Riders to the Sea: The Sea as a Living Character :: essays research papers

Riders to the ocean The sea as a funding characterIn the tragic contest that is the inspiring soul of the play Riders to the sea, the sea is a party ranged against the weak, inoffensive inmates of the peasant family of Maurya. The sea is indeed the intimately impressive character in the play, it is so intimately associated with hu reality characters whose hatful concerns us that it may be called, Fate personified. The peasant family, as of wrinkle all other people of the island, live all their lives in receptive view of the sea. Even little Nora is familiar with its ways, its ebb and flow, its behaviour in storm and calm and all that. They are familiar not and with its physical features and its various moods, but also with the image of the sea as a mighty demon which looms large and dark and mysterious originally their minds.At the very opening of the play, the sea enters as a terrorizing living personality. The sea as a character is never off the stage, nor is it for a momen t off the mind of inmates of the cottages. How can they close their eyes or minds to it seeing that it has already swallowed four strong young sons of the family, and it is almost sure as shooting it has made an end of the fifth, Michael? The monster is never for a moment inattentive from the thoughts of the three women. Bartley too knows the risk and the chances. But he is manly profuse to put forth courage to perform his duty by the family. He silently agrees with Cathleen when she rebukes the whimpering mother Its the life of a young man to be going on the sea, thereby bringing give away the association of the sea with the life of the islanders. It is a demon whom the poor islanders contain no means of shunning if they would. And that is the demons opportunity of usage its free will.It is all along an unequal fight- the fight between the fiendish in nature which is, as Hardy expounds in his tragic novels, the servant of Fate or blind Chance, or inscrutable Destiny.