Flashcards for Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Aunt Lizzy

Aunt Lizzy (Elise Sweeney) is Gar's maternal aunt and married to Con Sweeney, an Irish-American couple living in Philadelphia.

character

Con, Joe, and Tom (The Boys)

Con, Joe, and Tom — known as "the Boys" — are Gar O'Donnell's closest friends in Ballybeg, and they act together as a single dramatic unit in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!

character

Gar O'Donnell (Private)

Private Gar represents the inner self of Gareth O'Donnell — the voice that resonates only with the audience, hidden from the people of Ballybeg.

character

Gar O'Donnell (Public)

Gar O'Donnell (Public) represents the outwardly visible part of the divided protagonist in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!

character

Kate Doogan

Kate Doogan is an important off-stage presence in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come! — she never appears in person, yet her absence influences the entire emotional landscape of the play.

character

Madge

Madge is the housekeeper for the O'Donnell family in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, and she provides the emotional support for the Ballybeg home that Gar is about to leave for good.

character

Master Boyle

Master Boyle is the local schoolmaster in Ballybeg and one of the few adult figures in Gar O'Donnell's life who could serve as a mentor or confidant.

character

Ned

Ned is part of "the boys," Gar O'Donnell's circle of friends in Ballybeg, and he stands out as the most assertive voice among them.

character

S.B. O'Donnell

S.B. O'Donnell is Gar's quiet, widowed father and runs the small general shop in Ballybeg, which serves as the backdrop for the play's domestic landscape.

character

Senator Doogan

Senator Doogan plays a minor yet crucial role in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, serving as a symbol of social ambition, class barriers, and the crushing of youthful dreams in rural Ireland.

character

“Private: Say it! Say it! 'Screwballs, I'm leaving you forever and I'm taking nothing with me — nothing at all — not even my memories.'”

This line is delivered by Private, the internal voice of protagonist Gar O'Donnell, in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Private (Private Gar)

“Private: We're all heroes. We're all heroes. We're all heroes.”

This line is spoken by Private, the internal alter ego of Gar O'Donnell, in Brian Friel's 1964 play Philadelphia, Here I Come!.

Private (Private Gar)

“Madge: It's not going to be the same place without him, I'll tell you that.”

This line is spoken by Madge, the housekeeper in Brian Friel's 1964 play Philadelphia, Here I Come!, just before Gar O'Donnell's move to Philadelphia.

Madge

“Private: To hell with all strong silent men!”

This exclamation comes from Private, the hidden alter-ego of Gar O'Donnell, the protagonist in Brian Friel's play Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Private (Gar's inner alter-ego)

“S.B.: I don't know what's wrong with him. I don't know at all.”

This line is delivered by S.B. (Screwby) O'Donnell — Gar's quiet father — towards the end of Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!

S.B. O'Donnell · Episode Three

“Public: I'm going to Philadelphia, Madge. I'm going to Philadelphia.”

This line is delivered by Public Gar (Gareth O'Donnell's public persona) in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Public Gar (Public Gareth O'Donnell)

“Private: God, Boy, isn't this the life! Isn't this it! Isn't this the real stuff!”

This lively exclamation comes from Private, the private side of protagonist Gar O'Donnell, in Brian Friel's play Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Private (Private Gar)

“Private: It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the Queen of France, then the Dauphiness, at Versailles...”

This quote is delivered by Private, the inner self of Gar O'Donnell, in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Private (Private Gar)

“Gar: Why do you never talk to me? Why don't you speak to me? Why?”

This anguished outburst comes from Gar O'Donnell—specifically his private, inner self (Private Gar)—in Brian Friel's play Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Private Gar (Gar O'Donnell)

“S.B.: I remember rightly... it was blue... a blue boat...”

This line is delivered by S.B. (S.B. O'Donnell), Gar's quiet father, near the end of Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!

S.B. O'Donnell

Philadelphia (America)

In Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Philadelphia — and America as a whole — symbolizes escape, reinvention, and a false sense of freedom.

Public and Private Gar (The Split Self)

In Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, the main character Gareth O'Donnell is portrayed through two distinct yet simultaneously present characters: Public Gar, the version that everyone sees, and Private Gar, the unfiltered inner voice that only the audience can hear.

S.B.'s Shop

In Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, S.B. O'Brien's general shop reflects the stagnation, emotional repression, and suffocating nature of life in Ballybeg.

The Blue Boat

In Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, the blue boat symbolizes Gar O'Donnell's deep desire for a real emotional bond with his father, S.B., and reflects his sorrow over a past he can never fully reclaim.

The Canon's Fishing Rod

In Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, the Canon's fishing rod represents the sterile, self-satisfied comfort of Ballybeg's establishment.

Dramatic Monologue

The play cleverly splits its main character, Gar O'Donnell, into two personas — Public Gar and Private Gar — who appear on stage at the same time.

Juxtaposition

Friel constructs the entire play through juxtaposition, most notably by placing Public and Private Gar side by side on stage.

Irony

Dramatic irony fills the play because the audience, who hears both Gars, always knows more than the other characters on stage.

Motif

The memory of the blue boat on Lough na Cloc Cor stands out as the play's most persistent theme.

