How does the opening sequence to Translations prepare the audience for what is to come?

by olivert012 (student)

Oliver Towle

How does the opening sequence to ‘Translations’ prepare the audience for what is to come

Right from the beginning of the text, Friel’s ‘Translations’ submerges the audience within a slowly decaying Irish cultural society surrounded by surprisingly exuberant pupils of a hedge-school. Through his exploration of themes such as the importance of language and Gaelic history to the development of colourful characters such as the “infant prodigy” Jimmy Jack and the apparently ‘waiflike’ mute Sarah, Friel underlines the nature of the British imperialist takeover of Ireland and the subsequent Irish reaction. This essentially leaves the audience prepared for potential conflicts and issues to arise between not only either country, but between the interests of the people of Baile Beag.

Friel first ensures the audience is familiar with the importance of agriculture on the rural town of Baile Beag. He notes the school as being held in a ‘disused barn’, notes objects such as a ‘cart-wheel’ and a ‘churn’ and soon describes the ‘shabby’ clothed Manus as well as recognising that Maire makes an entrance carrying a milk bucket. All of these images when combined draw up a sense of reliance on the land for these people, as it is clear that they are by not means an industrial community and work with fields and animals. As well as this, the damaged and aged nature of the items discussed with tools being ‘broke’ and forgotten’ makes evident the decaying nature of the cultural aspect and as Jones notes, the people in the society are “struggling to make a living and sustain a culture against all odds”. Essentially amidst all the educational benefits of the school, Friel seems to present an underlying potential for the ultimate decay of the Irish traditions through making these farming objects, which are needed to create produce for the town and thus keep it alive, seem as if they are slowly being ‘forgotten’, much like the traditions and culture of Ireland. Additionally the nature of the conversation held between the people of the hedge-school is very relaxed and friendly yet rough in some regards, most clearly shown from Manus’ remark that Sarah’s speaking is “Marvellous! Bloody Marvellous!” This comment acts as a good representation of the supportive yet crude nature of the Baile Beag society in that it acts to compliment Sarah, yet in a very colloquial manner. All of this is done to prepare the audience for a contrast between the people of Baile Beag and the more formal, intrusive British forces present in Ireland so to accentuate the differing nature of the two societies.

The opening description of school essentially seems to underline the nature of the educational system of the town of Baile Beag. It initially establishes the school as based in a “disused barn or hay-shed”, and later acknowledges a number of agriculture implements such as ‘farming tools’ and ‘hay’. Through making clear that in spite of being low on resources, not having a school building and only having ‘’stools and benches’ to sit on, the pupils are still able and very willing to learn here Friel seems to underline the successful nature of the educational system present and arguably in all of the hedge-schools. It is important to note the use of the word ‘functional’ in describing the schoolroom as from it the audience can deduce that although it may not have the most useful equipment for education, it serves its purpose as a place for learning. Furthermore in Maire responding to Jimmy’s question “Esne fatigata?” by stating “Sum fatigatissima”, she demonstrates to the audience the universal success of a culturally aware education in this rural town through the evident juxtaposition between a seemingly simple, ‘strong bodied’ woman and her knowledge of the Latin language. While Corbett argues that the comfortlessness of the schoolroom suggests that “learning brings no physical consolation” to the students, it seems Jimmy’s enthusiasm for the classical language as well as Manus’ dedication to teaching Sarah how to speak undermine this claim as it is evident that both characters take enjoyment in the atmosphere with Manus’ exclamation of joy upon hearing Sarah speak reinforcing this.

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However Friel also prepares the audience for the potential deterioration of these schools and their decreasing availability throughout Ireland. Manus, through his conversation with Maire about a job application at a new national school shows the audience the first signs of British influence through education as they were the ones to establish these schools, and he hints at the damage this influence may have on Irish education by noting that “When it opens, this is finished: nobody’s going to pay to go to a hedge-school.” Being as successful as this hedge school is in educating the likes of Jimmy and Maire, there seems little likelihood that any national school will be as effective or as culturally aware and so as these schools begin to increase in numbers and more students leave the hedge-schools, so will decrease the standard of traditional Irish education.

The opening sequence prepares the audience not only for the deterioration of education, but for the struggle to preserve Irish culture. Jimmy Jack acts as the representation of cultural importance to Baile Beag through his vast knowledge of Classical history and in being “fluent in Latin and Greek but in no way pedantic” the knowledge he has gained of ancient mythology has allowed him to preserve the image of the culture of antiquity, shown in the remark that “for Jimmy the world of the gods and the ancient myths is as real and as immediate as everyday life.” Reinforcing this is critic Brannigan who notes his “organic connection to the classical word” as crucial to understanding the importance of Irish culture and heritage as a whole as Friel ultimately uses the ancient, mostly dead societies of Rome and Greece here to foreshadow the potential outcome of Gaelic if no attempts to preserve it are made. If the hedge schools are not continued which is likely as a result of British influence, preserving the essence of Irish culture will become much more difficult as Irish mythology would no longer be taught in a British environment, and thus the audience is presented with the potential for decay within this area of Irish society.

As well as this, all throughout the passage are references to Irish place names such as ‘Poll na gCaorach’ ‘Cnoc na Mona’ and ‘Tor’, which all prove familiar to those in the schoolroom so to suggest a sense of significance within them as it is apparent that the history and stories that stand with them allow Irish people of all ages, from Jimmy to Sarah, to know where they are and the importance of them, such as everyone’s familiarity with ‘Tor’ and its residents. The British equivalent of some of these names would ultimately lack the sentimentality that comes with them, and so it is suggested that it is this sense of Irish pride that is endangered as the British begin to map certain areas of Ireland. Mazzara argues that “Translations’ is inextricably related to the question of power and, specifically, the power of naming oneself.” Such a remark links to Britain’s mapping of Ireland and the subsequent masking of its identity in that there is clear backlash from the Irish for changing their place names to the British equivalents. Doalty’s theft of a mapping pole reinforces this as it is likely that he did this as a protest to the labelling. It therefore proves to the audience that that there is unrest amongst the people for this British arrival for not only attempting to restructure the schooling system, but also altering the land.

Following on from this idea of unrest, it is important to note the impact that the silence has on the audience upon the first mention of the Donnelly twins as Doalty states “haven’t seen them. Not about these days.” Being the first transition into a sombre atmosphere in the play, this silence essentially connotes the tension between the guerrilla resistance that the twins embody and the British army in that it is clear from Bridget’s comment that “two of the soldiers’ horses were found last night at the foot of the cliffs” that the Donnellys are capable of committing serious crimes against them. Additionally Doalty’s abrupt response to Manus asking if they are at home in saying ‘No’ would suggest an underlying fear in him, as he doesn’t wish to pry into any of their affairs and thus chooses to stay away from them so not to get into any trouble. This therefore accentuates the gravity of the conflict between the two sides and makes clear to the audience the potential chaos that may erupt as a result of it. This ultimately turns out to be the disappearance of English soldier Yolland, and the consequent British threat to kill the livestock of Baile Beag.

A discussion of the ‘sweet smell’ of potatoes in this sequence seems to be also used to not only foreshadow the infamous Irish potato famine as such a smell is common to blight, but also as a metaphor to connote the nature of British imperialism in Ireland’s culture. Bridget’s remark that the decay starts with the smell “and then one morning the stalks are all black and limp” seems to parallel the way in which the British started only with making relations with the Irish, but proceeded to colonise and slowly wash away the remnants of their culture. The audience is therefore able to recognise through this metaphor the degree to which British ignorance may take its toll on Ireland. Additionally Maire and Doalty’s dismissal of Bridget’s suspicions seem to present more futility to the audience for events to come as, much like with the blight, the Irish may not be aware of how of an effect British imperialism will have on them.

The audience is additionally left with the understanding of the importance of language by the end of the opening sequence of the play. Through Sarah, Friel underlines the ability to form relationships without sharing a spoken language, especially in the cultural society of Baile Beag as her lack of an ability to speak and subsequent use of actions, while they restrict her from giving superficial information such as directing Manus towards the pub where Hugh is, allow her to convey more sentimental thoughts and feelings that she has. She notably presents Manus with some flowers as a gesture of affection towards him at which point he kisses the top of her head as a sign of appreciation. In essence this presents the audience with the concept of a society where communication can be achieved provided those involved have a degree of sentimentality between them as Sarah seems to have no trouble showing her affection for Manus, nor showing her discomfort with the eventual kiss shared between Maire and Yolland. When the “uneasy-with-people” Lancey is eventually introduced in the play, it seems his rigid and ignorant personality is what leads to a failure in communication between himself and Hugh, for instance repeating “a picture” in a futile, arrogant attempt to discuss mapping. The contrast therefore present between Sarah’s sentimentality and Lancey’s self proclaimed superiority accentuates this lack of a need for a direct vocal conversation, given that there is a true presence of emotion in a person’s gestures.

Additionally Maire’s remark about the English that she doesn’t “know a word they’re saying … but sure that doesn’t matter” reinstates this idea of communication through simple and personal actions rather than speaking. Furthermore, it foreshadows her eventual relationship with Yolland in that she puts aside their lingual differences and wishes to be with him for his outward disposition. In contrast to this, her relationship with Manus serves as one that lacks sentimentality on Maire’s behalf in spite of both peoples’ ability to speak. Manus speaks extensively to Maire in this opening sequence, only for her to be frequently dismissive in stating things such as “doesn’t matter” and “that’s better” which seems to present the audience with the idea that sometimes words cannot achieve the affection that gestures can as in spite of all Manus’ attempts to win her over, Maire does not seem particularly interested in what he has to say and chooses to go with the gesture-oriented and English speaking Yolland.

An analysis of the opening sequence of the play proves very effective in understand the nature of conflicts that follow. The interactions between characters including Manus and Sarah, and Doalty and Bridget set the foundation for the key themes of the play and in equating these characters to the themes; the audience is better able to recognise their development through the play. Ultimately by the end of the first twenty pages of the script, the audience should be almost completely aware of the increasing tension between the British and the Irish, as well as the potential misfortunes that may accompany the residents of Baile Beag.

Reference:

Mazzara F. The Challenge of Translating Brian Friel’s Translations 2003

Litvack L. The Historical and Colonial Context of Brian Friel University of Belfast

Jones N. Translations, a Faber critical guide

Brannigan J. York Notes Advanced