Research Paper on:
'Translations' and Irish Charms

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
tension. For many years - centuries, almost - the English and the Irish have been, at best, friendly adversaries. Ireland has always resented Englands imperialistic attitudes toward it; while England  has always considered Ireland a "second cousin" or even a "country bumpkin" to the British. What hasnt helped in recent years are the religious aspects of the two countries -  the thoroughly Catholic Ireland have always been against the more Protestant British, even though a truce now exists between the two countries.  It is this very adversarial relationship that brings out the charm in Translations, a play that deals with an Irish-turned-British engineer who finds himself back on his own turf in  Ireland, as a translator on behalf of two English officials who are attempting to re-map Ireland and de-Gaelicise its names. Although the major point of the play could be considered  "whats in a name?" the play itself also comes close to saying that charm is not indicative to any one culture; love, closeness and happiness within a place can create  its own charm as well. While Translations deals mainly with British-Irish relations, its a story that is universal, as it deals with  cross-cultural issues; in one sense, someone born in a culture refutes it totally, in another sense, someone born in another culture comes to embrace the first culture that is, at  first, totally foreign and strange. Its probably unsurprising that Translations focuses on the charm of the Irish and the Irish character. Its  probably unsurprising, too, how playwright Brian Friel paints his character, the thoroughly British Yolland, as the one who becomes smitten by Ireland, and who falls so totally in love with