What use does McLaverty make of the themes of flight and Religion in Lamb?

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What use does McLaverty make of the themes of flight and Religion in Lamb

At the start of the novel we read about how Owen is an outsider in the home. He is isolated in the home because of his epilepsy, and the fact that he isn’t allowed to swim with the rest of the boys. The other boys give him names such as “Kane the Stain” “Bet wetter”. They don’t understand and exclude him.  When they go to London, once again they are excluded. Everyone rushed around like they had somewhere to go. But they don’t have a clue. Other minor things make them outsiders; the fact that Michael had to hold up a set of Drawers for the woman to recognise what he meant and they stayed in a hotel. All these minor things build up the feeling that Michael and Owen are outsiders in the home and London.

        But to fully comprehend Owen’s behaviour, we should look at his background. When a child grows, they usually idolize a person in their family, aim to grow up just like that one person, and it’s up to that person to demonstrate the difference between good and bad. Owen didn’t have that choice. His family is corrupt, a broken home. His Mother attempts to kill him through hate one night when she comes home drunk; His father beat him for no reason; His brothers are either in Jail or in the Army. This gives him no role model to look up to, with his family broken. The only one that Owen speaks with any sort of compassion of is his grandmother. He lovingly tells of stories that happen with him and her. A violent background shadow’s Owen through-out his life, with little compassion to smooth over the rough edges of such a small boy. Owen wants to escape his past, his family and the home. He tries to escape by mitching but soon realises that he cannot escape that way. Owen openly displays his hatred for the home in front of Sebastian; the repetition of “Loathe” clearly illustrates this.

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Brother Sebastian is unhappy with the methods of Brother Benedict. He refuses to use punishment against the boys, and tries to show them love from the inside. But he too soon realises that the only way that he can be truly happy is from the outside. Brother Sebastian wants to escape Benedict’s ways, his logic or lack of, and to show Owen a life he never knew. Away from harsh punishment; away from hate, away from Ireland.

        The theme of flight is used by McLaverty to illustrate this desire. McLaverty constantly reminds us about this theme through minor things ...

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