Thady the Trickster

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Thady the Trickster “We cannot judge either of the feelings or of the characters of men with perfect accuracy from their actions or their appearance in public; it is from their careless conversations, their half finished sentences, that we may hope with the greatest probability of success to discover their real characters.” (1) Castle Rackrent follows the misfortunes of the last four landlords of the Rackrent estate, as told by Thady Quirk, their ever so loyal servant. Over the course of four generations, the lords of Rackrent manage to run their estate into the ground because of their poor management, even while exploiting the Irish laborers living on their land. Thady Quirk, who claims to go by “honest Thady,” appears throughout the story as an ignorant, submissive servant that has great love for the family. However, these characteristics can be questioned due to Thady’s conversations and interactions with both the lords and other characters. Although Thady Quirk claims to be true and loyal to the family, key moments during the narrative depict his intentions as being quite possibly the opposite, due to his effective assistance in his own son's takeover of the estate. At the beginning of the story, Thady takes prides in how he’s called by everyone “honest Thady.” If he’s truly honest, then his account of every event would be reliable, true, and accurate. He also has a tendency to only share the good characteristics of people with the reader, even if they are a drunk, in debt, have a gambling problem, or any the above. One Lord of the Rackrent estate, Sir Kit, is described as being an abusive husband for allowing his wife stay locked away in a room “upon which my lady shut herself up in her own room, and my master said she might stay there, with an oath; and to make sure of her, he turned the key in the door, and kept it ever after in his pocket.” (29)
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