Toibin Notes 2

Themes and important quotes with analysis in Colm Toibin’s Novel
Themes : you may need these themes to develop your oral portfolio
Identity
In this novel, identity is closely tied to environment. That is presumably why it is so
unbalancing for Eilis to move to America. The loss of her hometown uproots her sense of self,
and she must work to rebuild it by navigating her new community. One of the ways that Eilis
often does this is by emulating the person she most admires: her sister Rose. Eilis does
manage to grow her confidence and cultivate a new image of self-possession. But at the same
time, Eilis is a passive observer, content to let others make life-changing decisions for her.
What she seems to lack throughout the novel is a grounded sense of self that is not influenced
by her environment, that determines what she most values and makes her choices accordingly.
Like the question of home, Eilis's sense of identity is still very much unresolved by the end of
the novel.
Tradition vs. Assimilation
One of Eilis's primary conflicts in her time in America is whether to try to assimilate and
integrate herself into the community, or cling to her memories of Enniscorthy. This problem
recurs in many forms throughout the novel. The constant conflict between the American-born
Patty and Diana and the Irish-born Sheila and Miss McAdams embodies the very same
struggle. Eilis's indecision between the thoroughly Irish, thoroughly traditional Jim and the
open, hopeful, American-born Tony reincarnates this struggle once again. Eilis must
constantly choose between familiarity and change, or hope to find some balance between the
two.
Quotes with short analysis : here you find quotes extracted from Toibin’s Brooklyn
Novel .They may respond to your oral thesis .
Find the whole passage in the book. The page is provided for you at the bottom of each quote
Choose only 2 pertinent passages
“She observed a change in them soon, however, as they began to talk to

each other or shout greetings down the table or enter into low, intense
conversations. At first they had reminded her of men who sat on the bridge
in Enniscorthy or gathered at the seat at Arnold’s Cross or the Louse Bank
by the Slaney, or men from the County Home, or men from the town who
drank too much. But by the time she served them and they turned to thank
her, they seemed more like her father and his brothers in the way they
spoke or smiled, the toughness in their faces softened by shyness, what had
appeared stubborn or hard now strangely tender. As she served the man she
had thought was her father, she looked at him carefully, amazed at how
little he actually resembled him, as though it had been a trick of the light or
something she had completely imagined. She was surprised also to find that
he was talking to the man beside him in Irish.”
p. 91-92
This passage describes the Christmas meal at the parish hall. As Eilis serves the men, she is
struck by their mannerisms, which remind her of her father and brothers. She almost mistakes
one man for her father, and is jarred by the realization that they really do not look so alike
after all. She thinks sometime later that the hall "could have been a parish hall anywhere in
Ireland.” She finds great comfort in these resemblances. This passage signifies that she is
finally beginning to adjust to life in Brooklyn, and building a home for herself there.
"'So where are you from?'
'I’m from Brooklyn,' he said, 'but my mom and dad are from Italy.'
'And what were you doing—'
'I know,' he interrupted. 'I heard about the Irish dance and I thought I’d go
and look at it and I liked it.'
'Do the Italians not have dances?'
'I knew you were going to ask me that.'
'I’m sure they’re wonderful.'
'I could take you some night but you would have to be warned. They behave
like Italians all night.'
'Is that good or bad?'

'I don’t know, but bad because if I had gone to an Italian dance I wouldn’t
be walking you home now.'"
p. 136, Tony and Eilis

This is a conversation Tony and Eilis have after their first meeting. Tony essentially says that
does not want to go to an Italian dance, where people "behave like Italians all night." He
specifically wants to go to an Irish dance, and as he tells Eilis later, meet an Irish girl. This is
revealing, especially when we consider how Tony thinks about his own identity. In this very
exchange, we see that Tony thinks of himself as American, even though his parents are from
Italy. In choosing an Irish girlfriend, he is looking to embrace that American identity, and
distance himself from his Italian heritage. This passage is very much about assimilation.
“In the morning it was hard not to think that she was Rose’s ghost, being
fed and spoken to in the same way at the same time by her mother, having
her clothes admired using the same words as were used with Rose, and then
setting out briskly for work. As she took the same route Eilis had to stop
herself walking with Rose’s elegant, determined walk, and move more
slowly.”
p. 227
Eilis takes over Rose's role not only at Davis's mill, but also in her own home. She has always
looked up to Rose, and modeled herself after her sister, so in some ways, this is all she ever
wanted. But after her life in America, and the grief of losing Rose, this also unsettles her. This
passage suggests that though a life in Enniscorthy is so comfortable and appealing, it also
feels slightly wrong, like she is not being true to herself. This passage, too, has much to do
with the themes of identity.
“Two years ago,” she said, “he wouldn’t even see me. I know that Rose
asked him if there was any possibility of a job for me and he just said no.
Just no.”
“Well, things have changed.”
“And two years ago Jim Farrell seemed to think it was his duty to ignore
me in the Athenaeum even though George had practically asked him to
dance with me.”
“You have changed,” Nancy said. “You look different. Everything about
you is different, not for those who know you, but for people in the town who
only know you to see.”
“What’s changed?”
“You seem more grown up and serious. And in your American clothes you
look different. You have an air about you. Jim can’t stop trying to get us to
find more excuses to go out together.”
p. 239, Eilis and Nancy

This is a conversation between Eilis and Nancy after Eilis has been home for some time. She
cannot believe the way that Enniscorthy has changed, the new opportunities it offers to her so
readily. But Nancy points out that it is not Enniscorthy that has changed, but Eilis herself. She
goes so far as to say "Everything about you is different." Eilis seems to wish that things had
been this way before she left home, but Nancy's insights force her to acknowledge that
Brooklyn has had a profound and largely positive impact on her. This passage is reflective of
the novel's themes of identity and self-definition.

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Themes and important quotes with analysis in Colm Toibin’s Novel

Choose only 2 pertinent passages

“She observed a change in them soon, however, as they began to talk to

"'So where are you from?'

'And what were you doing—'

'Do the Italians not have dances?'

'I knew you were going to ask me that.'

'I’m sure they’re wonderful.'

'Is that good or bad?'

p. 136, Tony and Eilis

“Well, things have changed.”

p. 239, Eilis and Nancy

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