Analysis & Quotation: Philadelphia, Here I Come! : Ending scene

Question 1

Describe the ending to PHIC in one word

Answer 1

ambiguous

Question 2

synonyms for ambiguous

Answer 2

equivocal, ambivalent,

Question 3

How does this scene begin?

Answer 3

Gar bumps into his father in the kitchen in the middle of the night

Question 4

Why are the father and son awake?

Answer 4

Both men are restless about Gar leaving for America,

Question 5

‘It’s hard to ______ _________,’ SB

Answer 5

‘It’s hard to sleep sometimes,’ SB

Question 6

What does SB say to Gar when they both agree they cannot sleep? What is the relevance of this?

Answer 6

‘It’s hard to sleep sometimes,’ says SB in a rare candid moment.

Question 7

What do the two do after a short conversation about being incapable of sleep? What is the topic of conversation?

Answer 7

They share a pot of tea and make small talk about ‘fencing posts for Mc Guire’ and ‘the milk lorry’

Question 8

What do the audience/readers wish for Gar to ask about as we approch the end of the play?

Answer 8

As we approach the end of the play readers desperately want Gar to ask his father about their fishing trip, Gar desperately wants his father to remember it.

Question 9

“So he was saying too…you know there-if there was an ______ or anything-it’s the _____ gets it _______-“ SB to Gar

Answer 9

“So he was saying too…you know there-if there was an accident or anything-it’s the front gets it hardest-“ SB to Gar

Question 10

What colour was the fishing boat?

Answer 10

It was a blue boat with the paint peeling

Question 11

“But d’you remember one afternoon in ____- we were up there - the two of us - and it must have _______ because you put your ______ round my _________ and gave me your ___.” Gar to SB

Answer 11

“But d’you remember one afternoon in May - we were up there - the two of us - and it must have rained because you put your jacket round my shoulders and gave me your hat.” Gar to SB

Question 12

What articles of clothing did SB give to young Gar in the fishing boat?

Answer 12

His jacket (round his shoulders) and his hat

Question 13

What did SB sing in the boat?

Answer 13

“All Round My Hat I’ll Wear a Green Coloured Ribbono’-“

Question 14

“All _______ My ____ I’ll Wear a ______ Coloured __________’-“

Answer 14

“All Round My Hat I’ll Wear a Green Coloured Ribbono’-“

Question 15

“All _______ My ____ I’ll Wear a ______ Coloured __________’-“ — “-for no ______ at all except that we - that you were ______” Gar

Answer 15

“You sang “All Round My Hat I’ll Wear a Green Coloured Ribbono’-“ —- “-for no reason at all except that we - that you were happy” Gar

Question 16

How does Gar show he is ashamed to be vulnerable?

Answer 16

He is so ashamed to be vulnerable that he speaks to his father with ‘pretended carelessness’, ‘Do you know what kept coming into my mind the other day? The fishing we used to do on Lough na Cloc Cor.

Question 17

“Do you know what kept coming into my mind the other day? The ________ we used to do on Lough na ____ ___”

Answer 17

Do you know what kept coming into my mind the other day? The fishing we used to do on Lough na Cloc Cor.’ Gar

Question 18

Since SB is so uncomfortable with his feelings, how does he respong to Gar when he mentions fishing on Loungh na Cloc Cor?

Answer 18

SB is so uncomfortable talking about his feelings that he must make them seem trivial, That’s not today, nor yesterday, he replies.

Question 19

What can SB not remember that upsets Gar?

Answer 19

He cannot recall singing the song that Gar mentions and gets into a muddle trying to describe the boat they con used to fish in. This desperately upsets Gar.

Question 20

Why was Gar hopeful that SB would remember that day?

Answer 20

He had held out hope that his father could confirm one happy memory so that he could leave Ballybeg without bitterness.

Question 21

How does Gar exit the scene from SB?

Answer 21

Gar rushes quickly into the shop, leaving SB alone with Madge.

Question 22

However, it is not true that SB does not love Gar. What is more accurate to say?

Answer 22

It is more accurate to say that he cannot connect with his son.

Question 23

What does SB have that shows his love for his son, which Gar doesn’t have?

Answer 23

He has other memories of Gar as a child. He reminisces about Gars, “Wee sailor suit”.

Question 24

What memory does SB have of Gar?

Answer 24

He has other memories of Gar as a child. He reminisces about Gars, “Wee sailor suit”.

Question 25

How does Madge alleviate some of the pessimism weighing down on the GVV?

Answer 25

Madge provides a note of hope as the play ends, checking up on Gar that he has packed his cap and his apple before putting an envelope with money in his pocket.

Question 26

Why is Madge sad when she returns home?

Answer 26

Her new grandniece (Nelly is her niece) was not her namesake

Question 27

How does Brian Friel create a realistic GVV in the end?

Answer 27

there are no easy answers in life, emigration will not magically provide the solution to his problems.

Question 28

How can we say the GVV in the end has a twofold aspect?

Answer 28

The play ends on this ambiguous and ambivalent note and we are left pondering Gar’s future. Hence, we could say that the GVV has a twofold aspect.

Question 29

What are the two views of the ending? (twofold aspect)

Answer 29

On the one hand we are reassured by the presence of a tacit, (unspoken) mutual love between father and son which creates an uplifting vision.

However, on the other hand we are unsure about Gar’s future. Will he have the confidence to chart a new life for himself away from the small town, insular world of Ballybeg?

Question 30

How does the GVV in the ending affect the vision of life?

Answer 30

The uncertainty and ambiguity at the end of the play leaves the audience with a less positive vision of life.

Question 31

“You’d let me _____ if - if he got ____ or anything?” Gar to Madge

Answer 31

“You’d let me know if - if he got sick or anything?” Gar to Madge

Question 32

“Watch her _________, every movement, every _________, every little peculiarity: keep the _______ whirring; for this is a film you’ll run over and over again - Madge Going to _____ On My Last Night At ______…Madge..” Gar

Answer 32

“Watch her carefully, every movement, every gesture, every little peculiarity: keep the camera whirring; for this is a film you’ll run over and over again - Madge Going to Bed On My Last Night At Home…Madge..” Gar

Question 33

“God, ___, why do you have to _____? Why? Why?” Private Gar

Answer 33

“God, Boy, why do you have to leave? Why? Why?” Private Gar

Question 34

“I don’t ______. I - I - I don’t ______.” Final line in the play, Gar

Answer 34

“I don’t know. I - I - I don’t know.” Final line in the play, Gar