to work, and then the nuns go to retrieve the bed pan.
As they are about to lift him, Big Sister notices the cigarette and snatches it away, telling Jim it is bad for his lungs. As she removes the bed pan, she tells Jim that that's "the first step on the first run up the ladder of health."
She asks Ned how he's getting on, and he says he is doing great, but the house is rotten (bed pan). Big Sister tells him to hurry, as she expects the priext, and as she goes out she almost collides with the priest coming in. Meanwhile, Sister Carmel is fastening Jim's pajamas, fluffing up his pillows, and combing his hair.
As the priest enters, commenting on all the work that is being done, Big Sister gives a nod to both Sister Carmel and Ned to leave, so the priest can be alone with Jim. Ned struggles to his feet complaining loudly about "bitch dhe lumbago", and referring to magpies and crows making nests in the house.
The priest tells Jim he is looking better, and asks if the "nice girls" gave him anything to eat. Jim reports that he got a couple of biscuits and cup of tea today, and some soup and a piece of bread the day before -- which the priest seems to think is wonderful, evidence of how wonderful the "girls" are. He assures Jim he'll be his old self in no time.
But Jim seems to think that he has left things too long, that it may be too late . . . and then thinks of Ned, and starts to rant a bit.
The priest interrupts him, and says they'll just have to put up with Ned. But then he turns to the object of their little chat, asking Jim whether his "worldy affairs" are in order. Jim sits up, recognizing that the tone has changed, and the priest asks if he has made a will. He pretends to be delicate, suggesting that he himself could go first -- even though he is much younger than Jim, he can't resist pointing out.
Jim hasn't, and the priest reminds him of how shamefully the survivors will fight over the smallest piece of land or an old cow. He urges Jim to make a will, but Jim suggests that that takes an attorney, and wonders what it would cost.
But the priest assures him no attorney is needed, the priest could have been an attorney himself. Then he starts searching through his pockets, first for a piece of paper, then for his spectacles, and he produces all he needs, after some muttering.
The priest decides to tackle first things first, to deal with the most important matters, he says -- which would be whether Jim wants to leave a couple of pounds for the Mass. Jim agrees to whatever the priest says -- and the good Father interprets a "couple of pounds" as ten or twenty.
Remember that just a moment before (easy to lose track with a week's break), the priest suggested Jim leave ten or twenty pounds for Masses after he dies (should he do so, this is "just in case"). Now the good Father waxes eloquent about how the Mass is the only thing you can count on to help you after you are dead.
Jim is clearly confused and worried by this, and asks the priest for advice . . and he gets it, Father what's-his-puss now suggestiong one or two hundred pounds would be appropriate.
Jim agress to one hundred, and the priest dishes out a lot of guff about how he admires a man who knows his own mind. He then tries to get even more out of Jim, looking for donations to the nuns, and even to the monks, whom Jim hasn't had any contact with. When Jim turns these down, the priest is happy to talk about how bitchy the nuns can be, and to suggest that the monks will send curses on Jim to heaven if they hear they haven't received anything.
The priest is basically working to keep on Jim's good side. The discussion is entirely about Jim's wallet, not his soul. But when Father brings up the idea that people will expect Jim to leave something for his sidekick Ned, Jim can't somtach that. Jim talks about Ned stealing "fags", and about waking up to find Ned reaching under the mattress, claiming he is looking for the chamber pot. They are still arguing about this when Ned walks in.
Just as they were chatting about Ned, the priest arguing for a little forgiveness and kindness, and Jim saying he'd never give him so much as a ha' penny, in walks Ned.
Ned seems in fine form. He suggests to the priest that if he is hearing Jim's confession, he hopes he brought his dinner with him because he'll be listening for a long time. He mentions (again) that he hasn't been paid in 25 years, and then he rants about the nuns turning the place into a convent, referring to "An tSiúr Mhór" as "tóin mhór sin" (she sniffed or smelled him, trying to detect alcohol or cigarettes, and put her hands in his trouser pockets to search him).
BUT . . . he gives Jim a pack of cigarettes and some matches! Then he leaves, mentioning to Jim that his money is going to Jeyes Fluid and chamber pots, etc.
With Ned gone, the priest starts to say that Jim was right, that Ned doesn't deserve a thing.
