- Main Character
- She is a complication within herself and causes her own issues
- Main Character/Protagonist
- Employee of Bartocci’s
- A Member of the Kehoe Boarder House
- Mother and Sister to Rose and Mrs. Lacey
Adjectives /
- Complicated
- Stupid / lost
- Shy become independent
- Indecisive / unsure
- Kind
- Reserved
- Protected
- Introverted
Quotations /
- “And then it occurred to her that she was already feeling that she would need to remember this room, her sister, this scene, as though from a distance.”
- “She was nobody here. It was not just that she had no friends and family; it was rather that she was a ghost in this room, in the streets on the way to work, on the shop floor. Nothing meant anything.”
- “What she would need to do in the days before she left and on the morning of her departure was smile, so that they would remember her smiling.”
- “She has gone back to Brooklyn,' her mother would say. And, as the train rolled past Macmire Bridge on its way towards Wexford, Eilis imagined the years already when these words would come to mean less and less to the man who heard them and would come to mean more and more to herself. She almost smiled at the thought of it, then closed her eyes and tried to imagine nothing more.”
Actions /
- She always tries to please everyone
- She lets, and wants other people to make her decisions
- She is always trying to be like Rose because she looks up to her a lot and is constantly referring back to her
Motivations /
- She is trying to make something of herself
- Be more like Rose
- Be a better version of herself
- Chance at Success
Eilis Lacey
Rose Lacey
Role /- Sister of Eilis
- Eilis looks to her sister Rose as an example of what a real woman should be
- Eilis was proud of her sister – Eilis loved “the care she took in her appearance and the care she took with whom she mixed around with in town”
- She sacrifices her freedom so that her sister can live a better life in Brooklyn, by staying with her mother she cannot have a family or have much freedom as she must take care of her mother - “In the future as their mother got old and frail Rose would have to care for her, go up the steep steps of the stairs with trays of food and do the cleaning and cooking”
- She working in the office of David Mills and her wages paid for most of the family’s needs – They were dependent on her
Adjectives /
- Organised
- Glamourous
- Generous
- Secretive
- Trustworthy
- Role model
- Hard working
Quotations /
- Eilis thought “Rose would think working behind a counter of a grocery shop was not good enough for her”
Actions /
- She kept her illness a secret from Eilis to protect her from becoming sad
- Gave Eilis money to help her start life in Brooklyn
- Initiates Eilis’ emigration from Ireland to Brooklyn, while she stays in Enniscorthy to support their mother
Motivations /
- Wants a better life for Eilis
- Know she’s ill/dying
- Wants to use the remander of her life to better Eilis’ life
- Prefers the single life pg 11
Mrs Lacey (Eilis’ mother)
Role /- Mother of Ellis
Adjectives / ADJECTIVES:
- Hard to communicate
- Closed off
- Hesitant
- Protective
- Stern
- Strict
Quotations / QUOTES/KEY PASSAGES:
- “Keep that letter safe for now, and we’ll show it to Rose when she comes in.”
- “She must think we’re paupers. What would we do with stale bread? Rose will go mad. Don’t go their next time she sends you. Tell her you’re busy”
- “A proper job will turn up. That’s what I’m praying for everyday”
Actions / ACTIONS:
- Allows her children to move away from home to work.
- Leaves Rose’s room untouched.
- Forces Ellis to wear Roses’ clothes.
- Gives Ellis the option to return to Brooklyn because she knows that Brooklyn has more opportunities for her.
Motivations / MOTIVATIONS:
- For her children to have a successful life.
- For her family to be happy.
Father Flood
Role /- Father Flood is our favorite type of priest. Although he's definitely a spiritual guy, his primary concern is to help people in this life, not the next.
- He guides Eilis and makes her move to Brooklyn a lot easier, giving her comfort and support at a time where she is struggling. There are plenty of other Irish kids who Father Flood has helped just like he's helped Eilis, recognizing the potential in them when no one else would at a time of crisis for the Irish people.
