A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TALENT JOHN EGAN IN
M.J HYLAND’S NOVEL “CARRY ME DOWN”
A PAPER
BY
AMRI HAKIM DARMA
REG.NO. 082202073
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH SUMATERA
FACULTY OF CULTURE STUDIES
DIPLOMA III ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM
MEDAN
It has been proved by Supervisor,
Dra. Redita Lubis, Dip. Appl. Ling., M.Hum NIP: 19490423197412 2 001
Submitted to Faculty of Culture Studies, University of North Sumatera
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for DIPLOMA (D-III) in English
Approved by
Head of Diploma III English Study Program,
Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A NIP: 19521126198112 1 001
Approved by the Diploma III of English Study Program Faculty of Culture Studies, University of North Sumatra
Accepted by the Board of Examiners in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the D-III of Examination of the Diploma III of English Study Program, Faculty of Culture Studies University of North Sumatera
The examination is held on June, 2011
Faculty of Culture Studies, University of North Sumatera Dean,
Dr. Syahron Lubis, M.A NIP: 19511013197603 1 001
Board of Examiners
Examiners : 1. Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A.
AUTHOR'S DECLARATION
I, AMRI HAKIM DARMA, declare that I am the sole author of this paper. Except where the reference is made in the text of this paper, this paper contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a paper by which I have qualified for or awarded another degree.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of this paper. This paper has not been submitted for the award of another degree in any tertiary education.
COPYRIGHT DECLARATION
Name : AMRI HAKIM DARMA
Title of Paper : A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TALENT JOHN EGAN IN M.J.HYLAND’S NOVEL “CARRY ME DOWN”
Qualification : D-III / Ahli Madya Study Program : English
I am willing that my paper should be available for reproduction at the discretion of the Librarian of the Diploma III English Department Faculty of Culture Studies USU on the understanding that users are made aware of their obligation under law of the Republic of Indonesia.
ABSTRAK
ABSTRACT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahim.
First of all, I would like to thank and praise to the Almighty God Allah SWT who has given me health and capability to finish this paper as my last assignment to finish my study at Diploma III English Study Program University of Sumatra Utara. And I present shalawat to Prophet Muhammad SAW as my good example in my life and I hope his blessing in the beyond.
I would to express a deep gratitude, love, appreciation, and thanks to : My beloved parents Darma.MD,S.Ip and Zairani Lubis,S.Pd for
their love and patience, supporting me morally, spiritually, and financially in completing this paper. Thanks for my family my, sisters Diana Astuti D, Nur Afrida D, and Hamidah D,and My single brother, Aswin Fahmi D. The important person in my life. For my nephew, Apu’, Ena, Aiz, Gadis and Neyla for their cuteness have been a cure to my weariness.
Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A as the Head of Diploma III English Study Program, who gives me a lot of knowledge.
Dra. Redita Lubis, Dip. Appl. Ling., M.Hum. as my supervisor. Thank you for the valuable time in giving the correction and constructive critics in completing this paper.
Dr. Syahron Lubis M.A. as the Dean of Faculty culture Studies University Of Sumatera Utara.
All my friend in Faculty Of Culture Studies.
My best friends, “The Bandits” and “ Sarani”, Ijal, Napeng, Peno, Paman Lala, Nasrul, Dhani Pal, Aidil, Sasy, Zahara and Yuni for their loyalty, love, and support. Thank you for being my true and my best friends who always care. And also Mimi, Ika, Holisa, Nur, Miera, Fery, Rizky, Topek and Chandra. My friends in KOMPAS-USU, Shugy, Iyat, Ganda, Tya, Fikri, Tika, Rangga, Ana and Bang Ipan. Thanks for your support.
Last but not least, my thank to all my friends in class A and B who I can not mention one by one here.
My lovely, Dewi Setyo Ningtyas who always give your time for support me and always beside me when I’m feeling happy and sad. I Love You So Much.
