Paddy Clarke

The novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha has no authorial presence at all, yet the reader gains a richer understanding of the situation than Paddy – or any other 10-year old – could ever have. With regard to the parent’s break up, how does Doyle achieve this? There are many factors which suggest how Doyle has succeeded in creating a 'triangular relationship' between himself the reader and the narrator – Paddy Clarke – so that the reader has a greater awareness of the predicament that Paddy is in. Doyle’s achievement is how he alternates the poetic and realistic without once lapsing into stream-of-self- consciousness; the only way we - as readers can tell it's written by an adult, is by the spelling. We see the violence in Paddy's life peripherally; Doyle tells us nothing more than what the child sees and comprehends. One of the reasons for Roddy Doyle’s success lies in creating a realistic and convincing character for a 10-year old child. He does this by his clever use of language...