Introduction
Literature often provides us with the means of understanding cultures and times different from our own. In stories such as “Korea” and “Kathleen’s Field,” readers are introduced to the concept that choices in life are not always dictated by what the child wants. Both of these stories are set in a socially transitioning period, when agrarian lifestyles are being replaced by more modern lifestyles. “Korea” and “Kathleen’s Field” are focused on the family’s exchange, or attempted exchange, of a child of the household for a new source of income that will directly benefit the family rather than the child.
Transitioning from Agrarian Lifestyle to Modern
An important shared element of both of these stories is the shared setting in which the farm is no longer capable of supporting the needs of the family. This is evident in “Korea” as the narrator informs the reader “we were the last to fish this freshwater for a living” (McGahern 55), indicating that it is no longer profitable. The father’s resentment toward this fact can be found as he tries to convince his son to try America: “I fought for this country. And now they want to take away even the license to fish” (McGahern 56). Although the family has a farm, this is not sufficient to support them. “The fields we had would be a bare living without the fishing” (McGahern 57). Realizing that there is no future in his father’s lifestyle, the narrator of the story plans to leave. While he seems to realize that this will leave his father in a very unstable condition, “a man to row the boat would eat into the decreasing profits of the fishing” (McGahern 56), the narrator also acknowledges that fishing may not be an option next year.
Selling the Children
This same sense of impending desperation as a result of a shifting economy can be found in “Kathleen’s Field” as the father makes his way through town. Mr. Hagerty attempted to sell three bullocks, but found no buyers before going to the bank where his overdraft “had undramatically continued for seventeen years. It was less than it had been, but Hagerty was no longer young and he might yet be written off as a bad debt” (Trevor 354). This statement indicates that without the new field, the farmer is uncertain how he is going to secure his family’s future well-being. He has been able to make ends meet only because his grown children who have left the farm are able to send checks home, “and Hagerty never objected to accepting it … Nor would Con accept these little presents when his time came to take over the farm entirely” (Trevor 355). Thus it is shown in both stories that traditional lifestyles are no longer sufficient without influx from the more modern ways of life.
This places the older people in a very precarious position that forces them to risk their children’s welfare to secure their own. Since the older men are not capable of pursuing new livelihoods, they look to their children for family support. The narrator of “Korea” recognizes there is a purpose behind his father’s encouragement. The narrator tells the reader, “I was wary of the big words. They were not in his own voice” (McGahern 56). As he overhears his father talking with the farmer next door, the narrator realizes that his father intends to trade his son’s life and welfare in exchange for money sent home. “I’d be conscripted there [in America], each month he’d get so many dollars while I served, and he’d get ten thousand if I was killed” (McGahern 57). Thus, the father secures his support while ignoring the consequences for the son.
By the same token, Mr. Hagerty of “Kathleen’s Field” discovers he has few options other than trading Kathleen’s maid services for money to purchase a new field. Almost immediately upon being approached by Mrs. Shaughnessy, Hagerty is considering the benefits of a connection. “Mrs. Shaughnessy’s husband lent people money. Mr. Shaughnessy was a considerable businessman” (Trevor 356). He strikes a deal with the Shaughnessys without any input from Kathleen herself. “The wages he had agreed with them would be held back and set against the debt: it was that that made the whole thing possible, reducing his monthly repayments to a figure he was confident he could manage, even with the bank overdraft” (Trevor 361). Thus, Kathleen is literally traded into service in exchange for a piece of land that will ensure the happiness and benefit of the others regardless of how she feels.
Children’s options
While both stories share a similar theme of bartering children for the benefit of the family, there is a significant difference in the outcomes. The narrator in “Korea” will benefit his father only if he goes to America and becomes a soldier. In deciding not to go, the narrator proves he’s learned from his father who says, “the most I think is that if I’d conducted my own wars, and let the fool of a country fend for itself, I’d be much better off today” (McGahern 58). At the same time, the narrator realizes the heartlessness this will require, “Each move he made I watched as closely as if I too had to prepare myself to murder” (McGahern 58). In contrast, Kathleen is not given the option of refusal. All she can do is accept her new slavery. Her mother reminds her of the realities of the situation when she says, “There’s people I used to know … People placed like ourselves whose farms failed on them. They’re walking the road now, no better than tinkers” (Trevor 367) while Kathleen at least is given a clean room, good food and decent clothing to wear. Despite her dread of the next twelve to fourteen years before the debt is repaid, Kathleen cried to herself that she would “continue to be the outward sign of Mrs. Shaughnessy’s well-to-do status, and her ordinary looks would continue to attract the attentions of a grey-haired man” (Trevor 373), but the farm would prosper and the family would be happy with the field her life had purchased.
Conclusion
Both “Korea” and “Kathleen’s Field” are set in a time period when lifestyles were changing from a dependence on farming to industry and trade. As a result, the farms were no longer supportive, bringing an uncertain future for both families. Because the fathers of these families can’t earn enough to support themselves, they depend upon their children’s sacrifices. The father in “Korea” opts not to tell his son of his dependence on his son’s sacrifice and his son opts not to make the effort. In contrast, Mr. Hagerty is informative to Kathleen, forcing her to accept out of love for her family. In both cases, it is the business of children that determines whether the family will ultimately succeed or fail.
Works Cited
McGahern, John. “Korea.” The Collected Stories. London: Faber, 1992: pp. 54-58.
Trevor, William. “Kathleen’s Field.” 353-373.