The extract starts with Juno telling Jerry where Boyle is, she says he will be in “Ryan’s or Foley’s” which are two pubs. She is very cynical of Boyle, always expecting the worst from him, and she is even worse to Joxer. I think that she blames Joxer for the fact that Boyle waste a lot of the family’s money on drink and that he doesn’t have a job, she says “there’ll never be any good got out o’ him as long as he goes with that shouldher-shruggin’ Joxer” and this suggests that she thinks that Boyle would be a better man, who would achieve a lot more if he didn’t associate himself with Joxer. O’Casey is making us feel sorry for Juno already and although this is funny onstage, it is ultimately sad that a husband and father is wasting his life away drinking at the pub. I think this shows us corruption and negativity from Juno’s eyes but from the eyes of The Captain it is perfectly normal and he doesn’t see what’s so bad about it. As the extract goes on Juno hides from view and lets Boyle and Joxer come on in so she can secretly listen to their conversation, “she sits down on the bed, hidden from the view of those walking in.” He talks about her in a negative way, complaining about her constant “grousin’” and saying how he only gets “comfort when she’s away.” Again O’Casey is showing us that life is full of negativity from Junos eyes but not from The Captain’s eyes, her husband is sick of her and obviously doesn’t like spending time with her, this would be sad and again we feel sorry that Juno has to put up with him. As soon as Juno reveals herself it is very funny when Joxer is in a “desparate hurry”, his childish fear of Juno is very comical. Joxer and Boyle then make up a lie about them getting jobs, how they are going to stop drinking and start working instead, but Juno sees right through it “if you think you’re able to come it over me with them fairy tales, you’re in the wrong shop!” O’Casey shows us even more negativity in the extract when Juno says to Boyle, “eat your breakfast… it may be the last you’ll get for I don’t know where the next one is goin to come from.” It shows us the true state of poverty and it reflects to seem a very negative place to live in.
I think O’Casey portrays life in Dublin to have a lot of negativity for Juno. O’Casey clearly shows that Juno certainly has her work cut out for her, as she is the one person in the family who has a job and she is also the one who does all the cooking, buys the food and does nearly all of the work herself. She says “I killin’ meself workin” this shows just how hard Juno works to keep her family happy. This is not made any easier when Boyle spends a lot of the families money on alcohol in the pub. This means Juno and the rest of the family cannot afford any type of luxuries due to The Captains selfishness. The life for Juno is not pleasant, she has two children and a husband and they all need constant attention from her, she does so much for the family and they keep wanting more and more.
I think O’Casey presents Junos life in Dublin as full of negativity and corruption but the life for Boyle is easy, he does no work and just spends his days doing whatever he wants, and making Junos life a lot more difficult. I do agree that he presents life in Dublin as negative, but only for Juno, she works all day and looks after the family the rest of the time, she has no time to do what she wants whereas the captain does whatever he wants. I feel sorry for Juno, she deserves a lot more than what she gets.