Adjectives / -Spiritual
-Friendly
-Helpful
-Stern
-Wise
Quotations / Eilis: I wish that I could stop feeling that I want to be an Irish girl in Ireland. Father Flood: Homesickness is like most sicknesses. It will pass.Father Flood was tall; his accent was a mixture of Irish and American. (1.164)
Father Flood straddles the line between America and Ireland: he might be a good old Irish boy at heart, but he has a panache and take-no-prisoners attitude that could only be born in Brooklyn.
"Parts of Brooklyn," Father Flood replied, "are just like Ireland. They're full of Irish." (1.181)
Although Brooklyn is on the other side of the globe, there are enough Irish immigrants in the borough to foster a thriving expatriate community. This ends up helping Eilis a lot.
Actions / Father Flood went above and beyond the call of duty to make Eilis' trip happen—something that he doesagainwhen he puts her through accounting school for free.
- Finds employment for Eilis.
- Helps Eilis by connecting her with Brooklyn's Irish community.
- Invites her to the Christmas Party where she feels the comforting sensation of being in "a parish hall anywhere in Ireland on the night of concert", to prevent home sickness.
Motivations /
- To help and support those in need.
- To fulfill his role of being a priest.
- To establish an Irish community outside of Ireland, where they’re safe.
- Organises Mrs. Kehoe to ensure that they act like women according to catholic expectations, making sure when the ladies are given an opportunity in Brooklyn, they act suitable and mature for the role.Exerting his power.
Jim Farrell
Role / Eilis’s love interest- To Eilis, he represents Ireland
- Mrs. Lacey loves the relationship between Eilis and Jim gives Eilis a reason to love him almost a forced ‘love’.
- “she was proud to be with him” Page 228
- As home (to Eilis) becomes lost and complicated, Jim allows her to see where she would like to be whether that be in Brooklyn or Enniscorthy.
PART ONE - Jim represents the depressed and conservative Ireland.
PART THREE AND FOUR – Jim represents and inviting and exciting NEW Ireland. After being in Brooklyn, Eilis is able to contrast Enniscorthy and Brooklyn by finding the ‘small’ things in Ireland that makes her happy Jim sheds light on this.
Adjectives /
- Snobby
- Reserved
Quotations /
- ‘Handsome, graceful, smart” page 228
- Persistent: “Jim you can’t stop trying to get us to find more excuses to go out together” page 230
Actions /
- Confuses Eilis emotionally romantic feelings.
- Questions where her true home and heart lies.
- Eilis and Jim ‘kiss’.
- Didn’t like Eilis at the start when she was just ‘someone from Enniscorthy’ this gives Eilis another reason to move to Brooklyn and find a new life for herself motivation
- His desire for Eilis later on in the novel when she moves back to Enniscorthy (changed woman page 230), gives Eilis more reasons to stay in Ireland and not move back to America.
Motivations /
- Why does Jim want Eilis to stay? Because she is a different woman. “You look different, everything about you is different” page 230
Tony Fiorello
Role / -Eilis’ loving and loyal boyfriend-Supportive brother
-He is the neighborhood plumber
-Love interest
-Helps Eilis grow
Adjectives / -Confident
-Good-Looking – blond hair, blue eyes, short
-Funny / chatty / easy going
-Proper and well-mannered
-Passionate / romantic / affectionate
-Considerate
Quotations / Quotes/Key Phrases:
-“Recently too he had begun to tell her after he kissed her that he loved her and she knew that he was waiting for a response, a response that, so far, she had not given.”
-“I mean if you have to go back, then maybe we could get engaged before you go.”
-“Can I collect you next week? Maybe get something to eat first?”
-“You know what I really want?’ he asked. ‘I want our kids to be Dodgers fans”
-“He began by setting a date for her visit to his parents’ house for supper”
“Tony came every night to meet her after the classes and she liked how he allowed her to remain silent if she wanted.“
-“He was not much taller than she was, but he seemed strong, with blond hair and clear blue eyes.”