Jim, however, lights a cigarette and tells the priest to put 200 pounds in his will for Ned (twice what the Mass got), and to leave the house to him after Jim is dead (emphasizing the after several times). The priest is astonished, but Jim is certainly enjoying his smoke.
Then the Sagart brings up the daughter, whose name he can't remember, but Jim is still furious and won't speak of her other than to say she greatly embarrased him in the community. We still aren't quite sure what happened.
Jim says he's tired, and the priest takes his leave . . . and takes Jim's cigarette away from him as he goes.
The stage directions tell us there has been a dramatic change, as the curtain rises. The bed is empty, with a pile of clothes at the head. There isn't a scrub brush or bucket to be seen. The windows have black bunting on them, and Ned is near the door with his handkerchief over his face, but you can't tell if he is laughing or crying. The priest is center stage, and the sisters are doing some final cleaning, with Big Sister spraying everything she can find.
As the dialogue begins, the priest is saying that they'll be leaving, that he is sure Jim has a fine seat in Heaven. Ned's retort is that the (heavenly) place will be in a mess and St. peter will probably retire after the fracas of Jim's arrival. The priests chides ned for speaking ill of the dead, but Ned says that Jim will miss Ned after all their time together.
The priest then asks if Ned noticed an unknown woman at the grave, all in black, but Ned didn't see her. The priest noticed that she was crying (or lamenting, keening), and Ned indicates that he can't believe anyone would be going that!
The Sagart comments that he expected more people there, but Ned seems to think that people only came to Jim when they needed credit, and goes on to say that if Jim knew how much credit Ned gave out, we would have dropped dead long before.
The good Father praises the nuns for their work and says God will reward them. Ned says they've already been rewarded for "scouring and scourging" with 200 pounds. But the priest counters that Ned can't complain, since he got the money and the house . . . and adds a reminder to pay his annual "dues" to the church, which Jim never did. Ned suggests that Jim will pay, since he won't find St. Peter so easy on him.
Out of curiosity, the priest asks, on his way out, about the money under the mattress. Ned had forgotten about it for the moment, but the sisters report that there was naught but 3-4 pounds under there, and lots of papers, and lots of fleas. The priest wonders if the money could be elsewhere, perhaps hidden in the furniture, but Ned searched everything thoroughly.
In the midst of this, Joe Joe, the hearse driver, enters, saying he has to get going, so he needs to be paid (200 pounds). The priest suggests that that is now Ned's problem, since it is his house, but Joe Joe points out that the priest called him and booked him, so the priest has to pay up. And, of course, Ned notes that Jim left money for the funeral Mass anyway . . . but the priest was expecting to make use of the money that was supposed to be under the mattress.
The priest and Ned are muttering about what Jim could have done with his money -- he was so miserly that he drowned his dog rather than pay for its license -- but the daughter, Joan, had slipped in earlier in this conversation, and now she speaks to Joe Joe.
Joan pays off Joe Joe, with a tip. It takes a moment, but the others figure out that she is the daughter, Joan. She reveals that Jim made a will the week before when he was in Galway (a trip we heard mention of earlier in the play).
She says that Jim paid his bills and then took her to the lawyer. He gave her the cash he had, reporting that someone was sticking his hands under his matress, and he arranged that after his death, everything would go to Joan.
Ned protests that it was left to him. Joan pulls out the bank book as the priest pulls out the will, but Joan points out that Jim didn't sign the priest's document. (Ned gets in a number of shots at the nuns, the priest, and Jim, throughout this scene.)
Joan looks at her watch and tells everyone to leave so she can shut up the shop. She also tells Ned that Jim warned her about him thieving and drinking, but that said he wasn't a bad worker so she could keep him on if she wanted. She also reveals that she inherited over 3,000 punt.
In parting, the priest makes a passing attempt to suck up to Joan. When everyone is gone, Ned pockets the three punt that were under the mattress, among some more muttering about Jim, and that's the end.
Our discussion left us wondering about the relationship between Jim and Joan, were they really estranged, or was that a ploy? Was Jim reconsidering his will in his final days, or was he just jerking people around? Will Joan keep the shop going, or are it, and Ned's, days numbered?
Any questions or comments, drop me an e-mail.