The Idealist by Frank O’connor

Idealist

The extract under analysis is had lined “The Idealist” by Frank o’Connor. I have mixed feelings about the story, because on the one hand it gave me food for thought but on the other hand I don’t sympathies with the main character, because he betrayed his ideals.

The action takes place in England at one school. The main character is a boy named Dalaney, the supporting characters are his classmates and the teacher. The atmosphere of the story is gloomy, tense and dramatic.

The story touches upon several problems such as: 1. Balance between the real world and the world of the child’s imagination. 2. The problem of methods of teaching and upbringing. 3. The problem of justice. 4. The problem of children’s loneliness.

In the center of the plot there is young boy, Dalany, who was fond of school stories about the righteous fellows, who never told lies. And Dalany wanted to be like them no matter what. But it was difficult for him to do because he was surrounded by classmates who were not so idealistic as him and gave Dalany hard times.

I think in the story we observe all kinds of conflict: man against man, where the protagonist is Dalany and the antagonist is his teacher. Man against environment, where the protagonist is Dalany and the antagonist is Dalany’s class. And Man against himself, where the protagonist is Dalany’s idealism and the antagonist is his realism, which I believe is the main conflict in the story.

It becomes evident in the very first paragraph of the story where Dalany described the school stories he liked. And the fellows in these stories seemed to be some part of his life that he was missing. They were brave, fearless, good at sport, honest and never showed any sign of pain. And I think Dalany was their complete opposite, but he wanted to be like them and that’s where we can see his inner conflict.

Dalany really respected them and described them in details. As it goes in the story: They dressed queerly; they wore long trousers, short, black jackets, and top hats. Whenever they did anything wrong they were given “lines” in Latin. When it was a bad case, they were flogged and never showed any sign of pain; only the bad fellows and they always said: “Ow! Ow!”. Through this case of anaphora the author wants to show how Dalany looked up to his imaginary friends, who were perfect for him.

We see this conflict in the scene where Dalany opposed his classmates and himself to the fellows from the stories. They were like some terrified animals. As though as put it, while being punished, they roared that their wrist was broken and crawled back to their desks with their hands squeezed under their armpits, howling. Through this case of metaphor “roared, howling” the author wanted to show Dalany’s classmates’ inhumanity.

The idea of inhumanity is also revealed in the teacher’s name – the Murderer. Through this case of metaphor “the Murderer”, the author shows us how the teacher treats his students; it gives us a feeling of danger and fear.