Symbolism

Philadelphia serves as a symbol throughout the play, representing escape, self-reinvention, and the American promise of a life free from the burdens of the past.

Repetition

Friel uses repetition both structurally and rhetorically to illustrate the circularity of life in Ballybeg.

Apostrophe

Private Gar frequently speaks to absent or imaginary figures directly, using apostrophe to express his inner needs.

Allusion

Private Gar's speech is filled with references to literature and culture, showing that he’s overly equipped for the mundane life in Ballybeg.

Pathetic Fallacy

The domestic and natural surroundings of Ballybeg reflect Gar's feelings throughout the play.

Free Verse

Private Gar's longer interior speeches adopt a heightened, almost poetic rhythm that resembles free verse, featuring line-like cadences, repetitive phrases, and anaphoric surges that clearly set them apart from the terse, realistic dialogue found in public scenes.

Anaphora

Private Gar's most emotionally charged passages rely on anaphora, where an opening phrase is repeated across successive clauses.

Stanza

Friel organizes the play into three 'episodes' instead of traditional acts, with each one depicting a part of Gar's final night and morning in Ballybeg.

Screwballs

A mocking but affectionate nickname Private Gar uses for his father S.B., suggesting someone odd, emotionally distant, or impossible to reach.

noun · Chapter 1

getting the hell out of

An emphatic, informal expression meaning to leave a place urgently and with strong feeling, often out of frustration or desperation.

phrase · Chapter 1

emigration

The act of permanently leaving one's home country to settle in another; here it refers to the long Irish tradition of young people departing for America in search of better opportunities.

noun · Chapter 1

eve

The evening or day immediately before a significant event; used here to mean the night just before Gar's departure for Philadelphia.

noun · Chapter 1

housekeeper

A woman employed to manage a household's domestic work; Madge also functions as a surrogate mother figure who raised Gar after his own mother died.

noun · Chapter 1

Godfearing

Deeply devout and obedient to religious teaching; used here with irony, since being pious has not saved S.B. from profound unhappiness.

adjective · Chapter 2

industrious

Consistently hard-working and diligent; Private Gar lists it as one of S.B.'s virtues, yet the word feels hollow against his father's emotional emptiness.

adjective · Chapter 2

upright

Morally honest and respectable in conduct; here used to describe S.B.'s outward character, which contrasts painfully with his inability to connect with his son.

adjective · Chapter 2

bloody

A British and Irish intensifier used for strong emphasis, roughly equivalent to 'damned' or 'absolutely'; it sharpens Private Gar's frustrated pity for his father.

adverb · Chapter 2

bother

To make the effort or trouble to do something; Private Gar uses it to question why Public Gar keeps trying to communicate with a father who never responds.

verb · Chapter 2

blessing

A parent's formal approval or permission for a child's relationship or marriage; S.B. withheld this from Gar's romance with Kathleen, effectively ending it.

noun · Chapter 1

stagnant

Not changing, growing, or moving forward; used to convey that life in Ballybeg has become dull, trapped, and without future prospects for young people.

adjective · Chapter 2

boisterous

Noisily energetic and rowdy; describes the loud, joking manner of Gar's friends Joe, Ned, and Tom, whose high spirits mask the shallowness of their visit.

adjective · Chapter 2

confidant

A person trusted with one's private thoughts and feelings; Boyle is the only adult outside the home to whom Gar can speak honestly.

noun · Chapter 1

paralysis

A complete inability to act or speak; here it describes the emotional deadlock between Gar and S.B., who cannot express love or regret to each other.

noun · Chapter 1

hollow

Lacking genuine feeling or substance despite an impressive surface; used to describe Lizzy and Con's American success, which feels empty and unconvincing to Gar.

adjective · Chapter 3

fragile

Easily broken or destroyed; the shared memory of the blue boat is described as fragile because it is the one tender moment between father and son, yet neither can hold onto it.

adjective · Chapter 3

resurfaces

Comes back into awareness after being buried or forgotten; the blue-boat memory briefly returns, offering a glimpse of warmth between Gar and S.B.

verb · Chapter 3

irreversible

Impossible to undo or go back on; the departure is irreversible because once Gar boards the bus, his old life in Ballybeg is permanently left behind.

adjective · Chapter 3

climax

The point of highest tension or decisive turning point in a dramatic work; Episode Three is the climax because it is the moment of actual departure that the whole play has been building toward.

noun · Chapter 3

Senator

An elected member of a legislative body; Kathleen's husband holds this title, marking the Doogan family's wealth and political standing, which the O'Donnells cannot match.

noun · Chapter 1

affluent

Having a great deal of money and material comfort; the Doogans' affluence is the social gap that S.B.'s refusal of blessing reinforces.

adjective · Chapter 1

inferior

Lower in social rank or worth in someone else's eyes; the Doogan family regarded the O'Donnells as inferior, meaning not good enough for Kathleen to marry into.

adjective · Chapter 1

episode

One of the three named sections into which Friel divides the play, each covering a distinct block of time on Gar's last night and morning in Ballybeg.

noun · Chapter 1