Summary
Gar and his friends bust into the kitchen, boisterously. The stage directions tell us that, while the boys seem particularly excitable and adventurous, "there is something false about it." The directions also say, "At the beginning of this scene Gar is flattered that the boys have come to him. When they consistently refuse to acknowledge his leaving—or perhaps because he is already spiritually gone from them—his good humour deserts him."
"The boys" consist of Ned, the leader, Tom, the "feed-man," and Joe, the youngest. Ned talks a big game about beating someone up. When Madge appears at the scullery door, she alludes to the fact that she thought Gar's friends were not coming. Ned belches and speaks suggestively to Madge, who leaves in a huff.
When Gar tries to make the interaction with his friends more meaningful, alluding to his imminent departure, Ned quickly changes the subject to the blonde girl he saw at Mass on Sunday. The boys get in an argument about who was at church. They then begin talking about different sexual exploits, but their conversation soon turns into an awkward silence. Gar references the fact that he's leaving the next day, and Tom thinks he's going to Brooklyn. Ned soon turns the conversation to another adventure the boys got into, a night when Gar was not present.
When "another silence descends," Private Gar speaks up, suggesting that he was indeed there on the night that Ned is talking about and that it was not how Ned remembers. Private remembers that they were swimming with Jimmy Crerand and wanted to bully him by taking his trousers off, but he stood up to them in spite of being smaller, and they left the cave, defeated, while Jimmy stayed at the swimming hole with the girls there.
Joe suggests that perhaps Gar ought to sing, since it's his last night, but Ned insists that they keep moving and go to a dance. The boys are unsure of what to do, with Joe voting that they stay and spend time with Gar. Ned is intent on having a sexual conquest and doing some heavy drinking that evening. The boys all go to leave, but Public tells them he has to get up early. As the boys shuffle out of the house, Ned takes off his belt and tries to demonstrate that Gar ought to defend himself against Americans. He gives Gar the belt and tries to tell him that he wanted to give him a gift, but does not have enough money. Gar is moved, as Ned playfully fights with the other boys and runs off.
When the other friends have left, Public notices that Joe is still there. Gar encourages Joe to go with the other boys, suggesting that they might have a chance with some English girls. "Send us a card, Gar, sometimes, eh?" says Joe. Gar asks Joe why he won't come to America too, and Joe tells him, "Only that the mammy planted sycamore trees last year, and she says I can't go till they're tall enough to shelter the house." Before he goes, Joe accidentally reveals that Madge was the person who invited them over for tea, and that they would not have come to say goodbye had she not invited them.
The boys all leave and Private goes on a long monologue about what horrible friends they are. He talks about the fact that were it not for Lizzy's invitation to America, Gar would have to be hanging out with them. As the monologue progresses, he softens, saying, "No one will ever know or understand the fun there was; for there was fun and there was laughing—foolish, silly fun and foolish, silly laughing; but what it was all about you can't remember, can you? Just the memory of it—that's all you have now—just the memory; and even now, even so soon, it is being distilled of all its coarseness; and what's left is going to be precious, precious gold..."
Suddenly, there is a knock, and Gar is surprised to find Kate at the door. She's heard everything about Gar's departure, and they sit down to talk. He tells her he plans to go to night school, but Private suggests that this is unlikely. When Kate suggests that Gar's father will miss him, Gar goes on a rant about how he will go insane if he stays there any longer. "I've stuck around this hole far too long. I'm telling you: it's a bloody quagmire, a backwater, a dead-end! And everybody in it goes crazy sooner or later! Everybody!" he insists.
Private tries to get Public to be quiet, but he continues, speaking ill of Ballybeg. Kate tries to insist that it's not as bad as he says, but Gar only gets more passionate about his disdain for Ballybeg and Ireland, insisting that Ballybeg lives in the past and he wants to be free and anonymous in America. "To hell with Ballybeg, that's what I say!" he says, angrily, as Kate excuses herself, leaving in a hurry.
When she is gone, Public comes in and buries his face in his hands before lighting a cigarette. Private goes through all the interactions that Gar has had that day, when he is interrupted by Public who says, "Screwballs, say something! Say something father!"
Analysis
Much of the drama of the narrative is built around Gar's disappointment. He consistently finds himself in situations where the people in his life are not meeting his expectations, falling short, or not giving him the love he so badly needs. This is true with his father as well as with his group of friends. The boys are rough and rowdy, and during their visit they never once acknowledge the fact that Gar is leaving. Before the scene even begins, Friel indicates in the stage directions that the boys' failure to acknowledge Gar's imminent departure will be disappointing for him. These accumulating disappointments that Gar suffers make the splintering of his identity into Public and Private selves that much more understandable; with no one else to really rely on, Gar must primarily rely on himself.
Private Gar is able to say the things that Public Gar cannot in this interaction. He cuts through Ned's forgetful and exaggerated monologues to discuss what really happened, the fact that the event was not quite as triumphant as Ned remembers it. Ned's particular amnesia has to do with his own masculine power. In the misremembered night, he remembers it as one of bullying and sexual conquest. Private Gar corrects this characterization, suggesting that the boy they tried to bully, Jimmy Crerand, actually intimidated them and they went home defeated. Private Gar is able to see this fragile and insecure masculinity that Gar's friends perform, and call it out for what it really is.
In spite of the disappointment of this final goodbye with his friends, Gar finds himself moved by Ned's botched attempt at a heartfelt goodbye. As he leaves, Ned gives Gar his belt and tells him he can use it to defend himself against Americans. He then tells him that he meant to get him a gift, but he did not have enough money, as his father did not make a sale that he was supposed to make. In this moment, we see the similarities between Ned and Gar, the ways they are trapped by their class positions and their resentments towards their fathers, who are the financial gatekeepers in their lives. In spite of Gar's disappointment, he cannot help but understand Ned and feel moved by his friend's feeble attempt at connection.
When Kate comes to visit, Public Gar cannot help himself from railing against Ballybeg. She jokes that he ought to make a lot of money in America and come back and buy the town, and he goes on a tangent about what a horrible place Ballybeg actually is. As Kate tries to get him to stop speaking ill of their hometown, he only escalates his argument further, yelling, "All this bloody yap about father and son and all this sentimental rubbish about 'homeland' and 'birthplace'—yap! Bloody yap! Impermanence—anonymity—that's what I'm looking for; a vast restless place that doesn't give a damn about the past." In this moment, we see Gar pushed to his limit, and we finally hear the most extreme version of the emotions that have led him to leave Ireland. Despite his ties to his home, his disdain is undeniable. He wants to leave behind the sentiment and nostalgia of Ireland for a place that looks towards the future.
Gar's anguish all ties back to his father, his sense that S.B. is not invested in him or his future, and the abandonment he feels as a result. After going on his tirade to Kate, Gar is left in the kitchen, remorseful and overwhelmed. As Private recounts all of the experiences he has had that evening, Public bursts out, "Screwballs, say something! Say something, father!" Gar's annoyance with his father has all been made into a comedic bit up until now, but here Gar utters an earnest plea, a wish for paternal attention and acknowledgment. It is here that we see that this paternal longing is pivotal to Gar's consciousness and sense of self, and that it is more important to him than he lets on.
