Revise and learn about the characters in Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - BBC Bitesize - CCEA GCSE English Literature

Summary

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha was written by Roddy Doyle and published in 1993. It is narrated by 10-year-old Patrick Clarke, a boy living in Dublin in the 1960s.

Title: Taken from the taunting rhyme shouted by the friends: “Paddy Clarke – Paddy Clarke – has no da. Ha ha ha!”. Although this does not become clear to us until we get to the end, the title shows the nature of the novel in the sense that the “Ha”s are both laughter and cruel mockery.

Narrative perspective:Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha is told from the narrative perspective of the Paddy Clarke. First person is where the story is told by one of the characters involved in the story, who describes the action from their point of view and regards events with their own understanding. Paddy relates his first-hand experience as a child, using this naïve point of view to let the reader fill in the blanks about what occurs and witness Paddy’s understanding of the adult world increase as his childhood innocence fades.

Setting: Barrytown, a fictional area of north Dublin in the 1960s.

Themes: Childhood and growing up, masculinity and , family relationships, working class Irish life, religion, education, abuse, friendship and group dynamics, community, cruelty.

Characters in Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

Paddy Clarke

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Mischievous	Paddy cannot resist being a “messer”. He is often prone to violence and bullying. Even though he describes events in the past tense, he still seems excited and thrilled by his “naughty” behaviour. This is because of Doyle’s use of devices such as long sentences and . The opening paragraph of the novel contains the sentence “We were coming down our road.” The inclusive pronouns “we” and “our” show that Paddy is a part of a group. The next sentence immediately introduces the mischievous nature of the boys in that group as “Kevin stopped at a gate and bashed it with his stick.” We find out that the gate belongs to a woman in their street. Therefore our first impression of the – Paddy – is of a troublemaker who annoys his neighbours. A page later we discover that Paddy and his friends are on their way home from a building site where they have stolen “a load of six-inch nails and a few bits of plank” as well as “pushing bricks into a trench full of wet cement”. This low level vandalism and tormenting of older residents in the street continue throughout the novel, along with stories of shoplifting and other mischief. It is all done with a childish innocence typical of boys this age. Therefore most of the tales create humour – but we can still sympathise with the victims of Paddy’s pranks.
Reckless	Paddy is a 10-year-old boy who – like many boys his age – is reckless and full of energy. He comes from a close supportive family, but is part of a gang of boys who are mischievous and rarely consider the consequences of their actions. For example, when we see him shoplifting he is promptly caught by his mother, which results in a beating from his father. Early in the novel we hear that Paddy and his gang “were always lighting fires”. Aside from his (over-exaggerated) statement that his mother “killed me” when she found out, there were significant risks to people and property from such activities. Paddy also shows little care for consequences when he and his friends ignite lighter fluid in poor Sinbad’s mouth. The “It went like a dragon” shows how quickly his lips are set on fire. The many comedic scenes of mischief throughout the novel show a dangerous recklessness that the boys are often lucky to survive unscathed.
Intelligent	Despite his often troublesome nature, Paddy is an intelligent boy, literate and deeply fond of historical heroes. He is the victim of an uninspiring education as we see from his interactions with Mr Hennessey. Paddy seems to learn more at home or by himself. When he is learning something constructive he stays out of trouble. We see his love of facts in the way he peppers his narration with little pieces of information – whether they are relevant to what he is saying or not. His reading on saints and history often informs the games he makes up with his friends, and he discusses these things quite knowledgeably with his father. He finds the news “boring but sometimes I watched it properly, all of it”. He discusses what is happening in America and Israel, showing his interest in global affairs. Tellingly, when Paddy applies himself to his work – as an excuse to stay up so that his parents won’t argue – he quickly becomes top of the class. It is poignant that this is the reason he does so well in school – but it also shows the reader that he is a very able boy when he puts his mind to it.
Maturing	As the narrative develops, we are made aware of how sensitively Paddy feels his parents’ marriage problems. Doyle reminds us of the importance of adults in children’s lives. Children study every move made by their elders. Paddy sees adults fighting wars on TV and fighting each other in real life. He often describes his parents’ movements and actions in minute detail. There is a deep sadness in Paddy’s sense of helplessness over his parents’ separation: “I couldn’t stop it from starting”. He gradually becomes aware that his childhood is over and he is entering early adulthood. He begins to see that his abuse of Sinbad is cruel and sometimes disturbing. Paddy imagines running away and taking his brother with him. He pictures himself as the hero, “carrying my little brother on my back when he was too tired”. Perhaps Paddy senses that he has a responsibility for his family, and that his loyalty to them can make him the young man he craves to be. After Mr Clarke hits his wife, Paddy becomes even more protective and caring towards her: “I waited, listened; she was safe downstairs.” Poignantly, by the conclusion of the novel Paddy’s father has left and Paddy really is “the man of the house now”. When the other boys tease him – just as he has teased children in the past – he “didn’t listen to them. They were only kids.” This suggests that Paddy may not be much older in years than when the novel started, but that circumstances have made him grow up and leave childish things behind.

