Fragment E

Fragment E is an interesting story, now that I’ve done some serious analysis of it. It’s easy to read a story and overlook some very important details that change the way you see the story. The most interesting thing I found is the reference to religion throughout the story. In the opening paragraph, the narrator makes the first of thee references. “North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers’ School set the boys free” (Fragment E, Paragraph 1). This suggests that the author resents the church in some way. Rather than saying “the school dismissed the boys, he uses words to suggest that the boys were imprisoned by the church.
The author also mentions the priest, who was the former tenant of their house. He describes the backyard with a central apple tree. This could be referring to the Garden of Eden, and the Tree of Life. He mentions times when his mind would revert back to the thought of the girl. “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I, myself did not understand” (Fragment E, Paragraph 5). The mention of strange prayers and praises here is not only a reference to religion, but the way it is being used suggests that he did not feel an obligation to this religion.
I read this story twice before I began to catch these details, and when I did, it was like a light went on, and several other things began to become obvious to me as well.