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What Is The Theme Of The Spinning Heart

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Title: The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
Summary of Book:
Following the collapse of Ireland’s economy, The Spinning Heart tells the story of twenty-one characters living in a small town in Limerick. As it would in many small towns, most of the characters are known to each other, be it family, friends, co-workers and other minor connections. It is told in a narrative perspective by the various characters, each given the chance to tell their version of how the times they are living in has affected each of them significantly, some more than others.
Ryan uses many themes throughout the novel to portray the dramatics of the small town including crime, migration, immigration, unemployment, marriage, despair and democracy. Each shows us how troubling …show more content…

It also plays a part for the middle class. As mentioned in the book, the closing of Dell in Limerick caused many people to lose their jobs and income. “One awful thing that happened since the recession started was Dell closing. Like, it nearly finished us.” (Ryan 2013, p.97) This of course is similar to Ireland’s current situation because Dell did close, and so many top earners did lose their incomes. 1900 jobs were lost when Dell moved its company. The loss of Dell made a huge impact on the lives of many, and in the novel one of those is Kate. She says that “after Dell closed, I was paying more in wages than I was taking in for about three months – but I was never even close to giving in.” This kind of passion is what people need so as not to get depressed. Kate showed real drive in her chapter and was one of the few characters who did get back up on her feet. “I made up a load of flyers on the PC and went to every single door in every single estate on this side of town, and covered the big part of the rest of town as well. I went over as far as Castletroy and Annacotty…I didn’t stop going for three weeks.” (Ryan 2013, p.97) Kate was one of the only optimists in the novel which showed as she tried to look at the good side of the recession “One good thing that happened since the recession started is people will work for less than minimum wage.” (Ryan 2013, p. 98) Even …show more content…

Builders, private-sector workers, home-owners and the young people of the country are just a few that Donal Ryan names in the novel who have been hit by the hard times of the economic downturn. How the government or its policy makers deal with the financial crisis is key to the economies stability. The government need to think of everyone that it is affecting not just them. Had Dell not left, a countless number of jobs would have been saved. By making Ireland more appealing to these big firms and attracting them to this country, it could help the economic crisis by creating jobs. Unemployment was to the fore of this novel and so the Government or its policy makers need to think about these sides of the recession and job

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