Skinner
Northern Ireland has been a volatile region since its division from Ireland in 1921, and in Brian Friel’s Freedom of the City, no character embodies that instability better than Skinner. Adrian Casimir “Skinner” Fitzgerald is a homeless, painfully sarcastic 21-year-old with no family, no permanent friends, and essentially no future. In the play, he attends a peaceful protest in Derry, Ireland where the British army interferes. When the protest turns violent, Skinner accidentally seeks refuge in the mayor’s parlor. He is later joined by other protesters (Lily and Michael) in the parlor, and they must choose whether to surrender to the army soldiers or make a stand. Skinner is insistent that the soldiers outside are wrong and that there is no reason to surrender, which is both a dangerous and dedicated response. Skinner is a representation of the downtrodden and desperate of Northern Ireland, the manifestation of the volatility of the region, and from a postcolonial viewpoint, he is a picture of the oppressed. While Skinner’s situation does not match that of every Northern Irish citizen’s, it is certainly a commentary on what could be for every person in the region with continued British control. His motivation to fight for the rights of the Northern Irish people is driven by the injustice he has faced his whole life at the hands of the British.
Written by:
Sally Pigeon
"Gas Mask Mural" Photo Credit: Dawn Duncan
Skinner's Role as Commentary on Poverty
Skinner is a product of the unstructured society he has lived in: the society created by the British government to exercise control over the citizens of Northern Ireland. He is described in the play as someone with "no fixed address,” no job, no relatives available for contact, and someone who "had been in trouble many times" (Friel Act 1, 11). With an arrest record, no home, and no family, Skinner is considered to be a dishonest, lazy and manipulative person. Skinner’s economic status not only defines him, but it also defines the way he is perceived by others. More than once, Michael mentions that he doesn't “know what [Skinner] wants” and that Skinner is "more at home with the hooligans, out throwing stones and burning shops." However, there is not clear evidence that Skinner is a violent person (Act 1, 43). Skinner's sarcastic nature is a form of defense against those he perceives to be dangerous to him, which includes anyone who is privileged. However, while he is a joker, Skinner always brings the group back to reality.
Because she seems to understand his situation, the character Lily feels more comfortable around Skinner. Lily is the mother of 11 children and lives in government housing, which does not make her much better off than Skinner. However, according to Skinner, Lily does not grasp the full gravity of the conflict in Ireland, which he knows is based on poverty, not privilege. Skinner recognizes this and points it out:
It has nothing to do with doctors and accountants and teachers and dignity and Boy Scout honor. It’s about us--the poor--the majority--stirring in our sleep. And if that’s not what it’s all about, then it has nothing to do with us (Act 2, 60).
While the other two characters are also living in the broken economic system, Skinner is the only one who sees it as the central problem to fight against. He is motivated to change the situation in Northern Ireland through the use of his own experience with poverty and through seeing the experiences of others. Friel uses Skinner's character to make a commentary on the nature of protesters from the lower class: they come together because they have common ground to stand upon, and they now feel a sense of unity with one another. This is something a poverty-stricken person cannot normally afford.
The power of seeing others in a similar condition drives Skinner to fight. Richard Rankin Russell discusses the above speech by Skinner in his article "The Liberating Fictional Truth of Community in Brian Friel's The Freedom of the City":
"Skinner's explanation coheres perfectly with Dobbs' [sic] academic explanation
about escaping the subculture of poverty given earlier in the play: 'once they
become aware that their condition has counterparts elsewhere, from
that moment they have broken out of their subculture...' (111). Lily finally has
the scales removed from her eyes because of Skinner's explanation and she
agrees with him” (Russell 51).
Skinner now fights because he knows that others have been struggling the way he has and that gives him strength. He uses his glib nature and sarcasm as a protective mechanism, but underneath that he is dedicated and driven to make a change in Ireland, though he never gets the chance.
Works Cited:
Friel, Brian. The Freedom of the City: A Play in Two Acts. London: Samuel French, 1974. Print.
Russell, Richard Rankin. “The Liberating Fictional Truth of Community in Brian Friel's ‘The Freedom of the City.’" South Atlantic Review, 71.1 (Winter, 2006): pp. 42-73. JSTOR. Web.