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.