Liminality in “The Speckled People” by Hugo Hamilton Thesis

The Liminal Aspects of the Characters

It is necessary to note that major characters of the book can be regarded as liminal figures. At that, they refer to different types of liminality as described by Turner. Obviously, the narrator and his mother pertain to the third type, “marginal,” as they are on the edge of different worlds (Turner 128). His father is a representative of the second type of liminality, “outsiderhood,” and he tries to live in his world of the Irish language and traditions (Turner 134).

The Narrator

The narrator is the central liminal figure who has to handle various issues associated with language and identity. The boy has an Irish father and a German mother, which makes him exposed to two cultures through his parents’ values, views, and even characters. This twofold identity is revealed on the first pages, and it is persistent throughout the entire story. The narrator recollects, “When I was small I woke up in Germany… Then I got up and looked out the window and saw Ireland” (Hamilton 1). The boy cannot develop a system, which could enable him to balance between the two worlds. He is the marginal who does not pertain to either world.

Importantly, his father intensifies the clash between cultures or rather tries to create a complete Irish home. He insists on boys’ spending time with Irish boys who speaks Irish only. However, in the modern Ireland, it is not easy to find such boys. Apart from the balance between the Irish and German cultures, the narrator has to find the balance between the Irish and English cultures. The world outside his house is English-dominated, but his home is the outpost of the Irish world. The situation is aggravated due to peer pressure. Being a half-German, the narrator has to face other boys’ insults who call him Nazi and stress that he is “guilty” (Hamilton 3). In other words, the narrator cannot feel at home anywhere in the world, and he cannot find the group to pertain to as he is the stranger in every setting. The entire book is his attempt to solve this issue and find his place. At the beginning of the story, he tries to fit in the group of the majority as “in Ireland you want to be the same as everyone else” (Hamilton 3). The boy also tries to find the balance between cultures, but the mixed heritage is a significant burden for the narrator (Éigeartaigh 115). However, at the end of the book, the speaker, finally, understands that he cannot and does not have to pertain to any group as he admits, “I don’t have to be like anyone else” (Hamilton 295). This understanding enables him to feel liberated.

The Mother

The narrator’s mother is another liminal figure who cannot fit in any group. She is German, who has a tragic past. She went through many hardships in the Nazi Germany, and, for her, Ireland seems to be “the luckiest place in the world” (Hamilton 3). Nonetheless, she cannot make the new country her true home. She is still homesick, and everyone can see it in her eyes (Hamilton 198). Notably, the loss of the home is not depicted as a “traumatic” experience in the book (Fischer 206). The woman loves the new country even though she does not feel at home. She tries to find her inner strength in humor and family bonds. He tries to regain her identity.

When she obtains an opportunity, she visits the place she regards as her real home, Germany. However, she understands that it is not the same place she left many years before. This discovery transforms into a completely liminal figure. The woman becomes free as she stops her attempts to balance between cultures (Fischer 206). She cannot become a part of the Irish or German world, but she had to remain in-between. Notably, this ceases to be a matter of concern for the woman. She becomes empowered since she understands her position and accepts her identity.

The Father

Unlike his son and wife, the narrator’s father is characterized by another type of liminality. He is a complex liminal figure as it seems that he pertains to the group of marginal liminal figures due to his balance between the Irish and English worlds. However, the man is an outsider since he tried to be a part of the world existing in his head only. He creates a “family cell” where everyone has to be Irish in the man’s way (qtd. in Bolton 186). He does not let his wife get closer to neighbors of other heritage, and he insists on his children playing with Irish boys only. At the same time, he tries to preserve his past in the wardrobe as he feels betrayed and a betrayer at the same time (Hamilton 41). He wants to pay the debt his father (in his opinion) made through serving in the English navy.

He wants to be a proper Irish man, but he does not fit the Irish reality, in which their family lived in. The world is half-Irish and half-English. More so, Ireland is transforming into a multicultural country, which is rejected by the narrator’s father. He prefers to be an outsider rather than accept the new rules. He wants to show everyone “how to be Irish” (Hamilton 159). His choice causes a lot of troubles to him, his wife and his children. He cannot do business successfully, his wife cannot develop proper relationships with neighbors, and his children are unable to make friends.

