Looking beyond the Irish Famine in OFlahertys Going to Exile - Essay Example

Looking beyond the Irish Famine in O'Flaherty's Going to Exile The setting in Liam O'Flaherty's story en d "Going to Exile" happened during the potato famine in the 1800s. Because of the difficulties brought about by the famine, Feeney family's two eldest children are forced to leave Ireland to seek work in the United States, and a party is held in the family's cabin to mark the occasion. Indeed, the Feeney family stood as the unconscious victims of the British Colonial Policies as its guidelines are partly to be blamed for the famine that arose during those times. This has led the Feeney family to make their choice of letting their children venture to a foreign place so that they will be able to lead better lives than what their country has to offer. According to Social Education (2000), the problems with the Irish potato crop were first reported in the Dublin Evening Post on September 9, 1845. During this time, the previously healthy green fields of potato plants turned black because potatoes were rotting underground. At first, the cause of the crop failure was unknown. It was later revealed that the blight was the result of a fungus known as Phytophethora infestans, which probably arrived in Europe from North America. There had been similar potato crop failures on the east coast of the United States in 1842 and 1843. The blight spread quickly through Holland and Belgium, arriving in Ireland in 1845, when it destroyed 30% of the potato crop. In 1846, 1848, and 1849, nearly the entire potato crop failed. Although the blight did not strike in 1847, people starved because they had eaten any unspoiled "seed potatoes" during the terrible winter of 1846-47. The British government decided not to provide replacement seed potatoes in 1847.The first official government response to the potato blight was to estimate damage to the crop. Police reported crop losses weekly. Experts also investigated the situation and suggested possible "remedies", which were wishful thinking. At first, British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel purchased American Indian corn to help feed the hungry, and he set up small-scale public work relief projects. Later, the government and private charities set up food kitchens where they distributed soup, but such efforts were quickly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem. The situation for the Irish worsened when Peel and his supporters were replaced by a new government headed by Lord John Russell. Like most leading British thinkers and government officials at that time, he believed in laissez-faire economics. This theory held that government involvement in the economy (like aid to the hungry) would only increase problems like scarcity in the long run. Laissez-faire is a French phrase that means "leave it alone"; in other words, let market forces determine supply and price, with no government help or intervention. Thus, the British exported grain and livestock from Ireland to England (to pay for rent, tithing, and taxes) while the Irish people were dying from hunger and famine-related diseases. There was also strong sentiment in England that Ireland was responsible for its own troubles and that local resources had to be used for relief ("A Brief History of the Potato in Ireland", 2000). As a result of the errors of the British Colonial Policies, the Feeney family had to make a choice to counteract the effect that the potato famine. Amidst the farewell party, however, the family masked to some degree the distress of the parents, who do not want their children to leave even though the parents realize that the departure of their children is a financial necessity. The father retreated to the barn for a time to hide his feelings, while the mother, to keep from crying, immerses herself in serving food and similar party necessities: The people were dancing, laughing and singing with a certain forced and boisterous gaiety that failed to hide from them the real cause of their being there, dancing, singing and laughing. For the dance was on account of Patrick Feeney's two children, Mary and Michael, who were going to the United States on the following morning (O'Flaherty, 2006). On the other hand, the children - Michael who is twenty-one years old and Mary who is nineteen - have ambivalent feelings over the decision that was made for them. Understandably sad to leave their parents as well as their home, they at the same time look forward with youthful excitement and anticipation to the new adventure that lies before them: Michael felt very strong and manly recounting what he was going to do when he got to Boston, Massachusetts. He told himself that with his great strength he would earn a great deal of money. Conscious of his youth and his strength and lusting for adventurous life, for the moment he forgot the ache in his heart that the thought of leaving his father inspired in him. The father was silent for some time. He was looking at the sky with his lower lip hanging, thinking of nothing. At last he sighed as a memory struck him. 'What is it' said the son. 'Don't weaken, for God's sake. You will only make it hard for me. 'Fooh!' said the father suddenly with pretended gruffness. 'Who is weakening I'm afraid that your new clothes make you impudent.' Then he was silent for a moment and continued in a low voice: 'I was thinking of that potato field you sowed alone last spring the time I had the influenza. I never set eyes on the man that could do it better. It's a cruel world that takes you away from the land that God made you for' (O'Flaherty, 2006). Clearly, the father Patrick is not very amenable about the idea. Yet, he is exuding strength so that his son will feel the same. Their conversation reeks of sadness from the father who, if given a choice, would not allow his son to leave their land: 'Ah yes,' said the father with a sigh, 'but it's your own, the land, and over there'--he waved his hand at the western sky-'you'll be giving your sweat to some other man's land, or what's equal to it' (O'Flaherty, 2006). Indeed, if the conditions of their country were a little more comfortable. Michael and Mary will not have to bid farewell to their family and they could till the land they could call their own. Unfortunately, hungry and helpless people in Ireland were discouraged from seeking what little assistance was available in the workhouses and from charity. Most families tried to survive the loss of the potato crop by selling their livestock, household possessions, and even their clothing, and waiting for conditions to improve. In fact, there were some food riots and a brief and unsuccessful rebellion against British rule in July, 1848. Eventually, as the blight returned again and again, many starving Irish families were forced to leave their homeland on ships bound for foreign shores. Between 1841 and 1851, one Irish person out of four disappeared from the island. The official population declined from 8,175,124 to 6,552,385 between 1841 and 1851, a loss of more than 1.6 million people due to famine related deaths and emigration (which is a low estimate, as the population was expected to increase over this period by a million or so). At least 500,000 people were evicted from their homes because they were unable to pay rent on their small farms. Historians estimate that as many as one million people may have died from hunger and disease during the Great Famine. Irish emigrants traveled to England, Canada, Australia, and the United States. Famine immigrants crowded into Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. By the 1850 United States census, there were 961,719 Irish-born residents. This was 42.8% of the country's foreign-born population ("A Brief History of the Potato in Ireland", 2000). As the events in history gave credence to O'Flaherty's story, readers will definitely feel vicariously the pain that the Feeney family has to undergo while bidding farewell to Michael and Mary. The writer O'Flaherty excelled in injecting his description which is exceedingly pictorial about what lead to the family's decision and the feelings they have shown and kept from each other. The author entered the minds of the characters so that what they are thinking and feeling is convincingly revealed. The story encompassed all exiles in general--not just the Irish, who through the centuries have had to leave their native country and experience the pains of parting and the sense of permanent loss. In the end, the victims of the oppressive British Colonial Policies did chose not to remain as victims, but they chose to accept the pain of saying goodbye to their loved ones to assure them a better future in another land. Works Cited O'Flaherty, Liam. "Going to Exile". In D. Baldwin and P.J. Quinn (eds), An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Social Education. "A Brief History of the Potato in Ireland." 64.5 (2000). Read More