Reading in the Dark

Political and governmental power structures are a dominant theme of the novel. In Derry, everyday life is deeply enmeshed in political strife. Though the Troubles do not officially begin until the 1960s, divisions and tensions still exist between the Unionists and the Nationalists. The country is split in two, and people living in the same town oppose each other. Deane explores some of these tensions by describing the bonfires held by both Unionist Protestants and Nationalist Catholics in Derry. He also delves into the shoot-out at an old distillery in Derry, which occurs when the state of Northern Ireland is formed. During the shoot-out, the IRA fights against the British forces in a hopeless battle. Thus, the setting of the novel is fraught with political turmoil.

The police represent the government’s power in Derry, and they are the enemy of the Nationalists and the narrator’s family. When the policeman Billy Mahon kills a civilian, his friends and family have no legal recourse. Brother Regan explains, “There was no point in going to the law, of course, justice would never be done; everyone knew that, especially in those years” (24). Here, the police are corrupt. They can abuse the citizens without official repercussions.