Identity

The author instigates his explorations of identity by way of his main character Sean’s move back to his Belfast hometown. After leaving Belfast originally, Sean relocated to Liverpool to complete his degree in English literature. However, shortly prior to the novel’s start, Sean has returned to Belfast upon graduation and finds himself caught between competing versions of himself. Back in proximity with his family members and school friends, Sean feels overcome by his “need to get out of this” (6). The only trouble is that Sean does not “know what this [is]” (6). Over the course of the novel, Sean attempts to balance the version of self he developed in Liverpool with the old version of self to which he finds himself reverting in Belfast. He easily slips back into old patterns of behavior because of his environment. However, these regressions only leave him more internally...