Society & Class

Examinations of class, power, and the structures we live within.

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Small Things Like These

Small Things Like These

It is 1985 in a small Irish town, and coal merchant Bill Furlong is preparing for the busiest weeks of the year. A devoted husband and father of five daughters, he has built a modest but stable life through hard work. Yet as Christmas approaches, a delivery to the local convent reveals something deeply troubling: girls are being confined there under the authority of the Catholic Church, their suffering concealed behind respectable walls. The discovery forces Bill to confront uncomfortable memories of his own childhood and the kindness that once helped him survive. In a community where the Church holds enormous power and silence protects those in authority, speaking out could jeopardise his livelihood and his family’s security. With remarkable economy and emotional depth, Small Things Like These explores complicity, moral courage, and the quiet choices that define a person’s character. It is a powerful story about the cost of doing what is right when looking away would be easier.

Dubliners

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories portraying the lives of ordinary people in Dublin at the beginning of the twentieth century. The stories follow children, adolescents, adults, and elderly characters as they confront family obligations, unfulfilled ambitions, religious expectations, and the limitations of their social environment. Some experience moments of sudden insight that reveal the compromises and disappointments shaping their lives, while others remain trapped by fear, habit, or economic necessity. Joyce presents Dublin as a city where political stagnation, social conventions, and the influence of the Catholic Church affect even the most private decisions. His restrained prose captures the significance of everyday encounters and seemingly minor events. The collection explores paralysis, longing, and the desire for escape, offering a powerful portrait of individuals who recognise the possibility of change but often struggle to act upon it.

About this theme

Books: 2
Countries: 54

Countries with this theme

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Congo, Democratic Republic

Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Dominican Republic