Episode 3: Analysing Gar
Analysing Gar is at the heart of any study of ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come!’
In this article, I will look at Gar’s personality: he is playful yet sullen, loving yet detached, wanting to commit but afraid of rejection, eager for change but yearning to belong. Gar is conflicted in every way.
Let’s get stuck into the detail of analysing this complex young man.
In this mini-series, I invite you along in teaching the Irish playwright Brian Friel’s popular play, ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come!’ and would love for you to join in. The analysis and resources in this mini-series are aimed at GCSE students, particularly those sitting the CCEA specification, however this may also be useful as a wider reading resources for A-Level students studying ‘Translations’ by Brian Friel. In addition, some Junior or Leaving Certificate teachers in Ireland may find this useful. All are welcome here!
If you have found this article first, make sure to check out episode one and two which I will link below, as well as my Resources page, which contains free printable resources to help you to teach this play.
Who is Gar O'Donnell?
Name: Gareth O’Donnell
Age: 25
Occupation: Works in his father’s store in Ballybeg, gutting fish amongst other jobs.
Love interest: Kate Doogan, daughter of Senator Doogan. In socially stratified rural Ireland, Kate is above Gar in social status. When Gar approaches her father, he is too daunted and afraid to ask Doogan for Kate’s hand in marriage. Kate then marries Francis King, accelerating Gar’s desire to begin a new life in Philadelphia.
Family: lives with, and works for his father, S.B. O’Donnell who was forty when he married and is in his late sixties at the time the play is set. Gar’s mother, Maire O’Donnell, died age 19, only days after giving birth to Gar. He has no other siblings. While not directly family, Gar is close to the O’Donnell’s housekeeper, Madge. She mothers him and fulfils many functions in the relationships depicted.
Gar’s aunt Lizzie, his late mother’s sister, lives in Philadelphia and is the one who encouraged Gar to leave Ballybeg and emigrate to USA. She is married to Con. Lizzie and Con visit on the day of Kate’s wedding offering him a new life. In Philadelphia he can start again, away from his failed relationships at home.
How is Gar presented to the audience?
The most important aspect of the play, the most striking, is Friel’s decision to have two versions of Gar: the public Gar who everyone sees and interacts with, and the private Gar, who is only audible to Gar Public.
This dramatic choice is in some ways like a soliloquy, which students may be familiar if they have studied Shakespeare. But where a soliloquy is spoken by the character aloud and in private, Private Gar is played by a separate actor. The thoughts are heard by the audience and by Gar, but not by any other character. In these Private speeches, we get to the heart of how Gar really feels. We also see his emotions: anger, regret, fear and indecision.
Any essay exploring the character of Gar must address the dramatic impact of the two Gars.
The vocalisation of Gar in Private only makes more deafening the words unspoken by everyone else; next to him they are coiled springs loaded with never-released linguistic potential; this is a crucible of the unspoken.
From a review by Ben Monks entitled, “Private and Public Faces” of ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come!’ at the DONMAR WAREHOUSE, 26TH JULY – 22ND SEPTEMBER 2012. Read the full review here.
Gar's relationship with Madge
Gar’s mother died a few days after he was born. Gar’s relationship with his father is … difficult. With Madge, we see Gar fully relaxed and honest. We see his playfulness, for example when he tries to dance with her at the start of the play, and when he tickles her: “I’ll tickle you till you squeal for mercy.”
The audience also see his honesty with her, for example when he complains about his father’s treatment of him in the store:
Madge: See that they’re well aired before you put them on. He’s said nothing since, I suppose?
Public: Not a word.
Private: The bugger.
Madge: But he hasn’t paid you your week’s wages?
Public: £3 15s – that’ll carry me far.
Madge: He’ll have something to say then, you’ll see. And maybe he’ll slip you a couple of extra pounds.
As we see above, Madge also acts as a bridge, a peace keeper. While honest and wise to the situation, she attempts to speak positively of S.B. to Gar, to try to keep good relations between them.
