The Shadow of a Gunman by Sean O Casey



The Shadow of a Gunman by Sean O Casey

Setting:

The setting of a play refers to:

When it takes place?

Where it takes place?

Attitudes of society at the time

“The Shadow of a Gunman” is set during the Irish War of Independence in the year nineteen twenty-one. It is set in Dublin during these troubled times. This urban setting shows us the poverty and deprivation being suffered by the people of Ireland at this time.

The action of the play takes place in a Dublin tenement house. It opens in the room of Seamus Shields and Donal Davoren. Their room is poorly furnished and we become aware of a few symbolic objects in the room. The religious statues on the mantelpiece emphasise the centrality of Religion to the lives of the people at the time and the lack of furniture emphasises the poverty being experienced by these characters.

Throughout the play we become aware of the different attitudes and beliefs of the people at this time. The political action of the War of Independence remains central throughout the play. Many of the people, including Tommy Owens, Minnie Powell have strong nationalist beliefs and express their desire for a free Ireland. This leads them to jump to the conclusion that Donal Davoren is an IRA gunman on the run. They believe him to be a hero who is hiding from the Black and Tans (English forces in Ireland). Nationalism is a central force in the play.

The violent nature of Irish society is also emphasised during the play. Many characters express their willingness to kill or be killed for the cause of Irish freedom. Most particularly, Mr Maguire( Seamus Shield’s colleague) is killed during an ambush and leaves the bombs behind in their room. The visit of the Black and Tans to the tenement house further emphasises the violence of this world. They torture Mr Grigson and eventually shoot Minnie Powell (the tragic heroine of the play).

The violent nature of this world is further emphasised by the sense that the IRA are the keepers of Law and Order in this world. People come to Donal Davoren( believing him to be an IRA gunman) to solve such problems as noisy neighbours. They do not turn to the law but the force of fear which is the IRA. This violence exists under the guise of nationalism and the violence in the play centres around the War of Independence and the Irish people;s struggles with the Black and Tans.

In the words of Seamus Shields, “Oh, Kathlenn ni Houlihan, your way’s a thorny way”. Kathlenn ni Houlihan is a symbol for Ireland and the “thorny way” suggests the violent journey the people must undertake in order to free Ireland.

Davoren says that “God will torture your soul in the next world as you are afraid the Black and Tans will torture your body in this.”

The Ireland of this time is depressing and chaotic. Many of the characters turn to alcohol as a means of escape. Many of the characters appear drunk during the play as they try to escape from the grim reality of their poverty-stricken lives in the tenement. Adolphus Grigson and Tommy Owens represent this escapism in the play.

Religion is also central to the Ireland of this play. Catholicism is the dominant religion. Characters are seen to be saying prayers during the play and there is a strong visual presence on the stage through the religious icons and statues. There is also the issue of tension between Protestants and Catholics in the play. The Grigsons are a protestant family living in the tenement and even they are punished by the Black and Tans. This shows us that the Protestants are not the enemies of Ireland (contrary to popular opinion sometimes) and that they suffered just as much as anyone else during these troubled times.

In their room, “on the mantelshelf to the right is a statue of the Virgin, to the left a statue of the Sacred Heart, and in the centre a crucifix”. This signals to the audience the centrality of religion in the lives of these characters and in Irish society at that time.

Overall the world of this play is one wracked by poverty, lawlessness, alcoholism and violence. O Casey paints a very realistic and heart-wrenching picture of the pain and suffering inflicted upon the ordinary people of Ireland during the War of Independence.

Characters:

Donal Davoren:

Donal Davoren is central to the action of this play. In the beginning he is represented as a dreamy, idealistic poet who is harmless in the extreme. However, as the play progresses Davoren’s vanity proves to have tragic consequences. The people in the tenement mistake for an IRA gunman who is hiding with Seamus Shields. They quickly make a hero of him, none more so than Minnie Powell who is immediately attracted by the romance of a real, live gunman on the run. She says to Donal that she realises that “it’s time to give up the writing an’ take to the gun” (p.16). He never contradicts such

Davoren’s weakness of character is exposed through his vain acceptance of his mistaken identity as a gunman. He seems to revel in the attention he receives from the other inhabitants of the tenement, especially the romantic overtures of Minnie Powell. Davoren never admits that he is not the war hero everybody thinks he is and this leads to the tragic death of Minnie as she takes the bombs from his room as a sign of her love for him. By saving him she dies herself. Davoren is not a villain in the sense that he did not know that this would be the tragic outcome of his deceit. He is, however, a foolish and vain man.

Davoren is exactly as the title of the play suggests, a “shadow”. He doesn’t work, nor does he make any positive contribution to the people around him. It is very unlikely that Minnie would be interested in him if it weren’t for her notion of him being a gunman.

Towards the end of the play, Davoren proves himself to be a worthless coward. He doesn’t stop Minnie from taking the bombs and when she is caught by the Black and Tans he again remains silent. His tears and sorrow at the end of the play mean nothing to the audience as his true colours of cowardice are exposed to the world.

Minnie Powell:

When we first meet Minnie Powell in the play she is described as a young, uneducated girl who works hard for a living. She takes a romantic shine to Donal Davoren who she believes is an IRA gunman on the run. She is attracted to the adventure and excitement of the gunman. She is blissfully unaware of Donal’s real character and this eventually leads to her death.

