'The Man of the House'
Beryl Clarke, Contributor

So, you are a senior now. Settling well in fifth form? Congratulations! Just remember that you are, whether you have already thought about it or not, a leader. You have the responsibility to show your younger schoolmates how to represent your school with distinction.

We will begin our discussion this term by examining The Man of the House by Frank O'Connor. I enjoyed this story and I hope that you did, too. Do you know any family that is similar to the one O'Connor writes about here? I mean any family unit that is made up of an adult and a child or, more specifically, a mother and a son? If you do, it will probably help you to understand the relationship that exists between these two characters. The single- parent phenomenon is not restricted to Jamaica, but occurs worldwide for one reason or another.

Our story, as you know, is set in Ireland. The Man of the House focuses on the relationship between an ailing mother and her dutiful 10-year-old son. So, the question that we need to ask ourselves is, why is the word man and not boy used in the title?

Have you found any reason or reasons for the author's choice? Let us identify some characteristics that we associate with a man:

• a sense of responsibility
• the ability to take decision
• the ability to provide (financially and emotionally) for his family
• the ability to protect his loved ones.

In what ways can Sullivan be seen as fulfilling the role of a man?

Let us look at what happens in this work. We are introduced to a woman who is coughing, as she has been doing for some time, and her son who is now concerned about her condition. I trust you have noticed his honesty when he tells us that he had not paid any attention to her coughing before. This relates, no doubt, to the fact that he is a child. This morning, however, he does not only hear her but also sees her distressing state and realises that his mother is weak and sick. He takes over immediately, assuming the role of the household head. He informs her that she cannot go to work, orders her back to bed and starts to take care of her as best as he can.

By this time we are all aware that there is no husband and or father in the home. What has to be done must be done by Sullivan or not done at all. There is, of course, a third alternative, and that is for him to have gone to get help from an adult. This boy, however, does not shirk the responsibility that has fallen to him. He makes the tea, though a bit too strong, cleans up the kitchen and gets ready to go shopping. Remember, that he is 10 years old and should be going to school.

By the way, do you get the impression that he is bothered by having to miss school? We can interpret his willingness to stay home with his mother as evidence of his love and concern for her and not as a lack of keen interest in school. I want you, though, to consider the following which gives us an idea of his attitude to the situation:

"I wasn't a malicious child by any means, but I liked to be able to take out my comforts and study them by the light of others' misfortunes."

Later, armed with the shopping list that his mother has had to write, he spends time looking at his school in what he calls 'quiet contemplation'. What do you make of his conclusion? 'Of all the profound and simple pleasures of those days, that was the richest.'

When he returns home he finds that his mother has a visitor. He could have accepted her offer to make the tea, bearing in mind the fact that he was not very competent in making it himself, but he graciously refuses her offer as if he has everything covered.

Miss Ryan frightens him with her talk of pneumonia and though scared of going into the unfamiliar territory of a pub, he gets the whiskey for his 'mum'.

The last section of the story provides us with much food for thought. He takes the long journey to procure the cough syrup and then, misled by a little girl, shares the bottle with her so that not a drop of the cough syrup is left for his mother. He forgets his fear of her dying in order to please the girl and because he, too, enjoys the syrup. It is not until it is all gone that he comes to his senses and, child-like, begins to cry. He confesses everything to his mother before he goes to sleep and wakes to find that the prayer he offered to God has been answered.

Next week, we will continue to explore A Man of the House. Until then, take care and God bless!

Beryl Clarke is an independent contributor. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com