• Cal and his father, Shamie, are both isolated in their own street.
• Due to the catholic and protestant divide between the people. Cal and his father
are catholic and live on a street full of protestants.
•“no loyalist bastards are going to force me out of my home. They can kill me
first.”
• They are determined that they will not move, the first hint that they are thinking
of moving is when Cal has been attacked.
• Cal is also isolated at home as he has had to give up his job at the abattoir.
• He is alone every day therefore isolating himself from everyone around him.
• Cal isolates himself from Crilly and Skeffinton by not wanting to take part in
all of the violence that is going on.
• This can also be linked in with his guilt of what they done to Marcellas
husband.
• Cal uses isolation as a way of punishing himself.
• This method causes him to over thinking in relation to his mother and makes
him feel even more guilt.
• Cal feels guilty although Crilly and Skeffington don’t.
•Therefore cal feels isoalted as he struggles to deal with this guilt as he does not
have anyone to speak to about it.
• Cal feels guilt for the murder of Marcella’s husband.
• He knew what he was doing was wrong and how has to face the
consequences of it.
• Cal punishes himself in a way of getting rid of this guilt and feels
that if he does this it will disappear, even although it does not.
• Cal feels guilt that he did not stop Crilly from killing Marcella’s
husband and he drove him to do it.
• Although Cal assisted in the murder, he cannot control his feelings
towards Marcella, and building the relationship on the foundation of a
lie.
• Even when partaking in ‘unusual’ behaviour, he knows it’s wrong
yet cannot help himself.
• This sequences into a loop of guilt, self punishment, pondering how
he can live with himself and it spirals on and on.
• Evident when snooping through Marcella’s room and he comes
across himself in a mirror, he quickly dismisses it from view.
Showing he still has regret and understands what he is doing is a sin.
• Skeffington holds a different form of isolation to Cal.
• He is a man of high intelligence surrounded by less competent followers e.g
Crilly.
• As a result, we can often see him getting lonely at times.
• Unknown to his Father, he does live a double life as an IRA ‘Commander’
• On the other side of that life is a family man working as a primary school
teacher. Having to alternate between these personas does affect him.
• An example of this would be his attitude towards vulgarity being used in
presence of his father. Moreover, communicating and phrasing words to his IRA
thugs as if they were the primary school children.
“ Can we do without that word please? Skeffington’s face was wrinkled with distaste.”
“no loyalist bastard is going to force me out of my home. They can kill me first.”
• Cal and his father are both isolated on a prodestant street when they are the only catholics.
• This causes a lot of violence for example Cal being attacked.
• Cal and his father are standing their ground and refusing to leave.
“greatful that at last someone was going to beat him to within an inch of his life.”
• Cals guilt as he has been trying to punish himself throughout the novel to make up for his sins.
• He is happy that eventually he is getting what he deserves.
“if your not part of the soloution your part of the problem”
• Cal is completley separate to what Crilly and Skeffington are doing.
• He does not agree with the violence.
“only catholic family in the whole estate.”
• Isolation is highlighted as they are not part of the community.
• They are disliked due to their religion and what they believe in.
“he went to his bedroom to eat again the ashes of what he had done.”
• Cal constantly feels guilt about the crime that he has commited.
• Every time he is alone the guilt gets worse.
“The trust she showed in falling asleep beside him made him feel worse.”
• highlights his guilt over what he has done to her husband.
• he feels his guilt even more now that he is with Marcella.
“he was trying to get close to the one person he should be continents away from.”
• Cal knows he shouldn’t be near Marcella but cannot help himself.
• Guilt increases when he is with her.
• He questions if he should tell her lot throughout the novel.
Losing his
mother
Choose a novel in which you feel sympathy with one of
the main characters because of the difficulties she or he
has to face.
Describe the problems the character faces and show by
what means you are made to feel sympathy for him or
her.
The way Cal
punishes himself
Cal is forced into
violence
“grateful
that at last
someone
was going to
beat him to
within an
inch of his
life.”
By Crilly and
Skeffington
Causes him to
feel guilt
Skeffington
wont let him
out of the
robbery
“Cal” by Bernard Maclaverty is a novel in which we feel
sympathy with one of the main characters because of the
difficulties she or he has to face. The themes present throughout
the novel are guilt, isolation, conflict and love. Cal is a 19 year
old boy who is a catholic and lives in a protestant estate. Cal and
his father are isolated from the community due to their religion.
Cal also faces the difficulty of his strong feelings for Marcella
which he should not have due to his guilt of what he has done.