Cal By Bernard Mac Laverty

Cal + Marcella Betrayal

By Jemma, Lauren, Rachel, Laura, Stuart and Wee Ross.

Character Sketch - Cal

A young boy around 19 years old. Central figure in the book. All the events and characters are seen from his point of view,

although the book is written in third person. Catholic living in a main protestant area. Involved in violence against his better nature. Vulnerable, introverted and rather lonely. Not well educated, unemployed. Totally consumed in guilt. He has been drawn to vicious acts but has immediately regretted his

involvement. Cal is obsessed with Marcella, this can seen to be a result of his guilt. He seems to punish himself for brutal acts at every point. He builds a relationship with Marcella yet he will never be able to

confess his sins to her.

Marcella Widowed young women around late 20’s with a small child

called Lucy. Italian women. She is a catholic married to a protestant man. At first she appears as a serious, reserved women. A figure

of pity in a focus for Cals obsession and guilt. However, as her relationship with Cal grows she develops into a more interesting character.

She lives with her husband’s mother and can not escape her past.

She wants to start a new life but can’t bring herself to do so. She is constantly betrayed by Cal. They will never have a

faithful, true and loyal relationship.

Relationship of Cal and Marcella As soon as Cal notices Marcella he is instantly attracted to

her. He realises who she is and becomes more attracted to her. He keeps visiting her to see her more often. He realises she is a catholic when he sees her in church,

which comes to a shock to him. This makes him instantly want to get close to her. He gets a job on the Morton's farm, eventually realising its

Marcella mother in law. It brings them closer together. Cal gets involved in a robbery with Crilly, he knows he will

never be able to have her as he is living a lie. This makes him even more desperate to have Marcella.

Cal goes to live in a cottage on the Morton’s farm to ‘escape’ his own life. Here he watches Marcella against her will.

Cal's obsession with Marcella starts to appear creepy and uncontrollable.

They start to confide in each other. At this point cal’s love is strong and clear.

As they spend time together their love grows stronger and they have sex together.

In the end, they are separated as Cal’s past catches up with him. He goes to jail as a consequence for what he did.

“The more he thought of her, the more his fascination and curiosity grew.”This tendency remains with Cal throughout the novel.

Cal And Marcella

“Cal closed his eyes. It was her… In some way… he would have to make it up to her.”We know from this that Cal feels guilt.

“He was in love with the one woman in the world who was forbidden him. … by his action he had outlawed himself from her. She was the unattainable idea because he had helped kill her husband. And every one of his actions distanced him a little more… slaying her husband put him on the outer edge of the galaxy”MacLaverty returned to the cosmic imagery here to create the sense of distance between them.

The happier Cal felt, the sadder he became. He wanted to confess to her, to weep and be forgiven. He saw the scene in his mind of her holding him, comforting him; he saw the scene as he knew it would be in reality and it horrified him.”

“Could he ever tell her the truth? Perhaps he could write it down… he would write to her and try to tell it as it was. He had her now like the sleeping beauty of his fantasy. Again he cannot articulate his thoughts.

Betrayal Chapter 1- Cal betrays Crilly when he stands sheepishly watching

Crilly beat Smicker. Chapter 2 – Cal betrays everyone surrounding him as he is

constantly living a lie. Chapter 3 – Cal betrays his dad by going behind his back and

getting involved in crime Chapter 4- Cal betrays the Morton family as well as Marcella by

working for them on the farm knowing that he had a part to play in Roberts death. He also betrays them as he hides in their cottage watching Marcella against her will.

Chapter 5- Cal betrays Marcella's privacy as he goes through her belongings. He betrays her as he can only think of her husbands death while they make love and backs out of her telling the truth. He also betrays the IRA when he demands he is no longer part of their schemes and phones authorities about the bomb in the library.

Choose a novel or a short story which you feel there is an incident of great importance to the story as a whole. Describe the incident and go onto show how its importance to the development of the characters and the central concerns of the text.

IncidentRobert’s death

The actual incident and how he died.Theme-love

Cal meeting Marcella and instantly realising who she is and knowing he had done something terrible effecting her lifeTheme- love

Falling in love with Marcella and letting there relationship be based on a lieTheme- betrayal

Cal eventually getting what he deservesTheme-betrayal

TARTBO-

Cal by Bernard Mac Laverty is a novel which tells the story of a young catholic boy living in Northern Ireland. Cal meets Marcella soon to learn that he was involved in her husbands death. The novel highlights how Robert’s death is an incident with great importance to the story as a whole as it makes Cal betray Marcella throughout their relationship. The theme of love and betrayal is highlighted through the central concerns and actions of Cal surrounding Roberts death. 1-The incident of Robert’s death, 2-the development of Cal and Marcella’s relationship, 3-the relationship turning to love and eventually 4-Cal getting what he deserves which are all caused through Cals involvement in Robert’s murder which allows us to see clearly the development of Cal’s character and the central concerns of the text.

Choose a novel in which the central character is involved in conflict. Briefly outline the nature of the conflict and then in more detail explain how it helped illustrate the novel.

Cal’s Conflict

IRA- He is conflict with the IRA as he does not want to get involved with them at all. Themes: violence

Himself- He is conflict with himself throughout the whole book as he is in constant regret after everything bad he has done! Themes: conflict

Crilly + other minor characters- He lies with his dad, he betrays his only friends!Themes: Violence.

Marcella- He can never fully commit to her. Themes: love

TARTBO- Cal by Bernard Mac Laverty is a novel which tells the story about a

young catholic man who lives in a Protestant estate, his involvement in and with the IRA and how he struggles to cope with the consequences to his actions. The novel makes the reader think about the violence and aggression in our society today and how bigotry and religious hatred can have major effects on people's lives. The protagonist Cal McLuskey is involved in many conflicts during the text all which help to illustrate the key themes of conflict, violence and isolation. 1.Cal’s involvement in the IRA proves to he reader that he is stronger than first expected. 2. He is constantly in conflict with himself as he isolates and creates hatred to himself throughout the book. 3. Marcella also plays a significant role in Cal’s life. Cal is constantly but not obviously in conflict her, he can never tell her about the incident that left her a widow. 4. Cal is constantly in conflict with Crilly and Skiffy, he never wants to be in contact with them as he knows they just breathe trouble. Cal’s involvement in conflict helps to get Mac Laverty’s views across to the reader.