To the Sea

645 Words2 Pages

Family is the thing that holds us together, but sometimes the times that we spend together can be short lived or tragedy filled. As is the case of Riders by the Sea by J.M. Synge. This story is about the bond that a relatives share with one another during the time of sorrow and despair. We all know characters that have to learn things by themselves and the piece is a great example of when is the time to let things go and accept the outcome whatever it may be.

The most intriguing thing about Riders to the Sea was the content which was very strong in nature. In the story we had a mother who had at one time been surround by a house full of men from her husband down to her sons, unfortunately all of them had ultimately met their demise at the hands of the sea. We read at the beginning of the story that one of Maurya’s sons Michael had gone on a voyage and the ship did not make it so now some clothing remains had been found in an area to the north. Nora and Cathleen discussed this finding in almost secrecy as we the stage directions say Nora: in a low voice.

The struggle is a catching effort to me because they are wondering if to go ahead and let Maurya know or to continue letting her go down to the shore to see if her deceased sons’ body had washed up yet. We see the struggle of a mother battling with her son who feels that he must go abroad and earn money for his family no matter the consequences. Bartley the youngest son of our protagonist shows his steadfastness by arguing the fact that he is only one man to work in the field anyway, and just give him two, three, or four days and he will be back from the voyage to the fair to sell the horses. The content drew me because I could relate to young Bartley in his quest to fulfill...

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... to give her son her blessing instead of instantly placing his death upon his head stating: “He’s gone now, God spare us, and we’ll not see him again”.

Riders to the Sea is an interesting story about the tragedy one can withstand. Maurya was a tremendously strong lady to endure the sea always taking away her loved one. Family binds us together but the sea is what divided them. The content with its drama and tragedy candidly kept me reading to find out what happened. The old world English and its straight sentences and envisioning the characters with Irish accents was a good way for me to give the characters life. Lastly drama is a great read because of the all the different elements that make are part of its makeup. Seeing characters have to go through things and eventually learn a valuable lesson is something that drama always brings whether it be tragedy or not.

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