Dancing At Lughnasa Play Analysis

• Social and Interpersonal o Given the play’s strong sense of family, it would be safe to analyze this play from the social and interpersonal larger aspects. Within the context of Dancing at Lughnasa, Kate can be found at the epicenter of both social and interpersonal relationships. Being the major bread-winner and overall familial matriarch- Kate represents the one person that is keeping her family together, despite her inclination to give such credit to her sick brother Jack, the home owner and only older male in the household. The rift that has been created through these familial related social and interpersonal ideals can additionally be a metaphor for the moral differences between Kate and the rest of the members of the house. Jack’s loss of religion via his time as a missionary in Uganda, versus Kate’s undying commitment to responsibility and Catholicism can be paralleled to each of the siblings. This being one of the major threats that Michael warns to the audience of, throughout the play: the family separating emotionally and physically. Ultimately, Kate loses her entire family to that of which doesn’t interest her: the simple joys

Now, a claim can be made for quite the opposite. One can say that the story Michael is recalling is chronological/linear, but from a worldwide view of the play, we can see that Michael makes multiple interjections throughout the piece to commentate on the events that may follow or precede his current dialogue. For example, after Rose returns from meeting with Danny Bradley, Michael enters and creates a rift in time that takes us from the past world of boy Michael to the ‘present’ Michael. After Michael has divulged some of the families more depressing downfalls, the play returns to the exact moment the past left off with. Thus, creating a non-linear play and emphasizing how distant Michael felt and currently feels during the play about that “summer of