Character+analysis 

=**Character analysis **=

Roddy Doyle, an author from Ireland, wrote the novel “The snapper” in 1990.In this novel there is one clear main character, Sharon Rabbitte. Sharon is a young woman with many challenges. However, with her outgoing personality, strong willingness and a helpful family, maybe she will manage well after all? Sharon Rabbite is a 20 years old girl who lives with her family in a small village just outside Dublin. The book doesn’t reveal much about Sharon’s physical appearance. Actually, the author hasn’t described any of the characters. However, the authors’ ability to conjure a character almost completely from dialogue is fully present. The author has probability done that deliberately to help the readers create their own vision of how Sharon looks. Then it’s easier to connect with her, and the story can become more personal for the readers than if the author had revealed everything about her. Nevertheless, in my own head I imagine Sharon being quite a normal young woman. I don’t see her as a dazzling beauty, just a regular sweet, but tough woman who doesn’t use all her energy on hair and makeup and things that for her isn’t meaningful.

There is no doubt that Sharon has inherited the rest of her family’s special way of being. She is very outgoing, and isn’t afraid to tell anyone her feelings and meanings. The rough side of her is easy to notice in her language. “Fuckin’ gorgeous. Anyway, I wouldn’t done it with him if he hadn’t o’been, sure I wouldn’t?”( p. 123). Her language reflects her personality very well. Not many girls speak that direct, but it’s very typical for her. Sharon is also a social girl who loves to go to the local pub with her friends. When she is together with her friends, they love to gossip and can appear very giggly. //“- Let’s get pissed, will we? Said Jackie. - Ah yeah, said Sharon. - Hey! Jackie roared at the lounge boy. – Get your body over here. They laughed” (p. 55).// Sharon is also lucky having a great relationship with her father, Jimmy Rabbite Sr. They talk a lot together, and even though it can seem like her father isn’t a very serious man, he have been a great support for Sharon all the time.

Sharon is nearly always in a good mood, and even though she is in a very awkward and difficult situation, we never see her weeping or complaining. That shows the readers what a strong personality she has. There is no doubt that Sharon’s strong personality amplifies the message in this book. Because of her personality, in addition to a very helpful and caring family, she manages all the challenges that appear in connection with her pregnancy. However, at the same time it’s also noticeable that Sharon is often insecure about her pregnancy too. She certainly seems very confident by appearance, but if you read between the lines it’s easy to understand that she sometimes is awfully insecure and nervous. “//Sharon told no one else yet. She bought a book in Easons and read about the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy and waited for the changes to happen; the breast swelling, the urinating, the nausea and that”( p 13).// Sharon’s eternal fight between feelings of total control to feeling entirely insecure makes her situation more trustworthy for the readers, and it becomes easier to recognize ourselves in her situation.

Even though the author don’t share much of Sharon’s personal feelings and thoughts, it’s quite easy to understand how she feel by the things she does. When something provokes her, she isn’t afraid to confront the problem. She hates when people judge her for her unexpected pregnancy, and talks behind her back. Even though she tries to keep these things from getting into her, “Fuck them. Fuck all of them. She didn’t care”( p. 68), it gets obvious further into the book that it does. One day she actually almost attacks a gang of kinds who are laughing. If they were laughing at her, we don’t know, but for a moment she went a bit paranoid and snapped.

To sum up, Sharon is a girl with quite conflicting feelings. Living in a small village she has to deal with all the talking and gossiping about her pregnancy. She tries to be tougher than she really is in her difficult situation, and sometimes that is really hard for her. However, with the help from her family and friends she handles all her challenges well, and in the end she gives birth to a healthy little girl.

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