Comparison and analysis of Public and Private Gar
Private Gar
Public Gar
| Overview: chatty, confident, communicative and insightful but also angry, brutally honest and sarcastic. | Overview: affectionate (with Madge and Kate), withdrawn, taciturn and sullen (with S.B. and the Canon), conflicted, loving, desperate and indecisive, plus (obviously) all of the character traits of Private too, as they are the same. |
Fantasises about flying to America, football, violin concert. His thoughts are chaotic – reflects his excitement about leaving. | Open and relaxed with Madge: “Will you miss me?” p2 Playful relationship with her: “I’ll tickle you till you squeal for mercy.” P2 Madge seems like a substitute mother to Gar. |
Angry at his father in his head – calls him “the bugger” and “Screwballs! Skinflint! Skittery Face!” p7. When S.B. leaves on Boyle’s arrival, Private says, “(to S.B.) Ignorant bastard!” | Opens up to Madge about his anger towards his father: “Well, to hell with him-” p7 Mocks his father – anger under the surface shown in use of ‘bloody’. p3 Re-enacts his father’s instructions – shows mockery. |
Internal thoughts reveal unrealistic expectations e.g. winning the football match and scoring the winning goal. Playing all the parts in the concert. | Playful when alone – acts out kicking his rolled-up coat like it’s a football while Private narrates. “-yes! -yes! –the free kick is being taken by dashing Gar O’Donnell … pride of the Ballybeg team.” p4 |
Talks to himself. Gar Public and Private act out his arrival in America – highlights his loneliness in Ballybeg as he has no-one else to talk to. p9&10. Link to DRAMATIC DEVICES: plays a dramatic function in telling us about his past i.e. one year at University. | Excitement at leaving. Sings “Philadelphia, Here I Come!” Repeated refrain throughout the play. |
| Private refuses to stop pushing memories on Gar i.e. the memory with Kate. Public tries to ignore, but can’t help hearing: “Remember – that was Katie’s tune. You needn’t pretend you have forgotten. And it reminds you of the night the two of you made all the plans, and you thought your heart would burst with happiness.” p13 Link to DRAMATIC DEVICES: importance of memory in telling the story/flashback structure. | Avoids thinking about what hurts eg. Private says “That’s Katie’s tune” p13 and Public responds with loud noise to block his thoughts out. Stage directions say ‘Public pretends not to hear him.’ p13 Gar, like his father, fails to communicate effectively in the play or deal with real emotions. Link to CONTEXT: perception of men at this time is that they are strong, silent providers. They show little/no emotion. |
Mocks himself – self-depreciating and highly critical voice. When remembering the evening with Kate and Senator Doogan, Private says, “By God, you made a right bloody cow’s ass of yourself.” p14 | In his memory of the evening with Kate, he is insecure and embarrassed about his social status. “I’m in no … look at the shoes … the trousers”. Remembers the past correctly here (as opposed to the boys, who exaggerate their memories). |
Desperate – pleads for the Canon to step in to help him to restore his relationship with his father. “…Canon (deadly serious), because you’re warm and kind and soft and sympathetic – all things to all men – because you could translate all this loneliness, this groping, this dreadful bloody buffoonery into Christian terms that will make life bearable for us all. And yet you don’t say a word. Why, Canon? Why, arid Canon? Isn’t this your job? – to translate?” | Uses short sentences in reenacting conversations with SB. Shows his bitterness towards SB. |
Insightful – he understands the people in his life. He sees through the boys, retelling their story more accurately to himself. He sees every move and utterance of the Canon and his father just before the speak. This adds humour for the audience as shown in the following sequence: | Avoids awkward silence with SB by calling for Madge. |
Brutally honest – about the boys, Private says, “They’re louts, ignorant bloody louts, and you’ve always known it! And don’t pretend you’re surprised; because you’re not.” | With Kate, he is comfortable. Affectionate – smells her hair, kisses her etc. Opens up with her – tells her about the egg money. |
| Chatty – Private is able to speak in extended, verbose speeches in comparison to Public who is often sullen with silent. | When talking to Senator Doogan he is nervous, awkward, embarrassed. |
Formal and brief in conversation with Master Boyle – respect for his old teacher. | |
Other 'Philadelphia, Here I Come!' articles:
