“Paddy Clarke Ha ha ha” by Roddy Doyle

An extract from P.133 shows how Paddy regards the "game", and realises how they have been allowing Kevin to manipulate them and use violence against them out of fear - how Kevin has been taking advantage of his friends loyalty to test his power - how far he can go.

"We were all sick of being hit on the back with a poker by Kevin he wouldn't take his turn. He had to be the high priest all the time. Ciúnas had said, he said" - Paddy recognises Kevin's fake excuses. " It would have gone on longer if we had all had a go with the poker, probably forever. But Kevin wouldn't allow it and It was his poker" Paddy believes in democracy - equality with in his friendship group - but Kevin is oppressing this which Paddy would resent. Then "Kevin went off by himself and I went with him and pretended that I'd been up for him" - Paddy cannot let go of the friendship - he realises how Kevin treats him is not fair - and resents Kevin for this, dislikes him even. However, Paddy withholds his opinions and "pretends" to still be "up for him" - maybe sad or scared to lose Kevin's respect.

Nevertheless, Once Paddy's disrespect of Kevin has fully built up; he not only no longer looks up to him, but also turns to Charles Leavy - a boy from the new Corporation houses - as a new role model.

During a game of football, Paddy begins to outwardly reject Kevin's friendship, to gain the respect of Charles, purposefully passing the ball to Charles - who was on the opposite team. He rejoices when Charles chooses to pass to him - not to Kevin - and during a conversation on the wall after the game further begins to discard and cast off Kevin.

"Sitting beside Charles Leavy, on a wall. And Kevin"

- Kevin is just added into the equation as an after thought. Charles Leavy is now who Paddy admires.

"- Will we go to the barn, said Kevin, - will we?

- Why? Said Charles Leavy."

I think at this point through his changing approach, Kevin is feeling insecure - asking rather than dictating or domineering.

"I agreed with him"

This quote is quite symbolic in illustrating Paddy's changing role model - siding with Charles over Kevin. Paddy eventually completely falls out with Kevin, and attempts to transform himself into Charles Leavy - hard, uncaring, and 'untouchable'. He regards Charles as genuinely 'immune' to the goings on and misfortunes round him. This changing role model in Paddy's life, helps him mature, and prepare for the pain of his parent's divorce. The insecurities in Paddy's home life begin to become reflected through his personality. At the beginning of the book Paddy comes across as more of a gentle cooperative character, but as things progress he becomes ever increasingly self reliant and domineering. Paddy begins to want different things from those around him - and I think is drawn to Charles because he believes that is how he himself would like to be - he is very confused, and just wants the hurt and rejection to go away, and believes this can be achieved through becoming like Charles Leavy - immune. P. 225 reflects why Paddy could have been drawn to Charles.

"Everyone got it done to them, except Charles Leavy.

Charles Leavy didn't do it to anybody. That was weird. Charles Leavy could have made us all line up, like Henno on a Friday morning, and kneed al our legs dead. You wanted to show off in front of Charles Leavy. You wanted to say bad words. You wanted him to look at you the proper way."

Charles seems to have a kind of distance from reality - from Paddy and the other boys his age. He is unique and different - and is not afraid to be like that. Paddy admires him for this and also for the way he distances himself from the world around him - his misfortunes and problems are trivial to Charles, who has become immune to the kind of hurt and pain Paddy is undoubtedly experiencing.

"I watched Charles Leavy. I studied him. I did his twitch. I did his shoulder...I wanted to be like Charles Leavy. I wanted to be hard. I wanted to wear plastic sandals, smack them off the ground and dare anyone to look at me. Charles Leavy didn't dare anyone; he'd gone further than that: he didn't know they were there. I wanted to get that far. I wanted to look at my ma and da and not feel anything. I wanted to be ready."

Paddy through saying this has definitely and evidently changed from the beginning in his role-models within his friendships. Paddy uses Charles as his inspiration - to go beyond the ability to care about anything or anyone around him, to be 'ready; for the hurt and dejection he will inevitably experience in the near future. Paddy - through his new role model - believes he can survive alone - as his relationships and friendships crumble around him.

The dependence Paddy develops on Charles Leavy as a role model reflects the changes undergone in Paddy himself as a person, and the way he deals with things.

Paddy's other changing role models in the book are his father and Sinbad. At the beginning of the book, Paddy has an enormous level of respect towards his Da, but as he matures and changes (as does his da), Paddy begins to drift away from him. At the beginning, Paddy absorbs any information available to him from his Da. He studies and makes comparisons between his father's hands and his own - noticing every detail about them. He also studies his father's body language, and understands the meanings of his father's movements - in relation to his temperament and the way he would treat Paddy on approach. E.g. "he sometimes liked these questions and sometimes he didn't. When he did, he folded his legs if he was sitting, and leaned a bit to the side in his chair..."

This shows paddy has a great admiration towards his Da, keen enough to take the time to watch him, and try to be like him.

He constantly asks his father questions - mainly just in an attempt get some sort of recognition and attention from him, and to feel as if his Da is more a part of his life and they have something in common - seeking admiration from his father. He fetches the paper for his Da every day in an attempt to impress him.

Although at the beginning paddy's conversations with his Da are very short, I don't think it's because his dad's rejecting him - just a combination of Paddy's age meaning he lacks the ability to engage in long discussion for any space of time, and the male reluctancy to express themselves - present in Paddy and particularly in his DA. Paddy's Da always seem to be very "to the point" and cold towards Paddy, but I don't think this is done deliberately to repel Paddy and cast him aside - although Paddy probably sees it in that light -which is perhaps why Paddy is always so eager at the beginning to gain his father's approval, and to get him to talk to him.

P.25 "That was what he did now, leaned nearer to me. I couldn't hear him for the first bit because it had been what I'd hoped he'd do - fold his legs and lean over - and it happened the way I'd wanted it to." This illustrates that Paddy wasn't necessarily interested in what his Da had to say, rather than actually succeeding in getting him to answer his question and speak to him - give hi some attention.

This shows that Paddy understands his father's temperamental, moody streak - he realises how his Da is only sometimes willing to answer his questions, and not at other times. Right at the very beginning there is evidence to show that Paddy does resent his Da for this to an extent - and as the book progresses this resentment builds up especially as Paddy himself and his Da undergo changes in personality through the changes in the family relationship and particularly in Paddy through maturing. P. 16 shows criticism of his Da by Paddy and the way his Da approaches a situation and treats Paddy. "He didn't see it; he just heard it. He didn't look up from his book. I didn't like that; he was jeering me." - Paddy's Da probably doesn't mean to offend Paddy, but Paddy is more perceptive than his Da thinks, and picks up on small criticisms or private jokes.

Throughout the book as Paddy matures and his opinions change towards his Da, he loses some of the childhood admiration he once had towards him. P.151 Da's impatient side comes through and Paddy actually rejects his father - conflicting to the way in which he treated him and was in awe of him at the beginning of the book. Paddy seems to want independence now - rather than help and support, which reflects his maturing character.

"That made him more annoyed.

- You're not trying.

He pulled the bike away from me. .........

I didn't need him now. I didn't want him.

He was gone anyway. Back into the house.

-You'll be grand now, he said.

He was just lazy."

Paddy again, is perceptive as to what his father's real motives are - and knows and understands his Da too well to be deceived.

This deep knowledge of his father's temperament is reflected again by Paddy later on in the book - P.202. "He was good sometimes and useless others and sometimes you could tell that you couldn't go near him to ask him or tell him anything. He didn't like being distracted; he said that word a lot, but I knew what it meant, Distracted, and I didn't know he was being distracted because he wasn't doing anything anyway. I didn't mind, only sometimes." This shows how Paddy resents the lack of attention his father pays him - he did mind sometimes - showing how his Da hurts Paddy. Paddy's father also confuses Paddy with his temperamental nature, and I think towards the end of the book especially this loses him a lot of Paddy's respect. Paddy begins to doubt his father and recognise the selfish reasons behind why he is not treating Paddy and the other children with due love and attention. "He had to get his energy back at the weekend. Sometimes I didn't believe that that was the only reason for not being able to go near him, for the way he got into his corner and wouldn't come out. Sometimes he was just being mean." Paddy can see through his father's excuses and I think recognises it himself as his Da rejecting him - disliking him - which is an unfair impression to make on a little boy.

Once Paddy's parents start to argue, Paddy is searching for someone to hold the blame - and as he sees his mother as the weaker more vulnerable character - undoubtedly opts to blame his Da for the break-up. As Paddy's parents' marriage crumbles around them, they don't know how to treat Paddy and the other children, and try and make life as bearable for them as possible, pretending nothing was wrong and nothing had happened between them. Nevertheless, the conflict within the family had changed Paddy's parents personally as well - weakening the bond and interaction between them, but also altering the way they act alone - changed character. Paddy's ma becomes ever-increasingly sad and worn (P.221) "The way she got up when one of the girls was crying upstairs, sighed and stooped, wanting him to see that she was tired." - Ma has lost her enthusiasm and motivation, and loses the joy and vibrancy in her character - as she loses the happiness in her life.

A great deal of distance builds up between Paddy and his Da - evident from this extract. (P.244)

"He was telling himself to do everything he did, I could see that, concentrating. His face was tight on one side and loose on the other. He was nice. He grinned when he had time to notice me.

- They'are, he said.

He never said that.

- Have you spellings for me?

And he made me test him. He got 8 out of 10. He couldn't spell Aggravate or Rhythm.

But that wasn't it. They weren't falling apart because my Da was getting drunk. There was only a bottle of sherry in the house. I checked it. It was always the same.....I looked for lipstick on his collar; I'd seen it in the man from uncle. There wasn't any."

Paddy seems to be searching for a cause to his parents arguments - drunkenness, or adultery on the part of his Da, but cannot seem to identify one.

Paddy also begins to identify a lot of falsities in his father's body language - detectable after the years spent studying him, and his movements, in admiration. e.g "He never sad that" - Paddy is noticing and recognising faults and fakeness in his father, his two-faced personality and mood swings. This new recognition and understanding of his father, marks a step forward in the maturing personality o Paddy, trying to search for a cause to the break-up rather than wallowing in self-pity from the consequences. The quote also marks and illustrates how the distance between Paddy and his Da has established, as Paddy refuses to accept and admire his Da as much as he had done in the beginning of the book. Paddy's Da - through getting drunk - isn't facing his marital problems but trying to escape them. He is no longer a respectable dependable father to Paddy, and Paddy recognises this and sees fault in his Da. Paddy's Da in this extract is trying to amend the distance, which has built up between him and his son - but is failing dismally. Da also seems to be feeling insecure around Paddy - he is putting on an act, trying to build up a relationship which Paddy knows has already disintegrated and can never be as it was before - that Da has let crumble around himself without noticing, as he concentrates on his own selfish needs and problems with Ma.

Paddy has begun to analyse his father rather than worship him as he seems to have done at the beginning, he looks to criticize his Da - searching for fault not perfection. Da now feels that he should now have to be especially nice to Paddy to regain some of his respect, and doesn't know quite how to act around him. As Paddy matures and hardens, he begins to reject his da, and substitutes his father figure with an idea of self-sufficiency, acquired from observing Charles Leavy - as he had once observed his Da, and taking in information about how Charles cops indifferent situations. Chares Leavy becomes the main role model in Paddy's life towards the end of the book - having replaced Kevin and Paddy's Da as Paddy enters adolescence. Paddy begins to look for more in a role model rather than just someone to admire and follow - but rather he searches for someone to give him the confidence and inspiration needed to cope and fight alone. Charles is described by Paddy as 'untouchable' - describing exactly how Paddy wants to be - beyond the ability to care about anything or anybody around him.

By looking to Charles Leavy as a role model, Paddy is preparing himself for things to come, He knows his parents will eventually separate, and when they eventually do, he knows he will have to pick up the pieces. Paddy wants to be "ready" to cope with this burden - and being "beyond the ability to care", would give him the strength to do that. When Paddy's Da does eventually leave them, Paddy feels h has to look after and protect his Ma - showing how drastically the tables have turned and he had matured from the time at the beginning when his Ma would have protected him. The closing paragraph in the book reflects exactly how much distance had established itself between Paddy and his Da. They perform duties of artificial affection.

"- How are you? He said.

He put his hand out.

- How are you?

His hand felt cold and big, dry and hard.

- Very well thankyou."

Doyle uses the words cold and hard to emphasise how little affection there is between them. The description of Da's hands try's to reflect his temperament; cold, dry and hard.

They shake hands, to replace what would have been a hug in a normal family situation. Neither one knows what to do. Paddy no longer seems to know his Da as he used to - he arrives as a 'visitor' to the house. There is a very awkward atmosphere in the scene where neither one knows what to say.

Paddy has also now taken his father's place in the household - answering the door while his mother remains in the kitchen. Paddy has hardened and matured considerably from the beginning - verging on adulthood towards the end, and has been forced to grow up fast - ready to take the responsibility and suffer the consequences after the separation.

Apart from his relationships with Da and Kevin, other relationships in Paddy's life also fluctuate throughout the book, which contribute to and reflect the change in Paddy's personality.

Paddy has to try and look after his Ma and protect her from the suffering she is destined to endure after and during her split from paddy's Da. Around the middle of the book Paddy becomes increasingly anxious about his Ma - P.214 "I didn't want to think about my ma up in their bedroom. About her sick. I didn't want to see her I was afraid."

Paddy seems really worried about the prospect of hi ma not being downstairs when he got up. He seems concerned that something has happened to her - that she's not really sick. He longs for normality in his life, routines are being broken around him beyond his control.

"One of them would soon fall over. My Ma. I wanted it to be my Da. He was bigger. I didn't want it to be him either."

This quote shows an instinct of paddy's to want to help and protect his ma from collapsing from grief and anxiety. He desperately doesn't want her to get hurt, and recognises her weak vulnerability. This demonstrates Paddy's matured personality.

Paddy's relationship with and opinion towards Sinbad also undergoes transformation throughout the novel. At the beginning, paddy doesn't seem to regard Sinbad as a person, and used his power over him to make himself look stronger and bigger in front of his friends. Paddy is cruel towards Sinbad and uses his advantage of age and status to tease him, manipulate him, and wind him up. (P.14) "- They'll dust them for fingerprints, I told Sinbad. - And if they find your fingerprints on the matches they'll come and arrest you and put you in the Artane Boy's Band.

Sinbad didn't believe me but he did believe me as well.

- They'll make you play the triangle because of your lips, I told him.

His eyes went all wet; I hated him."

This quote reflects how little respect Paddy has initially for Sinbad. Which is apparent in multiple situations at the beginning of the book. Another example is on page 65,"I loved getting him into trouble. This way was the best. I could pretend I was helping."

However, as the novel progresses, and Paddy's other relationships and role-models change, paddy begins to look towards Sinbad in a new light. In one incident, Paddy uses Sinbad as a weapon against his Da, and changes from mocking and torturing his brother - to trying to 'protect' him, and joining Sinbad's side in a 'fight' with their Da, making up lies to enable Sinbad to win

"Why was it great? Said Da.

That wasn't a fair question. He'd said it to catch out Sinbad, like he was in the fight as well.

- It just was, I said.

- Well? Said Da to Sinbad

- A fella got sick in his class, I said.

Sinbad looked at me.

- Is that right? Said Da.

- Yeah, I said.

Da looked at Sinbad.

Sinbad stopped looking at me.

- Yeah he said. Da changed. It had worked.....I'd won. I'd saved Sinbad."

Throughout the book, Paddy's compassion towards Sinbad increases. Paddy begins to consider Sinbad as more of a personthan in the beginning of the book.

"Kevin got him and gave hi a dead leg for not doing what we told him. He was crying but he didn't make any noises. I had to look at his face to see that he was crying. - Sinbad. He closed his eyes. - Sinbad. I had to stop calling him Sinbad. H didn't look like Sinbad the sailor any more...I could kill him in fights, but the way he went scared me."

I think this demonstrates how much Paddy has grown up and matured mentally towards the end of the novel, - beginning to consider and protect his brothers feelings and rights.

"Sinbad? He didn't answer. He wasn't asleep though; I knew the breathing......I didn't want him to think that I was going to get him....- Sinbad? - Francis? - What? I thought of something. - Do you like being called Sinbad? - No. - Okay. I said nothing for a bit. I heard him change, move nearer the wall. - Francis> - Can you hear them? He didn't give an answer. - Can you hear them? Francis? - Yeah."

This final quote found towards the end of the novel portrays the complete difference in attitude towards Sinbad by Paddy compared to at the beginning of the book. Paddy now considers Sinbad's feelings completely - treads carefully to say the right thing, call him what he likes to be called. Paddy now seems to just want to talk to Sinbad - to be friends. Paddy, in asking about the parents' argument, is finding some common ground between them - to bring them closer. These quotes relating Paddy's changing opinions towards Sinbad show how his changing relationship with Sinbad contributes to his developing, maturing character. By the end of the book, paddy's thoughts and understanding have become more complex, - knowing exactly how to treat his brother to gain what he wants within their friendship, and to bring them closer.

Worrying aspects of Sinbad's character come to light towards the end of the book and paddy feels he has to look after him, as he recognises this.

Sinbad becomes increasingly withdrawn and isolates himself from Paddy, - he deals with the problems st home differently to Paddy, who is confused. (P.189) "I had to stop calling him Sinbad. He didn't look like Sinbad the sailor now any more; his cheeks were flatter. I was still way bigger than him but it didn't matter as much. I could kill him in fights but the way he went scared me. He let me give him a hiding and then he just went away."

Paddy is no longer feeling joy through bullying or dominating Sinbad and is becoming concerned about his brother. Sinbad has become very strong in character - almost immune - and is struggling alone. Paddy from here onwards, try's to reach out to Sinbad, but doesn't manage as Sibad constantly wipes any recognition of the 'fighting' and pretends to himself that everything is all right. Sinbad's reluctance to recognise the problems at home is demonstrated in this extract. (P.223)

"-They've stopped, he said. - They weren't.

He sounded happy and nervous.

- They'll do it again tomorrow.

- -No, they wont, he said. - They were only talking, about things."

Sinbad tries to blank out the world around him, and the problems, and paddy has to convince him. Paddy feels the need to talk about what is happening to someone - but Sinbad will not talk with him. I think Sinbad's reluctance to interact wit Paddy is spurred from years of resentment towards his brother.

"He had to look at me. I was going to look after him.

- Francis

He held the two sides of the front of his trousers.

- Why are you calling me Francis? He said

- Cos Francis is your name, I said.

His face said nothing................

- Leave me alone, he said..........

- Leave me alone, he said............

- Leave me alone, he said.

I gave up."

Here, Sinbad is obviously confused about the ay Paddy is treating him and is rejecting him. Paddy is desperate to become Sinbad's friend again - he needs him - yet Sinbad now has the power. Sinbad's rejection would have caused a lot of insecurities in Paddy and been a factor which would have contributed to why paddy decides to become 'immune' and begins to follow Charles Leavy as a role-model.

Overall, the changing relationships in paddy's life have contributed to his increasing maturity and strength. They have helped him learn more about himself, and what he wants to achieve within his close relationships in the present and the future.

Paddy wants to escape the burden Kevin is bestowing upon him - he has enough to deal with and no longer recognises winning Kevin's respect as important a part of his life as he had done at the beginning. Paddy recognises Kevin as false in his dedication towards Paddy, not supportive in critical situations and would not be there to look after him in hard times. Paddy has to prepare himself for the inevitable heartbreak of his parent's separation, and Kevin does nothing to help the situation for him. This shows Kevin's unreliability (P.187) and Paddy's realisation of this "No one had jumped in for me when Charles Leavy had been going to kill me; It took me a while to get used to that, to make it make sense. The quiet, the waiting. All of them looking. Kevin standing beside Sean Whelan. Looking."

Paddy also wants to escape the pain that would come to him when his father would eventually leave them - and distances himself from him also. Paddy searches for fault in his father and sides with his mother towards the end of the book in attempt to help and protect her. Paddy then puts all his energy's into following Charles Leavy, who he substitutes to overtake both the roles of Kevin and his Da in the book.

The other factors to have helped Paddy's fluctuations throughout the novel, is his increasingly diminishing territory. As the new corporation houses are erected, Paddy and his friends find their territory is literally decreasing, and being taken over by the new corporation people (such as Sean Whelan and Charles Leavy). The boys consequently find they have to share their territory, or 'hang out' elsewhere.

