Confrontation And Reconciliation

Based on the studies of John McGahern and his works, the dissertation mainly analyzes the Irish patriarchy and father-son relationship presented in John McGahern's The Dark under the guidance of the postcolonial theory put forward by Edward Said, Homi Bhabha and other literary critics. Under British colonial oppression and domination, the Irish males were socially marginalized and their masculinity was greatly frustrated. From the perspective of colonial mimicry, these colonized Irish males envied the power of the colonizers and attempted to mimic them, becoming the oppressors or"colonizers"of their wives and children. The children under the suppression of Irish patriarchy naturally employed all possible means to challenge, subvert even revolt against the father's authority and domination. Then this dissertation employs the theory of hybridity to analyze reconciliation advanced by John McGahern in the novel as an approach to the solution of the conflicts between father and children. They should establish a third space or hybrid border country where they can communicate, negotiate and cooperate with each other, reaching a state of reconciliation to replace the traditional confrontation between them. The father and son in The Dark, after the years of confrontation of various forms, begin to truly understand each other and make efforts to reconcile with each other and finally come to their reconciliation to some extent.The father-son relationship in post-colonial Ireland is the epitome of the relationship between colonizers and the colonized of the Irish society before its independence. And the father and the son stand for the country's past and future respectively. The way in which the son deals with the relationship with his father helps the postcolonial people see their past in proper perspective and find the best way of development in the postcolonial society. McGahern gives us his suggestions: escape and confrontation are not the best way to deal with the older generation who symbolizes their colonial past. Compromise and reconciliation are recommended as the methods to deal with the relationship between their past and their future.