Yosi Fadly “Yoje”, I made your paper as my references in Finishing this paper. Thank you so much
Finally , I do realize that paper, this paper still far from being perfect. Therefore, I welcome any constructive critics and suggestions toward this paper
Medan, June 2011 The writer,
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION ... i
COPYRIGHT DECLARATION ... ii
ABSTRAK
ABSTRACT
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Of The Study
Literature is concerned with all aspects of human and universe in their entirety. There are three important branches of literature; novel, drama and poetry. One of important branches is novel. On the other hand, novel is a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length in which character and action representative of real life are portrayed in a lot of more or less complexity.
Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue-and by what they do-the action. The grounds in a character’s temperament and moral nature for his speech and action constitute his motivations’ (Nurgyantoro, Burhan, 1981: 20). Based on explanation, the character’s expression through the dialogue and expression has a moral value. If character has a good bad or negative side, so does the moral. On the other hand, if in the expression character has a good or positive side, the moral will be positive.
The writer is very interested to describing main character in the novel
Seventies, oppressed by a lack of opportunity. It's also an attempt to track the mental damage done by misunderstanding, by neediness that is not met with affection. The language is easy to understanding for the reader.
1.2 Scope Of The Study
Based on background of study, this study focused on The John Egan talent in M.J. Hyland’s novel, Carry Me Down. In those short stories so many topics can be discussed. It is important to limit the topic in order to make the paper easily and clearly understood for the readers. And this chapter, the writer only description about main character, including physic status and moral. The inform from that characters is taken by the character itself, the people commented and from the description of narrator.
1.3 Purpose Of The Study.
The purpose of the study is describe clearly about main character of novel
Carry Me Down. The main character in this novel is John Egan, an eleven years old boys who have talent as a lying detector. He have a good attitude, but he’s a lazy boy. It can shown by his attitudes in facing the problem from their habitual action of this novel.
1.4 Significance Of The Study.
put his name in a record at Guinness book of record with his talent. The writer believed that reading novel not only bring us pleasure or as hobby in spending our time. It also increase our knowledge about our habitual action.
1.5 The Method Of Research.
Method of the research in this paper is a library research. The writer collects some data to support the research, finding the related data to the research then narrowing the collecting data of the library research to the related element which are about main characters.
2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A literature has some elements to support it, for example in main characters element. But in this chapter, I just explain about the main characters element. Main characters in a literature consists of : character and point of view.
2.1 Character
Character is an important part in building a story although it is just the form of custom or just the author's imagination. Character is very important element in literary work such as novel. The character can be human, or even animal. In a novel the character usually dominated by human as the teacher, while the character in novel his/her own personality equal to human. The personality of the character to act such as emotional, behavioral and all the logical things that deals with the problem which be faced by the character. As quoted by Burhan Nurgyantoro ( 1981:20) says that character is the persons presented in dramatics of narrative work who are interpreted by reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say and what they do in action.
and even loving, although there are also characters you may laugh at, dislike, or even hate.
There can be simplified that the character in a novel is description and representation of a person qualities. It can be shown by the creation of the characters in a novel from their action, gesture, speech, and behavior. These term can be used by the readers to identify the characters in a novel, because the character in a novel has equal qualities as a person in real life. The attempt of the author describe the characters in a narrative work known as a characterization.
The authors of the narrative work established the characterization by showing two main distinction as the alternative method for revealing the characters in a narrative; they are indirect presentation or by showing and direct presentation or by telling. In indirect presentation or by showing, the traits of the character are revealed by action and speech presentation or by showing, the traits of the character are revealed by action and speech of the characters, the authors present the character talking and acting, this make the reader infer to what motives and disposition lie behind what the characters are describe by the authors, the narrator, or by other characters. They describe the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters.
straightforward or underhanded, “winner” or “losers” and so on. On the other hand, as quoted by Burhan (1985: 57) stated that there are three methods in presenting the character : 1. By the description report, 2. By the action act, 3. By the character thought and speaking.