Mrs Clarke (Ma)

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Hard-working	Paddy’s mother is the only major female character in the novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. She works hard looking after four children. She is always busy, for example “feeding the girls” and “trying to educate” her children. Despite her marital problems, she continues to keep the house tidy and to put nutritious meals on the table. It is only when Paddy notes that things are not as tidy as usual in the morning that we realise just how difficult the situation has become for her. His short sentence – “The table was still dirty” – creates tension as we realise this is not usual and that something is wrong. Doyle emphasises Mrs Clarke’s hard-working dedicated approach to parenting by contrasting Paddy’s family life with the other children in the novel. Although it is obvious that the Clarke family are not affluent, they do have plenty of attention from their mother. They also have clothes – albeit hand-me-downs at times – and home-cooked dinners. This is contrasted with Liam and Aidan for example, who don’t have a mother. There’s also Ian McEvoy who says of his mother’s feelings about their pet dog, “She likes him … she prefers him to me.”
Maternal	Mrs Clarke is a combination of warmth and compassion. But she is also strict and firm. These traits make her an effective maternal figure, who nurtures her children but who is not over-protective. We see how she can be physically affectionate when Paddy tells us that “she patted my head”. It is obvious from Paddy’s concern about his father’s behaviour – especially when he becomes physically abusive – that he loves his mother and does not like to see her unhappy. She takes the time for all her children, and she cries when Sinbad is suffering with his burnt lips. Mrs Clarke represents the fabric that holds Paddy’s world together. Alongside her affection and warmth is a firm hand as she ensures he develops responsibility and a conscience. Paddy’s reaction to her catching him stealing magazines from the shop shows how frightened he is and how he respects her authority. His panic is shown in the list of things he imagines she might have been doing instead of watching him: “She’d been too far away. I looked like two of my cousins … She’d been looking at Cathy in the pram. She’d been too busy.” The dramatic short sentences here build up tension until we find out that “She told my da and I got killed.” Her mothering skills include making sure that her children know right from wrong and face consequences for their actions.
Strong	Mrs Clarke’s life and situation is dominated by the gender roles given to her by society. Ireland in the late 1960s was very traditional, the expectations for women involved home making and child rearing. However, Paddy’s mother is portrayed as a strong character despite being a victim of the of the day. She raises the children with a firm hand and Paddy is sometimes wary of her, during the shoplifting incident for example. She is quick to slap Paddy when he refers to the neighbouring Corporation children as “Slum scum”, showing that she is not a snob and will make sure her children treat everyone with respect. Despite being a victim of Mr Clarke’s bullying and often violent ways, she is a formidable presence and keeps things going on as usual for as long as possible. It is only when the situation gets extremely tense that Paddy notices the difference in her running of the house – and, even then, the boys have to cope with the making of lunches etc. without her for just one day. She somehow maintains the strength to keep things as normal as possible for her family. Paddy reports that “My ma read books. Mostly at night.” This shows that Mrs Clarke – while perhaps not an educated woman – is curious and intelligent. Perhaps this is Doyle’s way of indicating that, with her strength and determination, she could have done many things with her life if opportunities beyond marriage and motherhood had been open to her.

