Some Surrender

Some Surrender

I have recently reviewed the short story “Some Surrender” written by

Bernard MacLaverty. It deals with the relationship between the father

and the son however wider issues including bigotry and prejudice are

also incorporated into the story.

Maclaverty choose to set the story in Belfast and the strained

relationship between the father and son.

The two men are meeting to celebrate the fathers 75th birthday. They

meet on a local hill on the outskirts of Belfast. We see the symbolic

relationship between the struggle up the hill and the men’s

relationship.

“….The steep angle of the hill….”

They have not been speaking to each other for the last 20 years and

only in recent times have the met. We soon discover the source of the

struggling and damaged relationship is the mother. After marrying a

roman catholic and having a baby with his wife before they were

married he was shunned from his family as his actions conflicted with

his mothers strong sectarian beliefs. The father also mentions “….done

this climb since you were small….” This shows that much time has

passed and also that the characters are familiar with the setting. The

son based a book he has created of photos taken in Belfast this also

shows that the son has returned to Belfast in the past but not to be

with his family. The title of the book is “Some Surrender” which is

based on the protestant slogan “No Surrender.”

The story is divided into four parts during which we learn about the

characters and plot. It is also told in present tense. The first part

forms the climb of their journey. We learn about the background of the

two men their secret meetings and the son’s alienation from the

mother. The story is told in the dialog of the two men through which

we see humour, honesty, strain etc between the two characters. They

are celebrating the fathers 75th birthday and are reminiscing and

catching up with each other. The main focus is on Roy we hear of the

broken relationship with his mother and the damaged relationship with

his father. We learn that Roy is a photographer with some success.

“I see your postcards all over the place. Supermarkets even.”

He lives in Dublin and is now separated from his wife. We also her how

much is his mother disapproved of the son’s marriage.

“She wasn’t even a good catholic.”

It is evident that bigotry is the main cause of the problems. In the

second part we hear again through the humour and dialog of the

characters the problems that exist in Ireland and why each thinks the