This paper discussed about the main character in Novel Carry Me Down.
Therefore, it concern with the definition of main character and peripheral character for clarification of technical terms used in this paper. In character, we also found the division of it. Based on some criteria, the differences of point of view, and observations, character can be categorized as follows : Main Character and Peripheral Character, Protagonist Character and Antagonist Character, Simple Character and complex character, Static Character and Developing Character, Typical and Neutral Character. This is the explanation about Main Character and Peripheral Character:
A. Main Character
B. Peripheral Character
There are some characters that are presented only once or a couple times in a story, and it may be in relative short narration. These characters are called peripheral character. The appearance of peripheral character in whole story less, not important, and he appears only if there is any connection with the main character, directly or indirectly.
2.2 Point Of View
In literature Point of view is the voice of the story, the speaker who does the narrating. It is the way the reality of a story is made to seem authentic. It may be regarded as the story’s focus. The angle of vision from which things are not only seen and reported but also judged. A story may be told by a fictitious “observer” who tell us what he or she saw. Heard, concluded, and thought.
Understanding point of view often requires subtlety indeed, it may be one of the most difficult off all concepts in study of fiction. In fuller perspective, therefore way may think of it as the total position from which things are viewed, understood, and communicated. The position might be simply physical : where was the speaker located when the events occurred, or does the speaker give us a close or distant view of the events.
Point of view is one of the many ways in which authors make fiction vital. By controlling point of view, an author make us reasonable inferences about the story actions. Authors use point of view to raise some of the same questions in their fiction that perplex use in life. We need to evaluate what fictional narrators as well as real people tell us, for what they say is affected by their limitation, attitudes, opinions, and degree of candidness.
Point of view refers to the position and stance of the voice, or speaker that authors adopt for their works. It suppose a living narrator or person who tells stories, presents arguments, or express attitudes such as love, anger or excitement. Practically, point of view involves the actual physical location of this speaker and his or her position to see and record the main action and ideas.
3. THE ANALISYS
Carry Me Down is the second novel by M.J.Hyland. The genre of this novel is fiction novel and this novel about family friction. Carry Me Down
(2006), her second novel, was winner of both the Encore Award and the Hawthornden Prize in 2007. It was also shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and the 2007 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region Best B Carry Me Down is divided only one part. Carry Me Down was released on April 23, 2006.
Carry Me Down is a tour de force character study. Beyond this, it is a portrait of a child in Ireland at a particular time, the Sixties or perhaps Seventies, oppressed by a lack of opportunity. It's also an attempt to track the mental damage done by misunderstanding, by neediness that is not met with affection.
Main character is classified important and kept on performing that it feels dominating the whole story. A main character always presents in every page of the Novel concern. There are three characters in M.J. Hyland’s novel Carry Me Down. As Burhan Nurgyiyantoro ( 1998:176 ) states that they are called main character because they are often presented in every page of the novel, though they their superiority valves are not always the same. In the other words, they dominate the whole story. The main characters in the novel are as follows :
3.1 John Egan
grandmother’s cottage in Gorey, Wexford. Before they moved to Dublin, Irish together with his both parents. he is a kind boy, honest, friendly ,easygoing etc. But his body not like a boy in 11 years old. He is a big enough, bold and freakishly tall for his young age. He is nearly 6 feet tall (183 centimeters), with feet "as big as rubber boots." John like cat very much, Crito it names. Like his father, so he choose cat as his pet. He also loves play and watching football. He is an Irish too like his father and mother. But he’s very hates with Irish study at his school and can’t speak Irish fluently.