Liminality of Language

Different Languages

Apart from the clash of cultures, the narrator experiences his liminality in the linguistic sphere. He is fluent in three languages, but this does not help him to find his place in the world, his identity. Hamilton pays a particular attention to the linguistic aspect of the human life. The language is seen as another level of people’s identity. For instance, the narrator’s father often says to him, “your language is your home” (Hamilton 3). However, the boy has to switch languages, and this prevents him from finding his identity. He never feels at home. The narrator walks “metaphorically on the wall of identity” and he risks falling on either side, but he chooses to keep going (De Salazar 192). The author shows the fluidity of the human existence as there can be no single culture in the contemporary world. The multicultural family is an illustration of this fluidity since the identity cannot be fixed. The modern world and the world of the narrator is a combination of languages, cultures, identities. The narrator is a perfect liminal figure as he has to balance between different languages. He has been in the liminal zone since he was born.

His parents are also liminal figures in terms of their linguistic identities (De Salazar 191). At that, there is a significant difference between the backgrounds and reasons of their position. Their liminality is voluntary, so-to-speak. For example, the narrator’s father imposes it on himself as he wants to prove he is Irish. He does not want to accept the reality of Ireland that is transforming rapidly. He sees the Irish language as a way to regain the culture or rather address the issues of his past. His father served in the English Navy and, therefore, he was regarded as a traitor of everything Irish (Hamilton 36). Thus, the man tried to use the Irish language as a means to show his ‘Irishness’ (Ramusino 12). He also made his children speak Irish to show that he is a good father who preserves traditions and the language.

The narrator’s mother is also a voluntary liminal figure as she does not want to forget German, and she wants her children to speak her language. Of course, she does not insist on her children’s speaking German with other people, but it is a rule at home (Hamilton 8). She creates a space where her mother tongue is the only option. The fact that she is homesick can explain her desire to keep the link with her homeland, at least, linguistically.

Different Names

The theme of names is recurrent in the book. The author makes it clear that he sees the name and naming as an important part of the linguistic existence of the human. Clearly, the name can contribute to the person’s liminality. It is possible to note that the author puts certain kind of curse on the narrator’s family. Thus, the boy’s great-grandfather, Tadgh Ó Donnabháin Da ll, lost his identity (Hamilton 114). No one called him by his real name. People labelled him ‘blind’ as he lost his way and, in other words, his identity. He was a true liminal figure, and he did not pertain to any group.

The narrator’s grandfather was also a liminal person. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II. In his case, people did not call him names or gave their own label. He forgot his name. Importantly, the grandfather dies soon after he loses his memory (Hamilton 12). The author emphasizes that it is impossible to live when one’s identity is lost. A person needs to have a group to pertain to even if it exists in his head only. The loss of the name is equal to the loss of the identity, which is, in its turn, comparable to death.

As far as the father is concerned, his name is an illustration of the degree of his liminality. His ‘outsiderness’ is manifested in the way he wants other people to call him. He has an English name, Jack Hamilton, but he insists on being called Seán Ó hUrmoltaigh, the Irish equivalent (108). He is not willing to pertain to any group even on the level of names. He creates his identity rather than acknowledges who he really is. He thinks that it will help him pertain to the group he used to dream about in his childhood. He thinks he is an Irish patriot. However, he creates the world that exists in his head only, and the man confines himself to it.

The narrator’s mother also uses naming as a way to feel ‘more’ German. However, she does not insist on people’s calling her by her German name. She is a liminal marginal who is open to other cultures. She does not really care about her own name and the way she is called outside her home (Hamilton 111). This suggests that the woman is ready to become a member of another group most of the time. However, she also feels homesick, which is revealed in her desire to call her sons by their German names. Her identity is manifold, and she is a liminal figure.

The narrator also has many names and, hence, he has many identities. His father calls him by his Irish name while his mother uses his German name. He also uses his English name with the rest of the world. His father tells him, “Our name is proof of who we are and how Irish we are” (Hamilton 108). The boy understands the importance of his name and is ready to have the name the world imposes on him. However, it is clear that the world does not accept the narrator. The boy’s peers call him by the “name of an SS man who was… put on trial for all the people he killed” (Hamilton 4). Hence, several identities are imposed on him, and the boy has to find his own identity in the world that treats him so differently.

Liminality of the Notion of Sacrifice

Another recurrent theme in the book is that of sacrifice. It is noteworthy that sacrifice is closely connected with the notion of liminality. Thus, when sacrificing people renounce themselves as they are ready to take something else into account. In other words, they give away a part of themselves, a part of their identity. In the case of the main characters of the story, sacrifice takes various forms and can be of different degrees. Again, the sacrifice can be voluntary or can be imposed.