Minnie calls to Donal’s door under the pretence of needing some milk. Her real intention is curiosity and flirtation. By the time she leaves she has kissed Donal Davoren and she is caught in the web of illusion that proves fatal for her.

Minnie shows great courage when she takes the bag of bombs from Donal and Seamus’s room. She believes that the soldiers will treat her better if she is caught because she is a woman. When she is caught she is dragged screaming from the house. Her love and commitment to Donal leads to her death as she is shot in the skirmish outside on the street.

Minnie shows strong nationalist beliefs throughout the play. She falls for Donal because she believes he is an IRA man and she takes the bombs out love and out of her commitment to the ideals of nationalism and Irish freedom.

Minnie is undoubtedly the tragic heroine of the play. She gives her life for the love of a man and for the love of Ireland. O’Casey uses Minnie’s story to show us how events can conspire against relatively innocent individuals and lead to their deaths.

Important relationship in the play:

Donal Davoren and Minnie Powell ( use the information above)

Mood/ atmosphere of the Play:

The atmosphere in this play is bleak and tense. There is a sense of darkness and hopelessness as we are introduced to the empty lives of the people living in the tenement house. The description of Shields and Davoren’s room emphasises this sense of emptiness through its poor state of repair and its lack of furniture. The set of this play reflects the mood in this sense. The cold, dark, candlelit rooms are uninviting and bleak.

The play is perforated by moments of tension and fear. This atmosphere is created by the sense of fear that all the characters have about a raid by the Black and tans. It seems that they live in constant fear. We also learn that the IRA are the keepers of law and order and they put equal fear into the residents. We see this when the Hendersons ask Donal Davoren ( who they believe to be an IRA gunman) to quieten their noisy neighbours. This creates an atmosphere of unruly chaos and disorder.

Minnie Powell lightens the mood for a while with her wooing of Donal Davoren however the play again descends into darkness with the arrival of the Black and Tans. Fear takes over the entire house but especially in Donal Davoren and Seamus Shields. They allow Minnie take the bombs and the scene is set for the tragic finale of the play. The ending is heart-wrenchingly sad as Minnie Powell the innocent, loving, orphan is found with the bombs, dragged from the house and eventually shot in the shooting that takes place outside the house. Therefore the play ends with a sesnse of grief, tragedy loss and indeed anger at the cowardice of Davoren and Shields.

Important themes on the play:

Deception:

This play focuses on the theme of deception and lies as central to all of the action. The title of the play refers to the deception that Donal Davoren is an IRA gunman. He is not. He is a hapless poet who accepts the romantic character that has been put upon him by the idle gossip of the people in the tenement house.

Davoren accepts the role with ease. He never has to say that he is a gunman; he just doesn’t deny it either. You might call it a sin of omission. His deception has tragic consequences for Minnie Powell.

Tommy Owens is also a character who deceives people. He talks of all the great things he would do for Ireland and yet he does nothing. He promises to say nothing about Donal davoren being in the house and yet it his loose tongue down in the pub that draws attention to Davoren and the tenement house. He spreads the word more than any other character that Davoren is a gunman. Tommy falls silent when the Black and Tans enter the house. All his talk of violent rebellion and Irish freedom proves worthless when action is really needed.

Maguire, who leaves the bombs at their house, is also dishonest. He says that the bag contains nothing but bits and bobs when really it is full of IRA bombs. He too dies in the play.

Dishonesty and deception seems to effect many of the characters. Indeed, Minnie Powell appears as the most honest person in the play. Ironically, it is this honesty that leads to her tragic death.

POVERTY:

This play shows us the real life conditions of the people of Dublin during the War of Independence. The tenement house shows us the cramped living conditions of the people. There are several families and individuals living in the one house. Their rooms are poorly furnished and run-down. Very few of the people in living there have jobs or money and those who do have money seem to spend it on alcohol.

Seamus Shields sells household goods door to door and people in the house comment that they only buy the odd item out of pity for him. The landlord calls to the door looking for rent that is already eleven weeks late. This shows us the level of poverty that the people are experiencing. They have very few possessions in their rooms. The Black and Tans only take a bottle of whiskey when they raid the house. This suggests that there is little else of value there.

War:

War is a central theme of this play. “The Shadow of a Gunman” shows us the real lives of the people living in the war zone that was Dublin during the War of Independence. War has lead people into lives full of poverty and fear. Nobody is safe as the inhabitants of the tenement live in constant fear of intrusion from the cruel and vicious Black and Tans.

Donal Davoren grows his false reputation as a gunman from people’s paranoia about the war. They are willing to believe anything and to create heroes out of nothing more than idle gossip.

Many of the characters in this story are very good at talking about war and yet they seem to take no part in it. This is procrastination. For example, Tommy Owens talks about how he would love to go out and fight for his country and yet he never does. Donal willingly accepts the mysterious title of gunman without having fought at all. In fact, Minnie Powell is the only character in the play who proves herself capable of taking action. She is the true tragic heroine of the play; all the other characters are cowards in one form or another.

Love:

Religion:

Nationalism

Role of men/women in this society

Tragedy

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