John has a little hole in his head. Therefore he always scratching his head every time he can. When he’s scratching his head, his head always bloody. It makes his father very angry with John when he is scratching his head . When he’s scratching his head, John like a Foolish man said his Father. Therefore his father buy a red hat for John to prevent him to scratching his hat and injury him. His favorite book is Guinness Book Of Records. Because his dream is want to put his name in a record sometime. Like his father, who dreams of studying at Trinity College. That record is lying detection. He is believes that he has a unusual talent in lying detection. And he sure that unusual talent can make him be famous person in the world sometime. He know when somebody is lying. When somebody lying, he will vomited, dizzy, his neck and his ears will be fells hot suddenly and he feels sick, as quoted below:
“He’s liar and I have proof. I vomited because he lied to me. He lied about not feeling sad.’ It more than being sick. I saw the expression on his face change when he told the lie and I heard the change in his voice and I saw his hands shake. ( M.J.Hyland.2006:30 )”
with Irish language. Therefore his teacher hates him, because he never serious in Irish lesson And in this school John has made only one friend, that’s name is Brendan, and he loses this friend after an "experiment" goes wrong and he wets the classroom floor, to the disgust and taunts of his classmates. He was only trying to break a urine-retaining record.
He have three headings for person lying : Major Lies ( Rojam Seil) and Minor Lies ( Ronim Seil ) and White Lies ( Etihw Seil ). But, he said White Lies backwards isn’t a good word, so he have changed White Lies to Etuh Seil. He also makes codes for his family who has been already lying him. And make a note on his logbook, The Gol Of Seil. His Mother is Romtha, Father is Hafta, grandmother is Morga, uncle Tony is Tolac, uncle Jack is Jatal and aunty Evelyn is Lonev.
Although aunty Evelyn never lying him, he prepare page headed with her name, Lonev. and waiting for the lies she will tell and always keep hidden The Gol Of Seil under his matters, along with the money that he took from his grandmother’s purse.
Every daywhen he have time, he always read Guinness Book Of Records
magazine and always try to find out, there’s anybody who has a gift for lie detection. He more spirit than before to appear his name in a record at Guinness Book Of Records, when he know there’s nothing person can’t identifying a lying in the world like his unusual talent.
John sent letter to Guinness Book Of Records for his ambition. He hopes
Guinness Book Of Records. this is one of three John’s letters for Guinness Book Of Records:
Dear Guinness Book Of Records,
My name is John Egan and I have a rare gift. I think you will be
interested in this gift of mine and you should let me prove it to you.
I can tell when somebody is lying with nearly 100% accuracy.
I hope you will write back to me soon and let me do a demonstration
for you.
Yours sincerely,
John Egan. ( M.J.Hyland.2006:90 )
John noticed the sensation caused by lying : what lying does to his temperature, his voice and his body. He noticed that his left hands is in a first but it is hard to know what his right hand might be doing if it were not occupied holding the telephone receiver. He also noticed that he is speaking faster than usual.
But, John very sad when they moved from Gorey to Dulbin. He left good teacher, god school etc. And he dislike very much with their Dublin tower block in Dublin. He can’t sleep well in his bedroom since they moved, because he said that his bedroom very smelling and narrow. Then he change his position of his bedroom with his father. He sleep again with his mother and his father sleep in John’s bedroom.
By this stage the family has moved to Dublin, Irish. Where the only accommodation available is in a high-rise block in Ballymun, In this place, Jhon school at Ballymun National School. John is little beat indecent. Sometimes, when his family has a problem, John’s mother can’t sleep for a week because of depression with his father . So John want to help his mother to sleep well. when his mother lies next to him, He takes her resting hands and fold them across her mother’s chest and he look at her. Then John climb on top his mother.
Then John’s legs straddle her stomach and hips, when her mother moves and groans, he try to stop her moving with take the pillow and put it over her face and then he lay down on her. When his mother stop moving, John put his head on the pillow and they are booth sleepy, suddenly his mother kicks him and his mother alleging that he want to smother and try to killed her.
After that, he brings by two guards into boys home. He Stay there for a week. John very sad and regretfully about that. But he’s very lucky because he have a loving mother. His mother still loving and care him very much. Then his mother brings him back out of home boy and back to home. They’re going into their house also with his father. They moved back into grandmother’s cottage at the Gorey. His grandmother very glad because John and his family come again and stay with her again. John can repair his parent problem and can make their relationship be harmonist again.