When it comes to the father, he voluntary sacrifices his and his family’s future in the name of the future of Ireland. For examples, he sacrifices his commercial success as he loses clients due to his obsession as he insists on being called by the Irish version of his name (108). Clients do not want to have anything in common with such a lunatic. However, the man seems to be more concerned with preserving Irish culture rather than his business. He sacrifices his future to come to terms with his past. His liminality is deeply rooted in his past when he was mocked at for being a son of an English sailor. He sacrifices his family’s well-being to pay his debt to Ireland. At least, he seems to think like that. It is noteworthy that the character of his sacrifices shows that he pertains to the third type of liminality. He becomes an outsider. His sacrificial choices create a brick wall between him, as well as his family, and the rest of the world.

The mother’s sacrifices are not voluntary. He sacrifices her German identity to save her family from arguments and misery. She is completely submissive when it comes to her husband’s needs and desires. She gives away her identity even though she feels homesick, and this makes her unhappy. She believes that people have to make sacrifices, and she also has to sacrifice particular things (Hamilton 174). Importantly, the sacrifice of the woman and her submissiveness reveal the Irish society of that period. Patriarchal values were spread by officials and the Catholic church. Females had to make sacrifices to be good wives. Therefore, it also shows the marginal nature of the liminality of the narrator’s mother. She is ready to sacrifice a lot of things, but she does not reject the objective reality. She does not build a wall between herself and the world though she has to be inside a metaphorical cell created by her husband.

As far as the narrator is concerned, he also has to make sacrifices. However, he does not do it voluntarily. He has to sacrifice his childhood due to his father’s idea of the preservation of the Irish language and culture. He cannot play with other boys who think that speaking Irish all the time is “stupid” (Hamilton 190). The boy has to make dozens of sacrifices due to his mixed heritage. He sometimes cannot go to some places as he knows that others will call him names. He is also a liminal marginal who seeks for a place in the world. The small boy tries to understand why some people see him as someone he is not. Importantly, it is also difficult for him to understand who he is as he sees people who do not have similar problems. They do not have the manifold cultural background and can pertain to one group. Eventually, the boy chooses to be “a piece of white paper” where his parents write something in their languages (Hamilton 3). The narrator understands the richness of his heritage and accepts it through sharing his story.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is possible to note that Hamilton’s book is an account on the liminality of the modern multicultural world. The narrator is a small boy who is trying to find his place in the world through fitting some groups but fails to do it as he is a liminal figure. His parents are as unlucky in this ordeal as their son is. Their liminality is manifested in different layers. These are personal, social and linguistic. Older generations are often responsible for imposing liminality on the protagonist and his parents.

The author unveils some of the facets of multiculturalism in Ireland as well as in any other country. The majority of people having mixed heritage are trying to fit into the host society while some of them do not choose this way. Some are trying to become a part of another group even if it is non-existent. The author stresses that people need to acknowledge their identity. Otherwise, the loss of their real selves will inevitably lead to the death (physical or metaphorical). The story told by a small boy draws people attention to an important problem and helps them think of their own identities and, perhaps, their liminality.

Works Cited

Bolton, Jonathan. “Blighted Beginnings”: Coming of Age in Independent Ireland. Danvers: Buckness University Press, 2010. Print.

De Salazar, Asier Altuna-Garcia. “Envisaging Transcultural Realities Through Literature in Europe. The Case of Ireland”. Europe-Space for Transcultural Existence? Ed. Martin Tamcke. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 2013. 185-195. Print.

Éigeartaigh, Aoileann Ni. “Homesick While at Home: Hugo Hamilton and The Speckled People”. Exploring Transculturalism: A Biographical Approach. Ed. Wolfgang Berg and Aoileann Ni Éigeartaigh. Heidelberg: Springer Science & Business Media, 2010. 113-131. Print.

Fischer, Joachim. “A Good Irish German: In Praise of Hugo Hamilton’s Mother”. Representing the “Good German” in Literature and Culture after 1945: Altruism and Moral Ambiguity. Ed. P.Ó Dochartaigh and C. Schönfeld. New York: Camden House, 2013. 197-211. Print.

Hamilton, Hugo. The Speckled People. New York: Fourth Estate, 2003. Print.

Ramusino, Elena Cotta. “Displacement, Identity and Language in Hugo Hamilton.” Linguæ & – Rivista di lingue e culture moderne 1.1 (2011): 9-21. Print.

Turner, Victor W. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 2011. Print.