The Butcher Boy Irish Imperialism

     One may question, what did the Irish have against the English? The answer one will find is, plenty! In Ireland, the landlords and agents and in American there were bosses and mine owners. The landlords in Ireland lived on large estates in the Irish countryside and charged

In the first place, my maternal grandfather instilled a pride and understanding of my Irish roots. Specifically, he brought me over to Belfast to learn and experience the culture. At the time, the hostility between the Protestants and Catholics was evident. Additionally, I saw people living under the threats of terrorism and bombing, propaganda graffiti, and a city under a police state. Similarly, I witnessed families torn apart because a mother was one

The Irish experience in the U.S. was harsh. They fled Ireland due to the Potato Famine, and arrived here for opportunity, and even more importantly, a better life. They were also exceedingly poor, so that being

During the 18th century, Ireland was oppressed by England to the point that the Irish would consider eating and selling their children for money and that the Irish were incapable of making their lives better. During that time there was also a significant religious disdain and prejudice of the Anglo-Irish (English Protestants) to the Irish Catholics.

While this cartoon is based in America the prejudice against Irish natives and immigrants had long been in issue. Over the centuries Ireland has dealt with conquerors, loss of culture, poverty, hunger and political strife. The emerald isle was entirely conquered and colonized by the British in the second part of the sixteenth century. After the colonization Ireland’s inhabitants

Stereotypes in the past had a significant impact on the Irish people. Stereotypes such as the religion of the Irish: Catholicism. Catholicism brought new holidays: Ash Wednesday and lent. English-raised Americans were scared of these. Leading to the names “vampire” and baby killer” for the Irish’s belief of wine and bread to represent Jesus Christ: Transubstantiation. Then, the Irish were compared to apes and equivalent to the blacks in the South. Irish were now seen as inferior to those of English-decent. Not only were the women unmarried, all the men were young and single. It was assumed any single woman staying in a tenement was sleeping with all the men. Leading to names “Bridget” and “Paddy” being derogatory for the Irish women and man. Whereas in reality, they were street smart and independent. Traditions were twisted into stereotypes, such as the Irish’s “pub-culture.” The men would drink before and after work in order to relax themselves for the day, but was depicted as alcoholism.

There were two distinct groups in the Irish community. There were the Roman Catholic Irish and the Protestant Irish based on their faith it divided the Irish community. It was such an

The Irish Immigrants that came to the United States after the potato crop failure were not greeted with a warm reception. In fact, they migrated at a time when the U.S. was experiencing anti-immigrant movements, consequently leading to acts of violence and harsh words against them. A major contributing factor to the oppression they faced was the fact that they were so far off from meeting the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant criteria that was present in society. Surprisingly, the Irish were at one point treated and viewed worst than the African Americans because they would not accept their mistreatment in silence. Essentially, their resistance to the mistreatment that they endured made the White American consider them to be “out of place” therefore they were a problem, much like that of the Native American Indian, whom the British settlers feared during the early colonization of America. Similarly, the Irish were separated by employers and mixed with other immigrant groups to prevent revolts just as they did with the African slaves and Native American Indians during the colonial days. Notably, the Catholic Irish received the worst treatment for a period of time as their customs were considered unusual and were not tolerated. Unfortunately, the intolerance that persisted in society led to the burning of Catholic homes and a convent, destruction of churches, murders, as well as death (pg. 120). In an effort to save their selves, the Irish noticed the need to assimilate with

Irish Immigrants came to America from poverty of Ireland to have to be treated bad and to live in harsh conditions.

Irish American’s had immigrated to the United States in a time of need. The United States weren’t the only ones in need the Irish came to America looking for a “New World.” The Irish left Ireland due to lack of food, their crops weren’t growing. Therefore they wanted a place that they wouldn’t have to be worried about starving. Along with moving to the United States they came to a more racist and not so welcoming place. They were very disrespected for being an immigrant and standing out. Their beliefs and ways of living their life were discriminated against.

As they began to immigrate to the United States, the Irish population suffered from various racism. They were categorizes as dangerous, aggressive, temperamental, along other derogatory words. However, with the introduction of new ethnicities, as well as the conformity Irish Americans dealt with, the stereotypes and discriminations regarding this immigrant group often diminished. As many other ethnicities have done, the Irish Americans found themselves conforming to American cultures and beliefs. This process of conformity has been adapted by many immigrating ethnicities, giving up most of their culture and identity to fit the image of what an ideal American is. In the case of Irish immigrants, many of them encountered hostility because of

Before the famine in the mid-1800s, “many English politicians and social reformers began to think that Ireland was a nation in need of transformation, that it’s people now needed to be yanked into the modern world by tossing out the old Gaelic traditions” (The History Place-Before the Famine). The English reformers wanted to end Ireland’s “cycle” of poverty and misfortune because in the “1800s poverty was thought to be caused by bad moral character” (The History Place- Before the Famine). The English politicians and social reformers also wanted to change the laid-back lifestyle of the Irish peasants. “ They professed the virtues of hard work, thrift and self-reliance and regarded the Irish as totally lacking in these qualities, a point of view also shared by many British officials and politicians” (The History Place-Before the Famine).

Ireland had recently gained independence from England and the whole country was extremely impoverished due to the lack of independent industry and the dependence on Brittan. This also caused unemployment to be rampant and for many men to constantly lose their jobs. The frustration of these men led to widespread drinking as an attempt to drown their sorrows. In Frank’s case, his father’s drinking also led to the starvation and poverty of his family. The best thing for the family was when Malachy finally abandoned them when Frank was eleven. His mother, a loyal Irish Catholic, could never divorce Malachy due to the Church’s strict laws against it and their belief that a woman should stand by a man regardless of his actions. These attributes of poverty, starvation, and religion are strong themes throughout the novel. Frank McCourt uses them to explain and show the hard age of the Irish in that time, “When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was of course, a miserable childhood. . . . Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood,” (Frank McCourt). McCourt’s family had to rely on the church for donations and their father to hold a job and keep them out of poverty but both had failed them, turning the McCourt’s down in their own fashion. The church, slamming their door in Frank’s face because

In A Modest Proposal, Swift vents his mounting exacerbation at the incompetence of Ireland's government officials, the pietism of the affluent, the oppression of the English, and the lack of sanitization and debasement in which he sees such a variety of Irish individuals living. While A Modest Proposal moans about the dreary circumstance of an Ireland absolutely subject to England's misuse, it likewise communicates Swift's absolute sicken at the Irish individuals' appearing failure to activate all alone sake. Without pardoning any gathering, the paper demonstrates that the English as well as the Irish themselves- - and the Irish lawmakers as well as the masses- - are in charge of the country's disastrous state. His sympathy for the wretchedness of the Irish individuals is a serious one, and he incorporates a scrutinize of their ineptitude in managing their own particular issues.

The Irish had suffered long before in the hands of the English when Cromwell had been in control and had taken away land held by the catholic majority of the country to members of the protestant minority. This created a large tension among the population with the oppressed majority and the rather entitled minority who by Trevelyan’s snooty tone did indeed see themselves as the superior people in the country. (Trevelyan’s tone is probably the most dismissive when in discussion of the Irish, mayhaps showing his own true dislike.) (Trevelyan, p. 116-