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I found John Corrigan to be a particularly interesting character. He can easily be written off as selfless and spiritual, but I feel there is so much more to unveil. His perspective was truly fascinating to discover, especially through the eyes of his brother Ciaran. Corrigan is a mystery, and he seems to resonate with each community he finds. The man thrives off of comprehensive understanding, taking the expression ‘walk a mile in someone else’s shoes’ and molding it to his view of reality. His life is a cohesive experience, interlocked with trauma, agony, and respite. Ciaran describes Corrigan to be a buoy in the abyss, a beacon in the dark, a ‘savior’ to the lost souls of the world. As readers, we watch Corrigan evolve from a young boy engaging in risky behaviors, to a man actively seeking out the world’s anguish. His sense of duty and responsibility to the weary smother any sense of self preservation that may have blossomed within him. To those he meets, Corrigan is a true pillar, unwavering and steady. He is portrayed to be a light amongst the dark themes of the world, seemingly untainted and resilient. However, I feel this is not the case. In my eyes, Corrigan is an addict, albeit unconventionally so. Google defines addiction as “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity”. Corrigan’s lifestyle is entirely dependent on the work he does for others. He’s systematically entrenched himself in the darkest corners he can find. He’s psychologically reliant on the work he does for others. While some characters are dependent on physical substances, Corrigan thrives on the satisfaction he feels when he comprehends the suffering of another. While this may sound mundane, and in theory it is, it’s important to remember Corrigan’s self-negligence. As a young boy, he drank with the alcoholics in Ireland, supplying the men with their poison of choice. Ciaran even drags him drunk out of an alley after dark, foreshadowing the years to come. Later Corrigan finds himself in the projects, where he lives in precarious conditions surrounded by crime and drugs. He lives without any locks on his door, drives a hazardous vehicle, and seeks out dangerous situations in order to fulfill his own desires. Furthermore, Corrigan’s intangible addiction drives a wedge between him and his brother at times, as seen when Ciaran is worried for his well being and the potential of a heroin addiction. There is more to be said about his behavioral patterns, something that runs much deeper than simply living as a selfless individual. Corrigan’s character is multidimensional and the pinnacle of an unsustainable resilience; his tolerance for the darkness would have diminished eventually. After all, if one individual tried to shoulder the burden of purging corruption, hatred, and fear from the world alone, they would surely shatter.
Your interpretation of Corrigan is one that I agree with more than just the simple remark that he is selfless. In any act of selflessness, there is an essence of selfishness within it. Whether it is to feel good about yourself in helping those who can’t or to serve your own ideas of justice, there is an all-threading caveat of some sort of avarice intertwining throughout each action. When faced with the option to leave the order for love, he purposefully finds no way for satisfaction in either choice. Even Adelita remarks how Corrigan has the choice of still serving his God in some way to serve the wretched while still being with her. Yet Corrigan still rejects the ability to have his cake and eat it, too. Amidst his strife, Corrigan pushes himself into more throes of perdition. Over and under the hurdles of life, he has chosen a path of much attrition, however when faced with the first convincing possibility of leaving it for something he truly believes in, he has still contrived a way to make it difficult. Whether it is being a glutton for punishment, feeling undeserving of it while others will never get these chances, or simply because he has lived his life for too long in one way that facing another is breaking the fabric of his being, there is still an addiction to suffering and his own selfishness.
I like your more unconventional analysis of Corrigan, as many of us have not really acknowledged the bad side of him. He’s a romantic figure, a tortured soul who drowns his sorrows in those of others, but he’s also just that – romantic. Maybe in reality he should have simply stopped torturing himself and given up on his pursuit, and maybe he could have taken up a more productive pursuit or approached it from an angle where he could have made a more tangible difference. However, like you say, he couldn’t, because he’s an addict, and his addiction not only ends up costing his life, but also another, and it hurts other people around him.
This was a very good analysis and a fresh, interesting new take on the character. I liked how he was the only character who didn’t have a first-person perspective of his own to share during the novel, yet we learn just as much about him as we do the other characters through his words, history, and actions. I also think that not seeing inside of his head invites us to create alternate perspectives on the character, like the great one you offered. However, I see him as less of an addict and more of a conflicted soul trying to get a grip on life. His heart is in constant turmoil from his birth on, and I believe Corrigan is simply trying to sympathize with others’ pain so he can better understand his.
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