Paddy's territory is also decreasing throughout the novel in his home. As his parents fight downstairs, Paddy is confined to the landing, listening to the incessant arguments. Paddy's territory is further decreased when he falls out with Kevin. Paddy no longer has access to certain places outside his home, as Kevin wouldn't let him anywhere near their old gang's lad. In the end, paddy is eventually confined to the hot press - the only place in the house where he can feel safe, away from everything, alone. The hot press was the only place Paddy could find to escape his parents' constant arguments, and the conflict with his friends. Doyle uses the darkness in the hot-press to create an intense, cold atmosphere around Paddy. It also creates an irony - where throughout the book references to darkness have scared Paddy - e.g. Wanting the light on in his room, the darkness on the stairs was symbolic during the first argument, and having to face the darkness with Kevin in the pipes. However Paddy does in one instance find comfort through the darkness - in the middle of the book with Sinbad, hiding under the blankets. Paddy liked the way you could just get rid of the darkness and let in light when the blankets were lifted - he had control over the situation - but here, in the hot-press Paddy is alone, and isolated, but actually chooses to suffer this to escape worse situations outside.

"I knew it wasn't real. I knew that the darkness outside wouldn't be as dark as this but it would be scarier. I knew that. But I was still happy. The dark itself was nothing; there was nothing in it to frighten me. It was nice in the hot-press, especially on the towels; it was better than under the table. I stayed there."

The darkness in the hot-press symbolises how Paddy is feeling - enclosed and shut out from the people he cares about. His parents' arguments are out of his power, and there is nothing he can do about it but hide away, and wait. Despite the darkness, Paddy likes the atmosphere in the hot-press - it is better than the tension and anxiety outside. Paddy has eventually begun to deal with the situation of his parents' conflicts differently. He has altered from the child who sat on the stairs during his first experience of his parents fighting, whispering and willing them to stop, - to the adolescent, shutting himself away until the hopeless situation has eventually resolved itself. Paddy knows that he will then have to emerge, to pick up the pieces left from the shattered marriage. Doyle creates a sense of hopelessness within the hot-press, paddy trapped, the door shut. He could not go back, yet he could not progress. Paddy now tries to cope completely alone. He is 'untouchable' as he previously had wanted to be - like Charles Leavy. Here, in the hot-press, nothing or no one could get to him or harm him. This is Paddy's self-inflicted isolation - in which he finds comfort as he has some sense of control over it.

The book reaches a climax in the ending pages, as the whole build-up of insecurity within paddy's family finally explodes into the inevitable pain of divorce. Everything in Paddy's life of significance finally crumbles at his feet - his territory diminished, his friends lost, and most significantly, his family separated. Paddy has to come to terms with the distance permeating his close relationships, and cope with managing his family. He has to take Sinbad under his wing, and become his father figure, and has to look after ma through her inevitable period of depression and anxiety. Paddy is "the man of the house now".

There has been an overall change for the worst in Paddy's life, the only good outcome from his experiences being his closer, strengthened relationship and understanding of his brother, Sinbad.

Paddy by the end of the novel has transformed from and naïve child to a sensitive, disingenuous adult, trapped within an adolescent body. Throughout the book, Doyle displays Paddy's increasing maturity through the changing sentence structures and increasingly clever and mature language. Towards the end of the book, the writing is constructed very differently. Paddy manages to stick to one subject, without veering off the point and getting sidetracked. He begins to talk at length with thought and understanding on single experiences (whereas at the beginning he could only talk about experiences in short broken up lines, or found his thoughts going off at tangents from his original topic.)These changing sentence structures help Doyle create a sense of the maturing, changing personality of paddy - as the monologue in the book becomes less staccato and more flowing.

In the final pages Doyle uses symbolism of doors closing behind paddy to reflect how he cannot go back, and how things can never be the same again for him. On page 277 Paddy has difficulty closing the door to the hot-press - it is a difficulty to escape from the outside world, to shut it out. But once Paddy manages to close it he notes that there is no door on the inside - Paddy is trapped in this new, isolated world and cannot get out - things can never return to how they were. Then, on page 280, there is a continuation of the theme of 'closing doors', when Da leaves the family for good. Paddy's final realisation is here - from the way he closes the door, Paddy can see his Da will never come back.