Mr Clarke (Da)

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Supportive father	Mr Clarke is encouraging and loving towards Paddy, supporting him in his reading and curiosity about the world – “That’s the stuff, said my da.” He has fun with the children, such as when he pretends to be the voice of Santa Claus and when he takes them for a spin in the car. Sometimes he is a good role model. For example, it is through his frequent watching of the news that the boys become informed about politics and global issues. He seems to like interacting with his children and spends time teaching Paddy about the science of fingerprints and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Today fathers are often as involved in the upbringing of their children as mothers. But this was not always the case in the 1960s, especially in a very traditional society such as Ireland. It is when Mr Clarke lies about the autograph in Paddy’s George Best book that we see a turning point in their relationship. Perhaps Doyle uses this incident to show the inevitable moment in a child’s life when they realise their father is just a normal man with flaws, rather than the idealised figure they believed him to be in childhood. The problems in his parents’ relationship – and Mr Clarke’s violence towards Mrs Clarke – have Paddy so angry and frustrated that he imagines his father’s funeral. Despite this, at the end of the novel Paddy ends up deciding “I didn’t really want him to die or anything else; he was my da”. It is the growing up he does in the novel that makes Paddy realise the complexities of love.
Unpredictable	Mr Clarke’s moods are often unpredictable. When we first meet him he is showing Paddy how to find fingerprints using a magnifying glass, and our initial impression of their relationship is one of closeness. There is a sense of intimacy when Paddy gives a vivid description of his father’s hands while watching him read a book. He observes that “His nails were clean - except for one - and the white bits at the top were longer than mine.” While we develop a positive impression of how Mr Clarke interacts with his family, he spends a lot more time with his sons than his daughters. He and Paddy have the most interaction in the novel. But this is perhaps because the girls are infants, and were seen as the mother’s responsibility. As the novel progresses we discover a darker side to Mr Clarke. He is very dismissive when Paddy comes home with his sports medal, and later on Paddy uses a violent to describe how his father “kept stabbing at her [his mother] with his face and his words”. Paddy is never quite sure when he arrives home or meets his father what mood he will be in.
Short-tempered	While we see many occasions where Mr Clarke is a kind supportive father, he can also be very short-tempered. This becomes more frequent as the novel progresses. Perhaps Doyle is showing us that Mr Clarke increasingly resents the busy family life he has helped create. When he takes the family out for the day in his new car, we sense his tension through profanities such as “Jesus Christ”. Tension also comes through in the repeated use of exclamation marks in lines such as “I’ll swing you from one of the trees if you don’t sit down out of my light!” His physical attacks on his wife finally condemn his character. Their fights become more frequent and eventually Paddy – protective of his mother’s safety – attempts to stay awake all night. The scene when Mr Clarke hits Mrs Clarke for the first time is shocking for the reader. This is due to Doyle’s dramatic short sentences and emphatic repetition. He writes, “He’d hit her. Across the face; smack. I tried to imagine it. It’ didn’t make sense. I’d heard it; he’d hit her.” Of course Paddy – as the first person narrator – feels the shock expressed in Doyle’s language. It is Mr Clarke’s temper which eventually ruins the family. Paddy’s final interaction with his father is stilted and lacks the intimacy of their relationship at the beginning of the novel.

