The Public and Private Aspects of Gar O'Donnell Carla Paola Gautier 11th Grade

Brian Friel explores the inner dilemma of a young man living in rural Ireland in the 1960s, caught between the fear of leaving the ‘land of curlew and the snipe’ and his aspiration of a better life in the ‘pagan country of gross materialism’. The protagonist’s thoughts on this impasse are truthfully extended by the inhabitual use of a Private figure as the spokesperson of Gar’s alter ego. The audience is given the privilege of understanding both the Gar that is shown to the world and the Gar that is completely hidden to others. This privilege allows the audience to interpret the relationship Gar has with his distant father and the housekeeper, Madge.

In ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come!’, Friel employs the very singular technique of physically representing the two sides of the protagonist’s psyche as two different actors. Public Gar, the Gar that people ‘see, talk to, talk about’ is self-effacing and reserved whereas Private Gar, the invisible ‘spirit,’ is truthful and outgoing. Public and Private Gar are unable to see each other, as ‘One cannot look at one’s alter ego’, but they are able to communicate and interact with each other. The presence of Private Gar gives the audience deep insight into Gar’s inner-most thoughts, at times...