The Theme of Isolation in How Many Miles to Babylon

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The narrative begins in Co. Wicklow when Alec is a little boy, possibly around ten or twelve. The Moore’s are substantial landowners, from the Protestant ascendancy class. This novel is in the ‘Big House’ genre of Irish writing, and as such charts the demise of a way of life that ended in Ireland with the changes wrought by the First World War and the growing Nationalist movement that blossomed in the aftermath of the 1916 rising. At the begging of the novel we see that Alec is isolated as a result of Alicia. She states Alec is not to go to school but remain home schooled as she does not want to be alone in the house with Fredrick. As a result of this Alec is isolated from his peers. The result of this is he becomes socially inept. Alec has little or no interaction with kids his own age and he main contact is with adults, Alicia, Fredrick and his piano teacher. This will explain why he struggles in his interactions with Jerry when they first meet. When Alec does manage to find a friend in Jerry, Alicia tries to isolate them by first telling Alec he must stay away from Jerry, secondly taking Alec to Europe and thirdly sending him off to war. While Fredrick does not have much say in what is going on he does agree with Alicia when it comes to Alec having to stay away from Jerry. This means imposed isolation of Alec from both parents. Also while Alec has no love for his mother he does show awkward affection for his father. Alicia creates isolation between the two of them when she tells Alec that Fredrick is not really his father. We see the effect it has on Alec when he struggles to communicate with his father after this. Being home schooled shows an isolated factor to Alec’s development. Alec has little or no interaction with kids his own age and he main contact is with adults, Alicia, Fredrick and his piano teacher. This will explain why he struggles in his

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