Sinbad

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Sensitive	Sinbad – Paddy’s younger brother – is known as Francis to his parents. Sinbad is a sensitive child, and the other boys see this as a weakness. Paddy first introduces us to the character in the opening section by saying “Sinbad, my little brother, started crying.” This is followed by Paddy having to wait for Sinbad when the boys are being chased. Therefore our first impressions of Sinbad are of a child who is easily annoyed and cannot keep up with the rest of the gang. We learn from Paddy that Sinbad never smiles in childhood photos, “I hated him … He cried. He wet the bed. He got away with not eating his dinner. He had to wear specs with one black lens.” Sinbad’s status as younger brother makes Paddy see him as childish and weak. The fact that Sinbad seems placid and goes back to playing with Paddy and his friends after they are so cruel to him shows how he endures all the torment without complaining. Poor Sinbad becomes just as aware of his parents’ problems as Paddy as the novel progresses. We see him trying to defuse the situation by laughing at one stage. During a particularly loud fight, Paddy asks Sinbad “Did you hear that?” But Sinbad ignores him. Paddy wonders whether “Maybe he could decide to hear and not hear things.” Perhaps this is Doyle suggesting that Sinbad’s sensitivity meant the only way he could cope was by being selective about what he actually acknowledged, thereby remaining in denial about the severity of the situation.
Sympathetic	The boys are very competitive and jostle for their position in the gang. Sometimes Paddy and the other boys try to show their dominance by picking on Sinbad, which often creates sympathy for this character. The scene where Paddy burns Sinbad is shocking and Paddy’s vivid description of how “He squirmed but I held onto him” and “I just wanted to hurt him” highlights the cruelty and intent of those who were torturing him. Sinbad is permanently scarred. Sometimes even Paddy shows sympathy for his brother, and consequently he attempts being protective or kind towards Sinbad. He refuses to carry out Mr Hennessey’s orders when he tells Paddy to show their mother Sinbad’s ruined exercise book. Later in the novel – as they seem to become closer in response to their parents’ constant fighting – Paddy asks his brother whether he wants to be called Sinbad or Francis. Later on – as Paddy realises that his friends don’t really care about him – he says “I realised something funny; I wanted to be with Sinbad.” Sinbad is the only one who really knows what Paddy is going through at home, and as he grows up Paddy becomes more sympathetic to and more appreciative of him.

Characteristic

Evidence and analysis

Sensitive

Sinbad – Paddy’s younger brother – is known as Francis to his parents.

Sinbad is a sensitive child, and the other boys see this as a weakness. Paddy first introduces us to the character in the opening section by saying “Sinbad, my little brother, started crying.”

This is followed by Paddy having to wait for Sinbad when the boys are being chased. Therefore our first impressions of Sinbad are of a child who is easily annoyed and cannot keep up with the rest of the gang.

We learn from Paddy that Sinbad never smiles in childhood photos, “I hated him … He cried. He wet the bed. He got away with not eating his dinner. He had to wear specs with one black lens.”

Sinbad’s status as younger brother makes Paddy see him as childish and weak.

The fact that Sinbad seems placid and goes back to playing with Paddy and his friends after they are so cruel to him shows how he endures all the torment without complaining.

Poor Sinbad becomes just as aware of his parents’ problems as Paddy as the novel progresses. We see him trying to defuse the situation by laughing at one stage.

During a particularly loud fight, Paddy asks Sinbad “Did you hear that?” But Sinbad ignores him. Paddy wonders whether “Maybe he could decide to hear and not hear things.”

Perhaps this is Doyle suggesting that Sinbad’s sensitivity meant the only way he could cope was by being selective about what he actually acknowledged, thereby remaining in denial about the severity of the situation.

Sympathetic

The boys are very competitive and jostle for their position in the gang. Sometimes Paddy and the other boys try to show their dominance by picking on Sinbad, which often creates sympathy for this character.

The scene where Paddy burns Sinbad is shocking and Paddy’s vivid description of how “He squirmed but I held onto him” and “I just wanted to hurt him” highlights the cruelty and intent of those who were torturing him. Sinbad is permanently scarred.

Sometimes even Paddy shows sympathy for his brother, and consequently he attempts being protective or kind towards Sinbad.

He refuses to carry out Mr Hennessey’s orders when he tells Paddy to show their mother Sinbad’s ruined exercise book.

Later in the novel – as they seem to become closer in response to their parents’ constant fighting – Paddy asks his brother whether he wants to be called Sinbad or Francis.

Later on – as Paddy realises that his friends don’t really care about him – he says “I realised something funny; I wanted to be with Sinbad.”

Sinbad is the only one who really knows what Paddy is going through at home, and as he grows up Paddy becomes more sympathetic to and more appreciative of him.

