The Dancers Dancing is a coming of age story set in an Irish College in Donegal during the summer of 1972. Dhuibhne uses a trio of protagonists, Orla, Aisling and Sandra, who are city girls (Dublin) that come from very different backgrounds. Aisling is beautiful, rich, and middle-class, Sandra is homely, low-class, and cynical, and Orla, the main character, is chubby, self-conscious and deeply embarrassed by her English mother and bricklayer father. The novel touches deftly on many different socio-economic crises in Ireland as well as the “North Question” through the adolescent girl’s interactions and dialogue. The focus of the novel, however, remains the girl’s (esp. Orla’s) journey of self –discovery that all teenagers face when growing up.

O:A though occurs to her. Why do you want to learn Irish?

The Dancers Dancing is an excellently written coming of age story that superbly displays the metamorphosis of the girls into socially conscious young woman. Dhuibhne succeeds in portraying the doubt and confusion of girls that are just beginning to discover their sexuality while also delving into the rich history of Ireland and the complexities of the “Troubles.”

As the girls move into their local Donegal farmhouses in the “Gaeltacht”, (Irish speaking west) Orla is forced to confront her secret fears when the girls find out that her father grew up here and that she has family still living in the area. In a stereotypical display in the behavior of young girls, Orla soon becomes proud of her heritage and relatives when she realizes tha

Some topics in this essay:
Aisling Sandra, Dancers Dancing, Pauline Jacqueline, Jacqueline Pauline, Ireland West, College Donegal, Irish OOrla, Northerners OA, Irish It’s, Dubliners West, dancers dancing, age story, coming age, coming age story, learn irish,