Actions / -Dances with Eilis
-Affectionate towards Eilis
-Takes Eilis out to the movies, beach and the dances
Motivations / -Get married to Eilis
-Start a family with Eilis
-Spend whole life with Eilis
-Become wealthy
-Makes Eilis get engaged to him before she went back to Ireland so that she would definitely come back
Mrs Kehoe
Role /- Mrs. Kehoe is a landlady of the apartment that she staying in what makes Mrs. Kehoe important in this novel is that she is like a second mother to Eilis
Adjectives /
- Affectionate
- Caring
- Loving
- Obsessed
- Biased
- Predisposed
- Tolerant
- Dictatorial
Quotations /
- “That’s enough now Miss McAdam,’ – Pg 11
- “And maybe it’s best early bed for all of us in this cold weather” – Pg 116
- “Well, we mightn’t like them but Negro men fought in the overseas war, didn’t they?’. ‘And they were killed just the same as our men. I always say that. No one minded them when they needed them’”. – pg 116-117
- “And is it their money you wouldn’t like?” – pg 117
- “That’s no problem,’ “no problem at all. She won’t want to stay that long either.” – pg 123
- “Diana, if I hear you squeal again,’ ‘I will call the fire brigade to douse you with water. Did sonmeone say something rude to miss Heffernan?” – pg 135
- “I’ll have no more talk about men at this table” – pg 135
Actions /
- makes Eilis life complicated
- frequently gives Eilis preferential treatment
- she is like a second mother and loves Eilis
- drives poor Eilis crazy
Motivations /
- Mr Kehoe's departure
- Lack of children of her own?
- Irish background - Homesickness? - perhaps desires to be with Irish company
- Fashion - gets hair done every week, talks about clothes
- Family - tells cousin, Miss Kelly, about Tony
- Religion? - Irish were typically strongly Catholic, she goes to mass on Sunday "Love one another as I have loved you""Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
Miss Fortini
Role /- Miss Fortini is Eilis' manager at Bartocci's Department Store, but she doesn't just teach Eilis how to fold clothes—she teaches her how to be a real American lady.
- Unlike the crotchety Miss Kelly, Miss Fortini actually seems to be a good boss, one who treats all of her customers equally and respects her employees as human beings. In fact, Miss Fortini and Eilis eventually get so close that they regularly get lunch together, which not only provides Eilis with some great gossip but also some killer insight into American culture.
Adjectives /
- Helpful
- Critical
- Supportive
- Reassuring
Quotations / "You'll have to shave down here," she said. "Otherwise, you'll spend your time on the beach pulling the elastic down."– page 153
“Miss Fortini interrupted her to say that every Italian man cared about how his girlfriend looked on the beach, no matter how perfect she might be in other ways.” – page 152
Actions / Miss Fortini was very helpful in Eilis’ development. We see this when she helps Eilis find a bathing suit.It's an important moment because Miss Fortini is making it her mission to guide Eilis through American social norms, which sometimes seem "utterly foreign in its systems and its manners" to Eilis.
Motivations /
- To educate and help Eilis assimilate into American society.
- Does the scene of Eilis trying on bathing suits explore the idea of a lesbian character?
- Does this scene want to just provide awkwardness within the text?
- Why was the scene written in such an awkward/uncomfortable way?
Miss Kelly
Role /- Ellis’ (main character) Boss
- Owner of Miss Kelly’s (Super Market)
- Cousin of Mrs. Kehoe
Adjectives /
- High class
- Old
- Rude
- Arrogant
- Bossy
- Judgmental
- Bad manners
- Different approach to wealthy / non-wealthy
Quotations /
- “I here you have no job but a great head for figures”
- “Anyone who is anyone, comes into the shop and I hear everything”
- “You can fool most people, but you can’t fool me”
- “she told me the whole thing. The world, as the man says, is a very small place”.
Actions /
- Hires Ellis at her Super Market
- Tells Ellis that she knows about her marriage
Motivations /
- Her motivation for hiring Ellis – to have the position of a fast, friendly and smart employee filled