Unheroic

1. Unheroic Mollie and Kaitlyn

2. Vocabulario -Liffey (noun) a river in the E Republic of Ireland, flowing NW and NE from county Wicklow into Dublin Bay. -orators (noun) a public speaker -ledgers (noun) an account book of final entry

3. It was an Irish summer. It was wet. It was a job. I was seventeen. I set the clock and caught the bus at eight and leaned my head against the misty window. The city passed by. I got off above the Liffey on a street of statues: iron orators and granite patriots. Arms wide. Lips apart. Last words.

4. I worked in a hotel. I carried trays. I carried keys. I saw the rooms when they were used and airless and again when they were aired and ready and I stood above the road and stared down at silent eloquence and wet umbrellas.

5. There was a man who lived in the hotel. He was a manager. I rarely saw him. There was a rumor that he had a wound from war or illness- no one seemed sure- which would not heal. And when he finished his day of ledgers and telephones he went up the back stairs to his room to dress it. I never found out where it was. Someone said in his thigh. Someone else said deep in his side.

6. He was a quiet man. He spoke softly. I saw him once or twice on the stairs at the back of the building by the laundry. Once I waited, curious to see him.

7. Mostly I went home. I got my coat and walked bare-headed to the river past the wet, bronze and unbroken skin of those who learned their time and knew their country.

8. How do I know my country? Let me tell you it has been hard to do. And when I do go back to difficult knowledge, it is not to that street or those men raised high above the certainties they stood on- Ireland hero history – but how

9. I went behind the linen room and up the stone stairs and climbed to the top. And stood for a moment there, concealed by shadows. In a hiding place. Waiting to see. Wanting to look again. Into the patient face of the unhealed.

10. Historical/Geographical References • Liffey…a river in the E Republic of Ireland, flowing NW and NE from county Wicklow into Dublin Bay. • Statues- situated just north of the river Liffey is O’Connell street which features monuments and statues to various Irish political leaders.

11. Inarguables • Context: • Ireland • Speaker: • Someone that Boland had created. • Situation: • The speaker reflecting on their image of a hero through their experience working as a teenager. • Subject: • The speaker • A hero • Structure: • 7 stanzas – no pattern • First person • Choppy short sentences- reflecting on the past • Longer more developed sentences- thoughts/ideas • Prose Meaning: • The speaker reflects on her work experience over a summer when she learned about history of Ireland and also created for herself for her image of a hero.

12. Arguables • There are several words discussing time, referring to the history in which the speaker is pondering. • Stanza 3 and 7 can be related. • Stanza 5: As she walks home, she passes all of the statues of the men who have served in wars, defending their country. They know the country because, while serving it, they traveled it. Now that they’re statues, their wounds are healed. (bronze and unbroken skin) • Stanza 6: It’s been hard for the speaker to know the country because she hasn’t experienced it like the soldiers had and therefore can’t see it through their eyes. • Stanza 7: In order to know her country, she goes in to the room that belonged to the soldier/hotel manager. (Stanza’s 5-7 are the most pivotal and most puzzling.)

13. Literary Features • Imagery • “silent eloquence and wet umbrellas” • “wet, bronze and unbroken skin of those who learned their time and knew their country” • “concealed by shadows” • Mood/tone • Bored  curious (reader feels more engaged)  content • Mysterious • Enjambment