Respone 4 on Friel's "Translations"

“It can happen that a civilization can be imprisoned in a linguistic contour which no longer matches that landscape of…fact”

Friel’s Translations deals with themes that concentrate on how society builds, changes, and eliminates concepts involving culture, language, and identity. These actions found in the play compose an intricate message based on how this community is still being ruled by the British empire and how it’s going further into controlling and shaping a new place and identity for them. The “fact” Hugh mentions in this sentence essentially represents this event and how it has started on language.

Thus, there is not actual change but rather an imperial progress concentrated on Irish culture and identity. Imperial rule is governing on a different level in this play, not by political means but by literary impositions in order to have more influence on the community. Some characters like Owen and Marie take this as progress in finding better economic means and love. Others such as Manus and Doalty find this as an act against liberty to their lives for Manus is forced to escape and loose Marie and Doalty is threatened for the fire at the British camp.  In between, the characters of Hugh and Jimmy are stuck in the past and history, preventing them from assimilating and adjusting to the limitations the British are imposing on their community. Friel’s technique in presenting different reactions to the British involvement the characters have enable the reader to see how imperial rule is dominating in a more complex and abstract method. Whether these characters are against or in accord with this imposition on their language, Friel guides the story with a constant fate that eliminates the possibility on putting a stop to this imperial progress. All Friel can do is portray the effects the English language enforces on these characters’ form of communication and identification.

Moreover, Friel portrays how imperial rule is unconsciously creating more complex effects upon the community, as it overlooks the actual responses and feelings some in the community feel towards British influence. For example, Yolland’s disappearance and his possible death represent the inevitable outcome the British rule creates unconsciously; the fire at the British camp also foreshadows this consequence. This is a very tricky situation as it shows how imperial rule is conscious on its means to influence the Irish community and how it wants it to cooperate and accept it but at the same time how its rule is unconsciously subjecting and rejecting an equal stance for the Irish, as everyone disapproves of Marie and Yolland’s love and how Doalty and Manus are automatically seen as convicts.

Furthermore, identity crisis is also another outcome this unconscious ruling brings as Owen becomes troubled for his involvement in changing and translating his national language to places and street names in his community. His initial acceptance and conformity with the British is questioned at the end when he sees Lancey react violently towards Yolland’s disappearance, making Owen realize how easily he has given power for the British to know the geographical place and how fast they can exploit it with violence and fear. The British being able to use Owen’s translations, gives them more control over the community, brining more focus on how language can be used as a means to instill imperial power.

Response 3, "The Unknown Citizen" by W.H. Auden

That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint…was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard

Auden’s poem can be described as plain and detached from the actual individual that is being studied. All the gathered information about this person seems useless and insufficient to describe this citizen on a personal level as the reader comes to the end of the last stanza. Auden’s intention on this poem can be regarded as being on the negative side to this exemplary citizen. The end gives this away by questioning directly if this citizen was actually free and happy.  Auden’s notions, on the whole, attack the traditional methods that have shaped this society the citizen has lived in. Terms such as “freedom” and “happiness” do not come as main factors to conclude if this person had been a good citizen. Thus, Auden’s poem can be considered to have influence from the post-modernism movement as the poem challenges every traditional and expected norm that defines this built up society.

From the surface, the poem seems to be made up of normal observations that deal with political, economical, and scientific ideals this society uses to identify what is normal and accepted. But every factor the poem lists to support these important values, are destroyed by the ironic and stale language Auden assigns in the poem, as he throws back at the reader every belief and expected action this citizen has done all his life.  The listed actions and requisites the citizen has been good at following are placed in a rigid and static position leaving no space for actual choice or liberty. Likewise, Auden is able to bring doubt to each line after confirming that the citizen has followed everything he was expected to do, “where there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went” (lines 23-24). It can be concluded that this society lacks real life and freedom, which is a very important point Auden is concentrated by bringing light upon the norms described in the poem. 

Following the guidelines of modernism, Auden is questioning these traditions that have become full cycles of endless repetition. Since the questions about the person being happy or free are not answered and are left in the air, Auden succeeds by revealing how little society has changed from the past. The poem also brings critique to the artificial illusion of believing on human progress in power and intellect, by portraying failure in the class structure the citizen has been influenced in order to fulfill the expected role. These notions bring about a sense of failure and disappointment Auden feels for his contemporary world, just as post-modernism. The need for social change is a must for this movement. Auden is very crafty in challenging the conformity in which society has situated itself, by portraying a citizen with no real character or personality that can shape and liberate him from old constrained traditions. Auden's inclusion of the word "modern" and "old-fashioned word" in the first stanza of the poem, reflects the centered issue post-modernism concentrates the most on; how social structure was still in loss.