Paper assignment 3# - Essay Example

Colum McCann’s “Let the Great World Spin” Themes are derived meaning from a literary work based on the analysis of characters. McCann uses the character of John Corrrigan to create major themes depending of what he does, what other people say about him and what he says about himself. Colum McCann’s “Let the Great World Spin” utilizes the character of John Corrrigan to present major themes his literary work.
As a priest, John Corrrigan has been used throughout the novel to emphasise the theme of hope. The novel is set in an political and social environment filled with a lot of evils such as class division, destitution, criminality and an illusion of 9/11 attack. The setting of the novel is in New York which is a diverse community with people from different class division, races and nationalities. Corrigan is placed amidst all the types of people in New York and undertakes the role of helping and playing guardian for them even for those who are not part of his faith. As a young man, the readers are introduced to a child who would sneak out at night just to be able to help and spend time with the drugs addicts, homeless and the prostitutes. After the death of his mother, he is compelled to leave Ireland due to his devotion to help those who are suffering and moves to New York following the 9/11 attack. Both his physical and spiritual labor are directed towards helping those in different types of difficulties. Corrigan finds excellence in difficulty and suffering of people through despair and trauma, McCann says, ‘So you force yourself into a position of difficulty, because it seems to me that we have forgotten… But there’s something really beautiful in the notion of difficulty.’
By being an Irish catholic, Corrigan has also been used a representation of the theme of religion. As a central personality in New York, his vocation has been used to show the act of redemption for the church even after going through many challenges and scandals. His religious role is used in the narrative to reconcile God and the reality of New York streets. As such, Corrigan is placed in a setting of the everyday life filled with tragedies and horrors in the streets of New York yet, he is expected to come out after defeating evil. As such, although he may go through darkness and end up bruised and damaged, the light at the end of the tunnel will make God more believable to the people he is interacting with. Religion and hope are themes which are intertwined in order to draw people closer to God. Corrigan gives hope to the people affected by different social evils and especially the 9/11 attack by assuring them that their anger and emotions of vengeance for their attackers are only obstacles in the face of faith but they are not devoid of redemption and hope. Corrigan’s principles are very challenging. Despite being a priest, he is always in contact with prostitutes who are in sexualized bodies and in semi-clad outfits. Furthermore, he goes ahead to take a beating as a result of hi dedication to these women. As a result, he ends up conflicting with his faith as he falls in love with Adelita.
Work Cited
Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin. London: Bloomsbury, 2009. Print. Read More