Comment closely on the following extract, paying particular attention to ways in which Friel presents masculinity.
In this extract of the tragicomedy ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come!’, Friel uses coarse eye dialect, tragic irony, comedic juxtaposition and split persona device to suggest masculinity can be very harmful in society. Its artificial image encourages men to feel like they should act disrespectfully, especially towards women and also stops men from being open with their emotions. He also explores the tragedy of masculinity, representing it as an endless cycle of deceit and fakery in man’s desperate attempt to be considered masculine.
Firstly, it can be argued that in this extract, Friel criticizes man’s inability to show or deal with emotion and their lack of communication. He does this through exploring the Boys’ refusal to acknowledge Gar’s departure. Joe represents the younger generation as the youngest, more innocent member of the gang and this innocence is hinted through him ‘earnestly’ trying to speak about Gar’s departure only to be cut off harshly (the rapidness of this interruption emphasised through the abrupt dash at the end of Ned’s sentence) by Ned who ‘quickly’ diverts the conversation back to the subject of women. This shows they, as well as all the other male characters in the play (especially the uncommunicative and repetitive S.B), are incapable of sharing a bit of emotion – certainly feeling it would ‘threaten’ their masculinity. It is possible they are also jealous that Gar is leaving to the opportunity-abundant land of dreams, America, (Joe, the only one who shows true emotion, would prove this, ‘wishing’ he could be like Gar) and therefore selfishly ignore him. The audience feels sympathy for Gar who ‘raises his glass’ in hope that the others will give him a cheery send-off only to be ignored. Ned, Tom and occasionally Joe ramble on about women and Public (even Private) is mostly silent after this until he points out Ned’s lying. This silence reflects his tense silence and hurt after he is brutally ignored. The audience feels sympathy for not only him but for Joe, as the younger member, as well. Indeed, he is the only one who shows real emotion speaking ‘nervously’ and who can deal with reality, bringing up Gar’s departure. However, Friel foreshadows he will turn out just like the older boys as he sides with Ned when Public exploits their lying.
Furthermore, in addition to suggesting masculinity is a limiting factor in expressing emotion and communicating, Friel also explores how men behave like coarse, rude and sex-obsessed savages through trying to prove their masculinity. The Boys’ use of Irish eye dialect (‘mammy’ ‘youse’) and swear words (‘bloody’) reinforce the idea of them being rough and uneducated – generally unpleasant and rude even in their speech. Ned’s ‘belching’ and their frequent use of exclamation marks (‘Bloody great!’ ‘A blondie!’) echo their loud speech – adding to the image of their boisterous behaviour. Ned uses the violent, graphic metaphor ‘damn near killed me’ to describe a supposed sexual encounter he had and also is inappropriate towards Madge calling out sexual comments (offering to ‘take some starch out of her’). This shows he doesn’t know how to treat women properly (insolently belching in front of Madge, an older woman) and believes that to be masculine, he must act in this disrespectful, sleazy way towards them. Since he is the leader of the group, the audience is made tense and feels wary that all boys look up to this kind of behaviour perpetrated by those who they see as more masculine (Tom is a good example of this, in awe of the crude Ned) and thus will turn out like him – a tragic, ongoing cycle that turns men into sleazy yobs. Friel also uses Madge to contrast women and men in this scene. While the Boys are blatantly rude, Madge is clever in her ‘cold’ replies to their behaviour, using cool and witty sarcasm ‘I heard somebody whispering’ ‘gentlemanly as ever’. She manages to paint herself as superior – withholds her dignity while expressing her disapproval while the males lower themselves in their discourteous, insolent treatment of others, reducing themselves to the male stereotype of sex-obsessed savages while women retain their dignity and thus are superior.
Lastly, as well as criticizing men for feeling as if they have to behave like wild sex-driven animals to be masculine, Friel points out with dry humour and tragic irony that the Boys in fact are living a complete lie and that despite their attempts to paint their lives as full of excitement and escapades with women, just like all the other males in Ballybeg, they are living dull and tragic lives. Their artificial, deceitful conversations about women can be seen through their clumsy lying and comedic mismatching information. Indeed, Tom, who is in awe of Ned, the leader, and defending him, mistakes a ‘blondie’ with ‘a big red-head’ (the juxtaposition of blond and red here coming into play and amusing the audience – how could one possibly mistake red hair for blonde hair? The blatancy of his lying is hilarious to them). This slip shows that Tom is used to fabricating and adding to Ned’s stories of sexual encounters and then Public out-right points outs their lying, his use of the negative adverb ‘never’ sharply contradicting Ned’s lies. The audience watches as all three boys desperately try to maintain their façade ‘quickly’ ‘nervously’ and on a darker tone, ‘with quiet threat’. They will stop at nothing to defend their fantasy world - which protects their masculinity. Just like Gar uses music as his escape, they use their false lives as escapes from their depressing reality. Friel uses the split persona device to make an interesting point. Public is the one who exposes their lying when he’s usually very reserved with his feelings and it is Private ironically, usually the truth-speaker and representative of Gar’s true thoughts which he hides, who ‘wearily’ gives up on trying to break down their façade and warns that there’s no ‘point’. This shows the audience just how futile it is to try and get across to these boys – they are stuck in their own tragic fantasy, trying to cling to the idea that their lives are interesting when they are the very opposite. The uneasy silence which follows is symbolic of the widening of the distance between Gar and them and we feel the contrast between the start of the extract where their boisterous laughter and loud conversing disguised this tension.
In conclusion, Friel paints a depressing, tragic image of masculinity and criticizes the way men feel they have to act in certain ways to be accepted as men. He also warns the audience of the on-going cycle of this ‘masculinity’ and how it shapes men to be uncommunicative, hardened and boorish people. In addition, another way he portrays masculinity in this extract, would be the inability of men to treat each other kindly.