The gang members

Character	Evidence and analysis
Kevin	Kevin is Paddy’s neighbour and the leader of the gang. He is a powerful character who needs to control and dominate the other boys. He is often the “ref”, the “judge” or the “high priest” and the boys seem to allow this without argument. Kevin has an older brother and perhaps this allows him to have more daring and interesting ideas about things he has learnt from him. He is introduced in the second line of the novel. Our first impression is that he is a trouble-maker because he has stopped at a neighbour’s gate and “bashed it with his stick”. Kevin is clever at school – always getting “ten out of ten, in everything” – but uses this intelligence to manipulate others. He has the ideas for how the boys should cause trouble, but is careful to leave himself clear of blame. Kevin can also be cruel in his jibes and in inflicting pain on the other boys. When Paddy sings a song his father has taught him Kevin simply dismisses him, saying “That’s stupid”. When hiding in the building pipes Kevin “prunes” Paddy (kicks him in the testicles). This painful prank comes just after they have shared a joke. By the end of the novel Kevin has not changed. He continues to show his cruel streak after he and Paddy have fallen out, “I’m going to get you Clarke … D’you hear me?”
Liam and Aidan O’Connell	Liam and Aidan are members of Paddy’s gang. They are mentioned in the opening few paragraphs of the novel and they seem notable to Paddy because their mother is dead. Paddy feels superior to them. But he notices that as Liam grows up he “became dangerous”. Perhaps Doyle uses these characters to show the often inevitable effects on children who are left to their own devices and neglected at home. When Liam is in Paddy’s class at school, he soils his trousers. Mr Hennessey seems to be particularly considerate over this and the other boys feel he is being treated favourably. Paddy reports, “Liam and Aidan sometimes didn’t go to school. Their da let them stay at home sometimes if they were good.” This family is often with Paddy’s own family, emphasising the fact that Paddy and Sinbad have a close-knit and supportive home.

Character

Evidence and analysis

Kevin

Kevin is Paddy’s neighbour and the leader of the gang. He is a powerful character who needs to control and dominate the other boys.

He is often the “ref”, the “judge” or the “high priest” and the boys seem to allow this without argument.

Kevin has an older brother and perhaps this allows him to have more daring and interesting ideas about things he has learnt from him.

He is introduced in the second line of the novel. Our first impression is that he is a trouble-maker because he has stopped at a neighbour’s gate and “bashed it with his stick”.

Kevin is clever at school – always getting “ten out of ten, in everything” – but uses this intelligence to manipulate others.

He has the ideas for how the boys should cause trouble, but is careful to leave himself clear of blame.

Kevin can also be cruel in his jibes and in inflicting pain on the other boys. When Paddy sings a song his father has taught him Kevin simply dismisses him, saying “That’s stupid”.

When hiding in the building pipes Kevin “prunes” Paddy (kicks him in the testicles). This painful prank comes just after they have shared a joke.

By the end of the novel Kevin has not changed. He continues to show his cruel streak after he and Paddy have fallen out, “I’m going to get you Clarke … D’you hear me?”

Liam and Aidan O’Connell

Liam and Aidan are members of Paddy’s gang. They are mentioned in the opening few paragraphs of the novel and they seem notable to Paddy because their mother is dead.

Paddy feels superior to them. But he notices that as Liam grows up he “became dangerous”.

Perhaps Doyle uses these characters to show the often inevitable effects on children who are left to their own devices and neglected at home.

When Liam is in Paddy’s class at school, he soils his trousers. Mr Hennessey seems to be particularly considerate over this and the other boys feel he is being treated favourably.

Paddy reports, “Liam and Aidan sometimes didn’t go to school. Their da let them stay at home sometimes if they were good.”

This family is often with Paddy’s own family, emphasising the fact that Paddy and Sinbad have a close-knit and supportive home.

