This Is The Country Analysis

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The idea of searching for a home and family in William Wall 's This is the Country William Wall, an Irish novelist, poet and short story writer is best known for his novel This is the Country. In This is the Country Wall deals with themes such as love and friendship. But, also he focuses on family and its importance. The main character of the novel was raised by a single mother with no father figure, so he was in constant search for a father and also a happy home. Throughout the novel the author emphasizes the idea that everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home. The novel begins at the end where the main character is about to give his evidence to the court. Wall uses flashbacks to fill in the reader. …show more content…

The main character was looking for a father and he found one in Helen 's father. ' 'I used to pretend this was my grandfather. Then other times I used to pretend I was his daughter. I 'd wear her dress and stuff and when he was gone to bed I used to say: Goodnight, Dad, very quiet. Whisper ' ' (Wall, 43). The main character feels a great connection with Helen 's father. This connection is much greater than it is with his mother. ' 'He was my father, I tell the auctioneer. My mother was the local bicycle, but this guy was my father ' ' (Wall, 223). In some strange way the main character and Helen 's father are there for each other. By living together they support each other through their dark times. Perhaps Wall suggests that family is not always just blood. Family is the people with whom we feel safe. Maybe that is why the main protagonist wanted to buy Helen 's father 's house. He felt safe there, it was home to him. ' 'I stand for a long time in Helen 's room, my room ' ' (Wall, 222). What is more, Wall points out that home is people and not a place. If one goes home after the people are gone, then all one can see is what is not there any more. ' 'In the kitchen the fridge door is propped open with a chair. Its sad dead air is everywhere. The chair where he used to sit is in its exact place, as if the body was extracted from it by some powerful suction force ' ' (Wall,

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