Analysis Of The Snob By Harley Callaghan

High social status and wealth represent power in society. Everyone desires wealthy people because they are portrayed as well-mannered, well-behaved and beautiful by our society. Everyone has felt ashamed of their parents at some point in their life and lastly, everyone has been in a conflict. These are familiar elements of life. John Harcourt is the protagonist of the story and he tremendously influences the readers because of the realism he shows in the entire story. His character traits make him relatable to readers and hence prove that his character is realistic. In the story ‘The Snob’, Marley Callaghan illustrates a realistic protagonist, John Harcourt, who is ashamed of his father, gets into a conflict with his girlfriend and values money,

He is shown as a realistic character because regardless of status most people feel embarrassed by their parents. In this case, John is hesitant because of his dad’s lower social status. In today's society, people with higher social status are valued more and are given power; therefore, people are drawn towards wealth and higher social status. In the story, John’s point of view towards his dad is shown when he describes him, “His coat was thrown open, two buttons on his vest were undone, his hair was too long and in his rather shabby clothes he looked very much like a workingman, a carpenter perhaps” (1). He emphasizes on his dad’s dressing. He compares his dad’s clothes to a carpenter's clothes. This demonstrates that he sees the carpentry profession as a less worthy job and to him it shows that being a carpenter means that the person must have a lower social status and is not as wealthy. John is realistic because people tend to forget their past once they have achieved something substantial in their life and forget about the sacrifices their parents have made so that they could reach where they are now. When John sees his dad for the first time at the bookshop, he gets nervous because he was with Grace and says, “ There was a rising in me a dreadful uneasiness; something very precious that he wanted to hold seemed close to

He wants to be like Grace family. He wants them to like him so that he receives the same amount of respect as them and seen as a powerful person. This is a very realistic approach. In order to achieve something in life, a person tries to surround themselves with it. For example , if a person wants a well-mannered, rich person to like them, then they would try to adopt their lifestyle and give them an impression that they have the same interests as them so that they develop a bond.John does the same thing. He observes them and according to him Grace’s father is confident, well-mannered and talks sweetly to his wife (2). This reminds him of his own house and makes him realize how opposite his family is from Grace. He knows that he has adopted Grace’s lifestyle and that he is well-fitted but his family would not be able to adopt and would embarrass him in front of Grace. He is self-conscious and thinks he is not good enough. He thinks he needs to be better. He wants himself to be portrayed as a gentleman in front of Grace parents, which is realistic because it is important to get your future in-laws approval. After John makes an eye contact with his father, he looks at Grace, who was , “ … standing beside him, and realizes she is holding within her everything he wanted to reach out for …” (3). By ‘holding within her everything he wanted to reach out for’ demonstrates the status, wealth and higher social