Book Of Records and forgetting also his unusual talent and want to life like a normal boy and life hapifully together with his family.
John is Irish like his both parent, but he hate Irish study at his school and can’t speaking Irish fluently. John is a big enough, bold and freakishly tall for his young age. His voice has already broken. He is nearly 6 feet tall (183 centimeters). He not seems like a boy in 11 years generally. He is a smart boy, kindness, honest, friendly, easygoing boy but also he is a lazy boys. He also love cat very much, like his father. Therefore, he choose cat as his pet. With his talent as a liar detector, John can identifying person who want to lying him. His dream is want put his name in record at Guinness Book Of Record as a liar detector. But, before he gets his dreams, he must to face a problem in his family. Finally, when his problem is over. He’s forgetting his dream and choose to live normal like a boy generally with his family.
3.2 Michael Egan.
Michael Egan is John’s father. He’s an Irish man, has a brown eyes. He’s dark, curly hair is messy and his fringe has fallen down over his eyes He love John and his wife very much. He is temperature person, unneat, and liar. He worked as an electric in Wexford when they are still life in his mother’s cottage in Gorey. When he work in Wexford, he always back home so lately until midnight in almost every time. He hates his job very much.
he look John scratching his head. When his son scratching his head, he said John is like a Foolish Man. Therefore, for prevent John to didn’t scratching his head, Michael buy a hat for John. And the color is red. He also didn’t believe with John’s unusual talent, lying detection. He always said that as a nonsense .
After he lose his job, he can’t find another job for three years and make him be more depression and stress. When he hasn’t a job, he preparing for entrance exam at Trinity College. According to him, that he shouldn’t have too much trouble passing because last year he sat the Mensa test and passed with flying colors.
When he still live together with his family in Gorey, his mother always said he is a unuseful person. He always spent his time only with sleep along time, watching television, hearing the radio, always going out of the house until midnight in almost every day and drunks with his friends without think for looking another job in Gorey. This bad things make his mother angry with him every day. Michael can’t hold his emotion and make him hit his mother. as quoted below:
“Because she wanted to be hit. I hit her because she nagged me. She know I was about to hit her and still she nagged me. And then she told me to get out of her house. And I hit her and she knew I would. (M.J.Hyland.2006:187)”
Michael also back home so lately every day in his new jobs. He can back home until midnight. And he never change his bad character, he always drinks alcohol with his friends. It makes his family distrust about his works, his son look him go out from another woman room. Not also that, His father gambles and visits the prostitutes upstairs in their Dublin tower block. It makes His wife very angry and sad. Then, his wife told that Michael must go out of his house, never try to come back in Dublin and never try to visit them. And he came back to his mother cottage in Gorey. His wife prevent Michael to make communication, come back, talking and telephone again with her and John especially .
After go out of his Dublin tower block in Dublin. He decided to come back into his mother cottage in Gorey. Because he hasn’t another home again to stay temporally. He told to his mother what really happens with him and his family and why he is come back to Gorey. His mother received him in her house because Michael can make her sure and always give an appointment to his mother that he will always to try for looking a new Job when he stay there. And his mother believe it.
In this story, Michael is an Irish has a Brown eyes. He’s dark, curly hair is messy and his fringe has fallen down over. He love cat very much. He worked as an electric in Wexford before and said so every night when he got home. When he hasn’t job for three years, most of his time is always spent in bedroom for sleep along day without think for looking for a new job. But, when he moved,he preparing for the entrance exam at Trinity College, that he shouldn’t have too much trouble passing because he sat the Mensa test and passed with flying colors before. At least, he has got a scholarship in a metal works factory in Dublin. He also has high temperament, a liar and lazy but he love his family very much.
