The story is set during the worst troubles in Northern Ireland. Cal is a young Catholic man who lives in a Protestant estate with his father. He worked with his father at the abattoir until he quit because he didn’t have the stomach for it. Cal friends are Crilly and Skeffington who are terrorist. Cal gets involved with their activities and a murder.

Through out this novel the main theme of fear is continually conveyed through the character of Cal. Fear dominates every aspect of Cal’s life. This is evident through analysis of his day to day life. His family are the only Catholic family living in a Protestant area. Cal and his father are constantly living in fear for their own well being. They have received death threats on more than one occassion, one of which is particularly detailed and fills Cal and hi

s father with fear. Saying, “Get out you fenyan scum or we’ll burn you out”. This threat makes the McLuskey’s prisoners in their own home and leaves them sneaking about in the dark.

The fear that constantly dominates Cal and his father’s day to day life forces them to take drastic actions. Cal says to his father, “Should we fill the bath?” Cal prepares for the worst case scenario that their house will be fire bombed. This shows the reader that Cal is in fear of being burnt out his house. Cal lives in fear even when walking home. On one such occasion Cal is confronted by three men “When are you getting out’, said the biggest one in the middle, ‘to let somebody decent into that house”. He is then beaten up; this makes the reader aware of the fear Cal faces from his neighbours because of his religion. Cal can’t even go through his day without receiving verbal or physical abuse by the Protestants that live in his housing scheme.

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