Cal

A detailed Summary of Cal

Cal: He is a typical 19-year-old Irish boy. He has had a hard life because his mother died when he was 8. Now he is living together with his father Shamie. But the relation between them is not like a father and son relation, they are more like friends. Cal is a person you can persuade very easily and fast. He isn't very self-confident. His friends Crilly and Skeffington boss him around and Cal isn't very happy with this situation, but he doesn't know how to fight back. His friends are strictly catholic and they force him to join the IRA. He starts to become their driver when they commit crimes. Cal is looking for somebody, who loves him. He hasn't been given any real love since his mother died. Fortunately, he finds Marcella who is nine years his senior and he falls in love with her. He met her first in the library where Marcella works as a librarian. Cal starts going there regularly just to meet her. Finally, Marcella, who is more mature and who has already a daughter, falls in love with Cal, too.

Cal is a very poor boy who doesn't have a lot of luck in his life. He thinks a lot and has many nightmares about the murder of Marcella's husband. He feels guilt about the murder of Marc

Shamie: He is Cal's dad. He works in an abattoir. Shamie is pigheaded, because he doesn't leave his house despite a threatening letter of the UVF. When the UVF set his house on fire and it burnt down, he becomes depressed and ill. He leaves his job and needs psychological treatment. Actually, he can't cope with the tragedy and even his own son Cal has problems talking to him.

Marcella: She is a very unhappy woman in her late twenties. She lost her husband in an attack of the IRA. During the story you find out that she didn't love her husband anymore in the end. Now she is living together with the parents of her husband and especially her mother-in-law bosses her around. Marcella doesn't have any friends and she would like to get to know people. She is desperately looking for a job. Eventually, she gets the job in the library. Marcella has very weak personality. Cal is a kind of present for Marcella he makes her feel younger and after some time they fall in love. First she isn't sure about her love but then she can enjoy it.

Crilly and Skeffington: They are radical Catholics and members of the IRA .Their only aim is an independent Ireland without any Protestants. They commit crimes and kill for their religion. They don't realize the real problem of Northern Ireland. They don't see the suffering in their country and they do not notice the hopeless situation either.

The Mortons don't know that Cal lives in the cottage. When they realize that there is somebody in it they call the police. But later Cal is allowed to live in the cottage. So Cal has a short way to his work on the farm. Cal lost a lot of things when his father's house burnt down and so Marcella gives him some clothes of her dead husband. Cal feels strange when he is wearing them because the clothes remind him of the terrible murder. Cal spends mor

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Approximate Word count = 1230
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels