What are the motifs in Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle?

Growing up is a recurring idea in the narrative. Growing up is hard to do no matter what country you live in or what generation. There are hurdles to be faced in growing up, and Paddy has the normal hurdles of fitting in and wanting to be popular. To complicate his situation, he has the family struggles that pressure him and his actions.

Paddy and his friends try to impress each other using curse words. They even have rituals and make a big deal of using foul words in front of each other. Coming up with a weak word gets punishment at the fire by Kevin, who is the leader of the pack. All of the other boys want to be his friend. Paddy is his best friend, and has to do more and be more in order to remain so.