Aspects of the Novel: Setting: In Time - When The story is set in 1981 in a time of great tension between the

Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British. The protagonist Fergus McCann is caught up in the middle of the conflict and numerous moral decisions which must be made in order to save his elder brother Joe. Where The story is set in County Fermanagh in a town called Drumleash with a highly Catholic population situated on the border. This also creates conflict between the prodestin and the Catholics living in Ireland. Characters: Fergus McCann Fergus is the protagonist in the novel and the novel follows him on his journey through his moral conflicts and decisions which he must make when faced by adversity and conflict within the IRA. He is in a constant struggle to save his brother Joe from the hunger strikes in Ireland. Fergus attempts to do this through Michael Rafters but in the process gets caught up with the illegal actions of the IRA which is moral conflict Fergus meets. Joe McCann Joe is Fergus older brother and plays a significant role in the novel. He is involved in the hunger strikes to become a political prisoner. Joe is doing it out of his strong beliefs in what is just and righteous and will go to far extents to prove his point. Plot: Set on the border of Northern Ireland in the early 1980s, Siobhan Dowds Bog Child explores the human side of political conflict, particularly the Northern Irish conflict known as the Troubles. As the novel begins, Fergus McCann and his Uncle Tally cross the border into Southern Ireland to pilfer peat from a bog. While digging, Fergus uncovers the body of a child. This complicates the story greater and as Fergus gets entangled with the antics of the IRA and his morals and personal beliefs are altered. Themes: Self-sacrifice is the main theme of Bog Child. From the beginning of the book, Dowd makes it clear that sacrifice is not a simple issue. She suggests that life is precious and that giving it up inevitably causes suffering among the people who survive. However, she also shows that self-sacrifice is a noble choice when it is the only way to unite divided people or to preserve the lives of others.