Task: An exploration of the techniques used in "Cal" by the author, Bernard MacLaverty, to create a sympathetic main character and his contribution to the theme of guilt.
             In the novel "Cal" by Bernard MacLaverty, Cal McCluskey, a young man living in Northern Ireland, is faced with a horrible situation in which he is involved with the murder of a policeman. The plot follows Cal in his struggle to come to terms with the atrocity in which he has become entangled. During the novel, the author used several techniques that made me feel great pity for the main character but I also felt he had to pay for the sin he had committed. It is for these reasons that I am going to explore the techniques used by the author to create a character that the reader can feel sorry for, who contributes significantly to the theme of guilt in the novel, by considering the author's use of structure, including how the ending contributed to the resolution of guilt and the relationship developed between Cal and Marcella.
             The structure of the novel plays a key part in the representation of Cal throughout the novel. Of the five sections in the novel, the first two are used as a build up of tension and as a background to Cal and his difficult living situation. Cal is a Catholic teenager living in a predominantly Protestant housing estate which helps the reader to feel pity for him as this is not a very enviable position to be put in as his life is at great risk everyday. The reader finds out that Cal is unemployed and has been for quite a while. It is learned that his father managed to acquire Cal a job at the abattoir in which he worked, however, Cal had to quit as he was not able to stomach the violence that was entailed with the work that went on in the abattoir. This is highly significant as it reveals that Cal is a very sensitive person which is very important in creating a connection between the reader and Cal. This also effectively...