Translations Act 3 is taking place on the day of the soldiers departure from Baile Beag.

It
starts with Manus making the decision to leave his father and go study in Dublin. This situation
is reminiscent of “The American Dream” and how Manus had limited opportunities where he
was, but left, and his leaving was symbolizing others leaving Ireland for opportunities abroad
that they wouldn't have had if they didn’t leave. After this, Captain Lancey comes in and gives a
speech about what’s going to happen if they don’t find Yolland. What I find compelling about
this interaction with the class and Lancey is the subtle hints of imperialism and “superiority” of
English language and culture. The entire time Lancey is giving his speech he commands Owen to
translate for him, and won’t let Owen say anything else. Also, at the end of the play when Maire
asks about the word “always,” HIgh says it’s a “silly word” and to not start with it. I haven’t had
a lot of time to think about this significance, but that interaction seems important because I’d say
that always is a really important word, but for them, nothing is certain and there is a shifting of
language and culture in Ireland. At the end of the play, the characters are dealing with
uncertainty of their changing world and identities.
I really liked reading the essays and interviews of Brian Friel, it helped give me more
insight into his life and why he wrote the things he did. One part that stood out to me was when
Friel said someone mentioned that he was “born a writer” but he sees writing as something that
you learn “painfully and slowly.” This really hit home with me because sometimes I feel like I’m
not a good writer and I don’t want to stay on the English track, but it’s comforting when a
famous writer said that he had to work at it and learn how to do it. A part that is potentially
relevant to my essay is on page 58 when Friel talks about The Freedom of the City and the theme
of poverty. He talks about how people will find something immediate in it when it’s about
poverty and how most people can relate to that— he wants people to see it with an open mind. I
like that we have word from Friel on this and I would like to work it into my essay, because I
think I make connections between the problems in Northern Ireland and what I think Friel is
saying about it in the play. I think it would be interesting to have that be a counterpoint to the
argument I’m making in my essay.