Responses to The Buddhist of Castleknock (2007), by Jim O'Hanlon

“The Invented Tradition” in The Buddhist of Castleknock

Response to “The Invented Tradition” in The Buddhist of Castleknock

1) “The Invented Tradition” in The Buddhist of Castleknock: Crowning the Christmas Tree with Mammy's Angel as an Example

高鼎壹

     In his The Invention of Tradition, Eric Hobsbawm indicates that people tend to take “tradition” as granted and recognize it as part of their lives which has existed for ages. Nonetheless, the so-called tradition is in fact a deliberate invention of some people; for instance, the relation between Scottish Tartans and certain family clans is considered an age-long cultural heritage. In reality, it is not until the late 18th century does the association between the tartan patterns and family clans begins to develop. In Jim O'Hanlon's The Buddhist of Castleknock, the similar argument is brought out. What is family tradition? How does the celebration of Jesus Christ relate to the lineage convention?

    In the play, Christmas is represented more as a family gathering than its true and original meaning, the celebration of Christ's birthday. For the Sullivans, especially for Edie Sullivan, Christmas is the day for all the members of the family to gather together, having fancy dinner, singing carols, going to midnight mass at the church, exchanging the presents, and having a tree in the living room. The image of the tree is significant to the play in the sense that it signifies the holiday on the one hand and the family itself on the other. For Edie, Christmas and the tree is so important that she hopes everything to be perfect; and to be perfect means everything has to go the way it always does, in other words, everything goes with the tradition. Starting with Edie shouting at Julian who refuses to hang the homemade wreath on the door, the play has indicated that this Christmas for the Sullivans will not be so perfect as Edie has expected. Edie insists on placing the wreath on the door because that is what they always do on Christmas; Julian rejects to do the favor because the wreath always fall off (as a tradition in a sense). Eventually the wreath is situated on the door by Sean, but the garland does not stay there for long; it has already fallen onto the ground when John and Rai enter the house. Unfortunately, the fallen garland is not the only one spolier of Edie's perfect Christmas, the tree and the unexpected guest Rai also contribute to the damaging of the mother's idea of an ideal family gathering. At the very beginning of the play Edie has questioned Sean whether or not he thinks of the tree as lopsided. Edie receives her expected answer yet that does not stop her from questioning the other members of the family. She is uneasy and nervous throughout the play/the Christmas holidays. On the one hand, her high expectation for a flawless Christmas has made her tense and anxious; on the other hand, she cannot convince herself that the tree is in not inclining to one side. Her anxiety worsens when the other family members start to discuss the tree in front of her presence:

          John I suppose it does a bit [lopsided]. But sure, that can easily be rectified.
          Tara Apparently not. Apparently it's doomed to lean.
          Edward The leaning Christmas tree of Castleknock, wha'? (16-7).

     The conclusion that Edward makes is crucial and true. Not only the tree is leaning but the family is declining and falling apart. Among the members of the Sullivans, Edie is the one person that endeavors to pull the whole family together. Unfortunately, she has worked too hard on the issue, which makes the matter even worse:

          Sean You put another decoration on that tree and it'll collapse!
          Edie (to Rai, ignoring Sean) It's family tradition. On Christmas Eve, when everyone's back, the youngest member of the family puts Mammy's Angel on the top of the tree. As a sort of way of putting the finishing touches to the decorations, and to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas. (18-9).

     Suppose the tree signifies the family and the decorations embody the family rituals, the Sullivans eventually will disintegrate when the strong force of lineage customs continues to press upon the already weary Sullivan descendants (such as John and Jullian). Sean's remark that the lopsided-inclined tree will fall down if anyone adds another ornament to the tree, in fact, foreshadows the outcome of his family.

     Edie calls the putting the Angel on the top of the tree a tradition. However, the ritual is invented by her own mother and later on passed to Edie. Placing a decoration on a tree would not be a convention for the Sullivan family if Edie refuses to carry on. In other words, it is Edie's deliberate choice of handing on the invention that turns the simple act of decorating to a family convention. Unlike the mother's tendency to tradition and rituals, the youngest son rejects to carry on the tradition at first. In the end Julian gives in, places the Angel on the top of the lopsided tree in a jokingly manner. The irony here is that the Mammy's Angel (an heirloom) is stolen and replaced, without anyone's notice, by a glass Angel (a cheap Christmas decoration) not long after it is situated. However, the real value of the Mammy's Angel is not its material price which worth 400 pounds (Julian might be an exception) but its meaning as a family heirloom passing onto the eldest daughter of the family which is priceless. With the heirloom being replaced by a poor ornament and discovered two days after, the family tradition of the Sullivans is challenged.

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2) RE: “The Invented Tradition” in The Buddhist of Castleknock: Crowning the Christmas Tree with Mammy's Angel as an Example

翁偉銘

     I appreciate Miss Kao's clear discussion on the artificiality of tradition, and I would like to contribute a bit thought on this issue. In “The Buddhist of Castleknock”, the Christmas tree is a very powerful device. Occupying most of the time and receiving attention from all the family members, it obviously carries an important message. Though it's not hard to see the fact that it symbolizes a tradition, I would like to discuss the value of tradition in different individuals here. From the beginning, Eddie has been concerned with the Christmas tree, because she wants it to be perfect. Christmas means a lot to her because it's the great time for family reunion. Despite all her fuss, the family members take turns in telling her that it's a bit lopsided. There is a great generation gap here. Though Edie tries to pass down the Christmas tradition of her family, not everyone in the family shows the same enthusiasm. Tradition has long become a burden for them, since it's the only time of the year that they are forced to go home for family reunion. The Christmas, as a dramatic device, actually reveals two interlinked issues in this play: the difficulty to preserve a tradition. and the dysfunction of family.

     As Miss Kao has pointed out that any tradition is man-made, Christmas means a lot to Edie as a pious Catholic woman and a loving Irish mother. Interestingly, we get to hear the comment that the Christmas tree is lopsided. Here the key issue is brought to the fore. The tradition treasured by a certain group of people may not be as acceptable for others—the Christmas tree may look great to Edie, but it looks lopsided from a different angle. Furthermore, tradition may change with time. The tension occurs when Edie discovers that John has been converted to Buddhism. Though not without struggles, the family finally reaches an understanding of each other's good will. The tensions actually pave the way for mutual understanding. Pardon me for liken the tension of this family to the political strives in Ireland.—the way to peace lies in the respecting the religions and the voices of the other

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