Theme of Father-Son Relationship
It is apparent from the beginning of the play that the relationship between Gar and his father is strained. It is the night before Gar departs for America and he is patently angry that his father has still not acknowledged that he is leaving. However, he puts on a show of indifference to hide his feelings of disappointment and hurt: 'whether he says goodbye or not, or whether h slips me a few miserable quid or not, it's a matter of total indifference to me Madge.
There is no meaningful communication between father and son. The conversations between the two are strained and stilted, revolving around trivial, dull shop related issues such as rat traps and bags of flour. SB is uncommunicative and his life is governed by routine. He never says or does anything out of the ordinary. Private can predict SB's every word and action: 'perfectly trained, the most obedient father I have ever had'. While Gar is intensely frustrated by SB's behaviour he is himself apart of the problem. As Gar and SB eat together in the usual silence, Private makes an outburst full of irony 'That’s what we were waiting for, complete informality, total relaxation between inmates. In reality father and son are both very ill at ease in each others company. Private sums up Gars reasons for leaving Ballybeg “you know why I’m growing Screwballs, don’t you. Because I’m twenty five and you treat me as if I were five. Because you pay me less than you pay Madge. But far worse than that Screwballs because we embarrass one another”. Gar longs for his father to make one unpredictable remark that might act as the spark for a meaningful conversation.