3.3 Helen Egan
Helen Egan is John’s Mother. She is an Irish too. Like his husband. She is younger a year from her husband. One time, she is work in a local shop as a puppet maker. She loves with her family very much. She is a primary connection to life, but despite the fact that she is pretty, imaginative and tender, she is also confronted and worried, in an Oedipal sense, by John’s premature manliness.
She’s very worried about John’s over growing. She think, John has a something wrong with his growing. Therefore, she bring John to a specialist doctor for check up his growing. However, when the doctor said there’s something wrong with John’s growing and then the doctor gives she a receipts for John, she didn’t received it. Because she believed there’s something wrong with John’s over growing.
from a woman room in their Dublin tower. She can’t believed it and said Jhon is lying and it’s a nonsense. She checked to his husband office by telephone and ask his husband boss when her husband go home every day. When she know that her husband not go home until midnight, she want to checked a truth of Jhon’s word that her husband always visits the prostitutes upstairs in their Dublin tower block before go home. She asked some girls upstairs in their Dublin tower block, when a girl said her husband always visits her room every night, she is very sad about the truth.
She told that her husband must go out from their house, when she know that her husband gambles and visits the prostitutes upstairs in their Dublin tower block, she is sinks into depression. She said that Michael never try to came back again to their house and she didn’t want to talking again with Michael. She’s going to be more depression from day to day.
She can’t received this fact. After that She just spent her time only in her bedroom along day. She can’t do anything. Like cooking, bath, eat, drink Etc. She can’t sleep well for a week. Every night, she just spent her time only with cry and cry. She alleging that her son want to killed her, when John try to make her sleep. as quoted below:
“Did you want to smother me?
Get out of my sight (M.J.Hyland.2006:286 )
bring her son into boys home. But as a mother, she can’t lying she’s feeling that she still love John very much, so after his son bring into boys home for three days, she call her husband and tell the real story. Then they both come into boys home to visits John there. She’s forgetting John’s mistake and also bring out Jhon from there. She with her husband back into John’s grandmother cottage at Gorey. Finally they lived together with hapifully ever after.
4. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
4.1 Conclusions
After analyzing those three short stories about main character in M.J. Hyland’s novel Carry Me Down in the previous chapter, the following conclusions are:
John Egan is unusual an eleven years old boys is a big enough, bold and freakishly tall for his young age. He is nearly 6 feet tall (183 centimeters), with feet "as big as rubber boots." John Egan is an Irish, like his both parents, but he hate Irish study in his school and can’t speak Irish fluently. " He only has made one friend in old school he loses this friend after an "experiment" goes wrong and he wets the classroom floor, to the disgust and taunts of his classmates. He was only trying to break a urine-retaining record.
John has a dream who put his name in a record at Guinness Book of record as a lying detector. He believes when somebody lying him, he will feel vomited, dizzy, his ears will be hot etc. Therefore, he sent letter Guinness Book of record and hope that Guinness Book of record will interested with his talent and will bring him in their show. But, when he the problem is coming, their live not harmonist again, especially his father and mother’s conflict. It make them not be unity again for temporally.
4.2SUGGESTIONS
At the end of this paper, the writer hopes that this paper will make the reader know more about character and also point of view from the short story. The writer realizes that this paper is still far away from being perfect. For that, in this paper the writer tries to use the simple words to make the readers understand it easily.
REFERENCES
Roberts, Edgar. V and Hendry E. Jacobs. 1995. Literature and Introduction to Reading and Writing Fourth Edition. New Jersey: Schuster Company Ader, Herman J and Gideon J Mellenbergh. 1999. Research Methodology.
London: Sage Publications.
Azwar, Saifuddin. 1998. Metode Penelitian. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
Gwynn, R.S. 2002. Fiction A Pocket Anthology (Third Edition). New York: Longman Publisher.
Hyland, Maria Joan. 2006. Carry Me Down. Jakarta: PT. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Irawan, Prasetya and A.P. Hardono. 1997. Metode Penelitian. Jakarta: Universitas Terbuka.