School characters

Character	Evidence and analysis
Mr Hennessy Paddy’s teacher	Mr Hennessey appears to be everything a teacher shouldn’t be. He is shown as lazy when Paddy says that he was “supposed to be looking after us but he wasn’t". He is often sarcastic and seems to be frustrated. But, like so many of the characters in the novel, Mr Hennessey is complex and neither all good or all bad. His strict classroom regime is often well-meaning. Paddy comes to appreciate that Mr Hennessey’s strictness is an attempt to try to teach the boys something. This is shown, for example, when “Henno made us do the corrections with a red colouring pencil.” He can also be caring and compassionate. When Paddy falls asleep in class, Mr Hennessey “had nearly carried me out". He seems genuinely concerned about Paddy when he brings him to the headmaster. He also shows sensitivity to Liam O’Connell when he “dirtied his trousers one day". Mr Hennessey seems to favour certain students and pick on others. He is violent in the same random way as the boys, “on Fridays; he biffed us as well. It gave him an appetite … he told us”. However, this was a different time when teachers regularly used corporal punishment, which means physically hitting or beating someone as a punishment). It is important to consider when the novel is set when judging the actions of characters as many of them are products of their time.
James O’Keefe	James is even more badly behaved in class than Kevin or Paddy. We learn that Mr Hennessey hates James and even blames him for disturbing the class when he is actually at home with the mumps. James is wild and unpredictable. Perhaps he is too aware of the fact that his teacher dislikes him: “It’s not fair, said James O’Keefe. – So it’s not.” This may be the reason why James acts as he does.
Charles Leavy	At first Charles is a threat to Paddy. He is one of the “Corporation” boys who should be in the “thicks” class. But as Paddy becomes increasingly aware of Kevin’s manipulative nature, he grows more fascinated by Leavy. Leavy is becoming a young man and Paddy yearns to be like him, free of childhood and able to stand on his own in the world now that his father has gone.

Ian and Mr O’Connell

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Ian	Ian McEvoy Ian is not as daring as Paddy, but is still prepared to be part of the gang and cause mischief. For example, we see that he is often in trouble at school with Mr Hennessey and that he “really went to sleep one day when Henno told us all to go to sleep”, despite this not being what the teacher really wanted them to do. Ian seems to experience a lot of bad luck in general. He is bullied for being overweight and having “little diddies, like a woman’s”. His mother is overprotective. This provides a contrast to Paddy’s mother who – while being firm with her children – allows them freedom to play and discover the world.
Mr O’Connell Liam and Aidan’s father	Mr O’Connell is described “looking up at the moon and howling”. We know from the dialogue of Mr and Mrs Clarke that this is because he misses his wife. But Paddy in his childish innocence just sees an adult acting strangely. Mr O’Connell provides a contrast to the Clarke parents in his permissive attitude to childrearing. This causes Paddy to be naively envious of Liam and Aidan at times.

Characteristic

Evidence and analysis

Ian

Ian McEvoy

Ian is not as daring as Paddy, but is still prepared to be part of the gang and cause mischief.

For example, we see that he is often in trouble at school with Mr Hennessey and that he “really went to sleep one day when Henno told us all to go to sleep”, despite this not being what the teacher really wanted them to do.

Ian seems to experience a lot of bad luck in general. He is bullied for being overweight and having “little diddies, like a woman’s”.

His mother is overprotective. This provides a contrast to Paddy’s mother who – while being firm with her children – allows them freedom to play and discover the world.

Mr O’Connell
Liam and Aidan’s father

Mr O’Connell is described “looking up at the moon and howling”.

We know from the dialogue of Mr and Mrs Clarke that this is because he misses his wife. But Paddy in his childish innocence just sees an adult acting strangely.

Mr O’Connell provides a contrast to the Clarke parents in his permissive attitude to childrearing.

This causes Paddy to be naively envious of Liam and Aidan at times.

In addition to the Clarkes and Paddy’s friends, there are numerous characters and families which fill the novel, adding to the richness of the story.

Paddy is clearly part of a settled community, full of a great variety of people living in each other’s company. This has its disadvantages – for example, if (like Paddy) you don’t want someone telling your mother what you’ve been up to.

It seems Doyle is showing us a way of life that, to some extent, has been lost.