A lot of blood and illogical shootings can make people laugh. The play The Lieutenant of Inishmore written by Martin McDonagh is one of the most controversial modern works which is discussed as a provocative black comedy the main character of which is inclined to kill anyone who goes against him.
Demonstrating numerous deaths and much violence, the play combines the elements of the black comedy with the deep satire while involving the political problems associated with the situation in the Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. In spite of the fact the play is full of violence and blood, this work makes the audience laugh because of exaggerated absurdity of the demonstrated actions where brutality and impulsivity are presented at their fringe with madness.
Padraic, the main character of the play, is the Irish man who can kill his own father because of discussing him as guilty in the death of his cat Wee Thomas. The feeling of love in relation to the cat is discussed as more significant than the character’s love for his father. The author accentuates on disregarding the human life.
This approach is effective to make people laugh because of black comedies’ absurdity, and this fact enhances the comic aspect of the play. It is rather interesting to observe how far the instable Irish man can go in order to show his love. Padraic is even ready to organize the radical group named after the cat Wee Thomas’s Army. These details make people agree that Padraic is too instable, but these aspects also create the comic effects.
The next approach to emphasize the absurdity is to oppose reality and comedy as well as to accentuate the similar details. The playwright uses the realities of life with which the audience is familiar in order to create a connection between the audience and the story. The character of Padraic can be identified by many people in relation to his obsessive and irrational behaviors, and ability to be distressed by any frustrations.
These features are typical for many violent and unstable persons, but these features can be also characteristic for the participants of the Irish National Liberation Army as a result of stress and participation in conflicts. This play displays the perpetual violence while putting the events in a comic scenario to make the audience laugh instead of making them discuss the political issues.
The tragedies presented in the play are extremely exaggerated, and this approach contributes to creating the comic effect. This play can be described as a comedy full of tragedies due to the nature of its content. The playwright uses specific twisted humor to present a lot of heartrending scenes which cannot be perceived as real because of the exaggerated brutality as it is in the scenes of tortures and killings.
As a result, the audience laughs at the most shocking realities because of understanding their absurdity. The play is focused on the idea that in this world hatred, hostility, bloodshed, and tortures are inevitable. Padraic is inclined to use tortures in spite of the trigger or causes, and he is ready to kill many people to state his truth. However, this fact is presented in such a way that the audience starts laughing.
The author carefully uses ridicules to approach the catastrophic events in the play. The Irish cat owner is not the only character displaying any kind of absurdity in the play. Donny and Davey are ready to spend hours while painting the cat black. Furthermore, they can seriously discuss the advantages of shoe polish which are not available for the other people.
Mairead is ready to marry a man who kills anybody who does not agree with him because murder is also her favourite way to resolve problematic situations. In his turn, Padraic is demonstrated as the person whose actions are based on the aspects of false morality. Thus, he can torture James for selling drugs to children and provide him freedom for loving cats.
Furthermore, Padraic follows false values while distinguishing between the religions according to their importance. The absurd of these considerations and actions make people laugh. Nevertheless, the exact meaning of the play is much deeper, and the techniques of a black comedy help the author realize his intentions and focus on the main idea of the play.
Thus, the playwright makes the audience laugh using absurdity of situations and actions and exaggeration. Familiar events and situations are discussed with references to much violence and brutality. Absurd actions of the characters are perceived as normal by the other characters, and there are no chances that the characters can realize the tragedy of their actions.
The form in which the author presents these facts makes the audience laugh in spite of the hidden meanings and associations with political issues. The tragedies and violence are converted in the play into a comic tale which makes people laugh because of understanding absurdity of the situation.