Charitable Corrigan

[Leonidas Kalpaxis]

While reading through Let the Great World Spin, the character Corrigan particularly stood out to me as interesting and also somewhat appealing. Although I wouldn’t say I approve of all of his actions, an example being his tendency towards drunkenness, many of his actions are commendable because of the altruistic reasons behind what could be seen by others as questionable. Such instances of disguised kindheartedness are depicted when Corrigan is still a young boy. His night excursions, while tainted by the negative acts of drinking and smoking, are nonetheless coupled with selfless acts, for example, him giving blankets to people who need them. In a similar way, giving his father and mother’s clothes away to poor people demonstrates again Corrigan’s dedication to putting others’ needs before one’s own. Corrigan’s philosophy towards finding his own version of heaven in the dark parts of the physical world is apparent here. In what is a dark and sad time for him following the death of his mother, Corrigan brings a light to the ensuing darkness through his donation of his parents’ clothes. In other words, Corrigan finds a way to deal with the hardships of the world through hope and charity, which I admire about his character. When Corrigan moves to New York, we continue to see examples of his optimism in the world and people, from when he gives prostitutes a place to wash up and rest, to the fact that he seems to be able to talk without issue to people perceived by his brother to be tough, or hoodlums. Another reason why I find Corrigan’s character interesting, is because of his conflicted relationship to religion. Most people don’t know of his affiliation with religion, but he still works to make the world a better place by helping others as much as he can. At the same time, his religion creates a sort of barrier between him and the woman he begins to fall in love with, Adelita. In this way, while religion is a means for Corrigan to channel his efforts for good, it also creates distance between him and others. All in all, Corrigan’s generous spirit and unique way in which he practices his religion, mainly through an optimistic belief in the world, are factors which drew me toward Corrigan, a compelling and appealing character.

[Zara McPartland]

I like how you traced Corrigan’s actions from his youth, as the backdrop to his character is vital to understanding his actions in the future. He spent his entire life developing his own philosophy and devoting himself to sparking light in the dark. I think his critical perspective of religion and constant assessments of the world bring a sincerity to his character that is so desperately needed, both in the book and in our reality. Corrigan is a pinnacle of altruism. His inner conflict between his love for Adelita and devotion to his spirituality makes him all the more ‘compelling’. It was nice to see him face such a human dilemma, because after comprehending the true depth of his compassion, even I was holding him up on a pedestal.

[Ryan Day]

I definitely agree with you perception of Corrigan as a sort of odd man of faith, and want to build on it with a detail I noticed early in the book. When we are in Ciaran’s perspective, he notices on the floor of Corrigan’s apartment a copy of a book written by Dorothy Day, a name I vaguely recognized at the time, and searched later to find she was a far left anarchist, in addition to her devout faith to the Catholic Church. I think the addition of her novel is a little easter egg, meant to point out to the reader that Corrigan is much like the late Dorothy Day, both very faithful despite their odd circumstances and/or politics.

[coryweng]

This is such a strong argument. I agree that Corrigan is definitely someone who was charitable, as you pointed out, giving blankets in Dublin, and giving prostitutes a place. It’s also interesting to note that he didn’t just extend help to just certain groups of people he liked. He was willing to help even those who may have been doing things that he may disagree with. I remember we also talked in class about how another thing he gave was non-judgment, and he identified himself as a pacifist, and his kindness can be shown through his non-judgment and non-violence as well.

[Javier Jbara]

I like what you said about Corrigan having to battle his personal demeons in order to keep up his solid Christian world view. At times those vices become unbearable for him and reality is changing around him. It goes to show how scary it can be when our realities are being tested by something. The need to adapt to environment and the turmoils through changing what we do have shown as themes of human nature through story telling. The medium of story telling, like Christ, is equally accounted for rooted in being with an incredible sense of morality. It offers the perspective that we are fighting against an “Evil” which being our vices and our interactions with other. The sense of meaning attached to the fight against our emotions is strong.

[Author]

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