Nurgoyantoro, Burhan. 1998. Teori Pengkajian Fiksi. Yogyakarta: Gajah Mada University Press.
Peck, John and Martin Coyle. 1984. Literary Terms and Criticism. London: Macmillan Education LTD.
APENDICES
Maria Joan Hyland’s Biography
M. J. Hyland
Maria Joan Hyland (born 6 June 1968) is a novelist. She made her debut in Australia in 2003 with How The Light Gets In. Her second novel Carry Me Down
was shortlisted for the and the England, where she is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at th
Life
Maria Joan Hyland was born in London to Irish parents. When she was two years old her family moved to Australia, but returned to years, where Hyland spent her early childhood. When she was eleven years old, the family once again travelled to Australia, settling in school she worked briefly in film and television — appearing uncredited in an
episode of
completed a M.A. in English at the University of Melbourne.
Biography
M. J. Hyland was born in London to Irish parents in 1968 and spent her early childhood in Dublin. She studied English and Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and worked as a lawyer for several years.
Her first novel, How The Light Gets In (2004), was shortlisted for the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best First Book), the 2004 Age Book of the Year Award (Australia), took third place in the 2005 Barnes and Noble Discover Award (USA), and was joint winner of the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist Award.
Carry Me Down (2006), her second novel, was winner of both the Encore Award and the Hawthornden Prize in 2007. It was also shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and the 2007 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region Best Book).
M. J. Hyland lives in Manchester, where she teaches in the Centre for New Writing at Manchester University. Her latest novel is This is How (2009), about a man whose unease in the world leads to his tragic undoing, described by The
SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL
This is a novel about family friction The opening scene of Carry Me Down
came in a dream. The dream from an 11 years old boys, John Egan his name. He life with his full family, his father is Michael Egan and his Mother is Helen Egan. They life in his grandmother cottage in a place at Gorey,Wexford.
His father is a one-time electrician, is studying with a view to enrolling for a degree course in criminal psychology at Trinity College Dublin. John’s mother is a puppet-maker. The grandmother, not entirely happy about the invasion of her home, spends a lot of time attending horse races at Leopardstown. John is not an usual boy. He is a big enough, bold and freakishly tall for his young age. He is nearly 6 feet tall (183 centimeters), with feet "as big as rubber boots." The Egans are an odd family. They are all very tall.
John Egan is an unforgettable character. A lightning rod for our empathies. His mother is his primary connection to life, but despite the fact that she is pretty, imaginative and tender, she is also confronted and worried, in an Oedipal sense, by his premature manliness.
his actions, and this culminates in a melodramatic incident involving an ambulance and a number of Gardai.
Jhon’s favorite book is Guinness Book Of Records. Because his dream is want to put his name in a record sometime. Like his father, who dreams of studying at Trinity College. That record is lying detection. He is believes that he has a unusual talent in lying detection. And he sure that unusual talent can make him be famous person in the world sometime. He know when somebody is lying. When somebody lying, he will vomited, dizzy, his neck and his ears will be fells hot suddenly and he feels sick.
They moved from Gorey. Because his father hit his mother. They stay temporally in John’s aunt home before they has moved to Dublin, where the only accommodation available is in a high-rise block in Ballymun, with the stink of rubbish in their noses and gangs of youths assembling for no good purpose in the stairwell. In this place, John has school at Ballymun National School.
However, this problem can handle by them. John make a little mistake because he want to help his mother who can’t sleep for a week. He make a mistake who make his mother alleging that he want to smother and try to killed her. It makes John bring by two guards into home boys. But John is very lucky because he has a love mother. Her mother visit him in home boys with his father.
Then, his mother bring him out of home boys and forgetting all of John mistake. They come back into Gorey. And they life with his grandmother in his grandmother cottage. Finally John forgetting his dreams who want to put his name in a record of Guinness Book Of Records. And also forgetting his an unusual talent in lying detection and want to a normal life as a boy like usual with his family. They live happily ever after.
