Key moments in Small Things Like These-Bill Furlong as a hero Bill’s generosity early in the text Early in the book we see how generous Bill is when he stops to give the Sinnot boy the change from his pocket as he found him scavenging for food along the road. Bill cannot afford to give Read More …
When Furlong gets home from the convent, Eileen tells him that he missed mass. She also asks what he got from the nuns and we see that Mother Superior has put £50 in the envelope, which was a large sum of money in 1985. Eileen says, ‘aren’t they very good?’ This highlights how easy it Read More …
In Chapter five, Furlong returns to the convent to deliver a big order of coal. It is a Sunday morning and the town is quiet as he makes his way through the convent except for the singing he hears coming from St Margaret’s next door. He makes his way to the coal house and the Read More …
The author uses the bleak image of crows at the beginning of the chapter to create a dark and sinister tone. We get a description of the crows scavenging for food around the town and how they perch in the trees outside the local convent at night. The link between the crows and the convent Read More …
Chapter 3 begins by describing the beginning of Christmas in the town as the people get ready for the festivities. The description of the Virgin Mary kneeling passively in the town’s nativity scene is symbolic of the role of women in both religion and in Ireland at the time. The people of the town gather Read More …
The story begins in October just as the clocks have gone back and there is a sense of darkness and despair in the opening chapter as the people of New Ross brace themselves against the harshness of winter. There is a clear use of pathetic fallacy in the opening chapter as the weather reflects the Read More …
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