“Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the Past

Considered one of the milestones for his career as a playwright, Brian Friel in his play Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964) , narrates the cultural conict that his young protagonist Gareth (Gar) O'Donnell experiences right before his migration to America. This article aims to discuss Gar's...

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Main Author: Ömer Kemal GÜLTEKİN
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ankara University 2017-06-01
Series:Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dtcfdergisi.ankara.edu.tr/index.php/dtcf/article/view/1762
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author Ömer Kemal GÜLTEKİN
author_facet Ömer Kemal GÜLTEKİN
author_sort Ömer Kemal GÜLTEKİN
collection DOAJ
description Considered one of the milestones for his career as a playwright, Brian Friel in his play Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964) , narrates the cultural conict that his young protagonist Gareth (Gar) O'Donnell experiences right before his migration to America. This article aims to discuss Gar's situation in relation to the term "cultural bereavement" dened by the Australian child psychiatrist and anthropologist Maurice Eisenbruch. Although Gar has not been an immigrant yet, he shows symptoms similar to those described in Eisenbruch's cultural bereavement. As he is isolated and marginalised by his own culture, the life of the protagonist is invaded by an imaginary character and by the memories coming from the past. Besides that, now and then he feels guilty and sad, and sometimes gets angry for the things he could not or did not accomplish in the past. Meanwhile, American culture penetrating into Ireland in the 1960s serves both as an escape and threat for Gar. This study claims that Gar, marginalised by his own culture, experiences "cultural bereavement" even though he has not been an immigrant yet, and that American culture, playing a bilateral role, serves both as an escape from this bereavement and as a threat for his Irish identity.
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spelling doaj.art-ee17e7e0dad241368890fe42aa5a936a2023-12-02T22:44:49ZengAnkara UniversityAnkara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi2459-01502017-06-015711537“Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the PastÖmer Kemal GÜLTEKİN0Hacettepe University. omerkemalgultekin@gmail.comConsidered one of the milestones for his career as a playwright, Brian Friel in his play Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964) , narrates the cultural conict that his young protagonist Gareth (Gar) O'Donnell experiences right before his migration to America. This article aims to discuss Gar's situation in relation to the term "cultural bereavement" dened by the Australian child psychiatrist and anthropologist Maurice Eisenbruch. Although Gar has not been an immigrant yet, he shows symptoms similar to those described in Eisenbruch's cultural bereavement. As he is isolated and marginalised by his own culture, the life of the protagonist is invaded by an imaginary character and by the memories coming from the past. Besides that, now and then he feels guilty and sad, and sometimes gets angry for the things he could not or did not accomplish in the past. Meanwhile, American culture penetrating into Ireland in the 1960s serves both as an escape and threat for Gar. This study claims that Gar, marginalised by his own culture, experiences "cultural bereavement" even though he has not been an immigrant yet, and that American culture, playing a bilateral role, serves both as an escape from this bereavement and as a threat for his Irish identity.http://dtcfdergisi.ankara.edu.tr/index.php/dtcf/article/view/1762PhiladelphiaHere I Come!Brian FrieMigrationCultural BereavementAmerican DreamIrish IdentityFamily
spellingShingle Ömer Kemal GÜLTEKİN
“Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the Past
Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi
Philadelphia
Here I Come!
Brian Frie
Migration
Cultural Bereavement
American Dream
Irish Identity
Family
title “Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the Past
title_full “Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the Past
title_fullStr “Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the Past
title_full_unstemmed “Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the Past
title_short “Cultural Bereavement” and an Irishman Stuck in the Past
title_sort cultural bereavement and an irishman stuck in the past
topic Philadelphia
Here I Come!
Brian Frie
Migration
Cultural Bereavement
American Dream
Irish Identity
Family
url http://dtcfdergisi.ankara.edu.tr/index.php/dtcf/article/view/1762
work_keys_str_mv AT omerkemalgultekin culturalbereavementandanirishmanstuckinthepast