Category: Film-Lit Coffeehouse

“New boy” follows a young boy named Joseph, a nine-year-old boy, as he experiences his first day at school. All the children seem friendly enough until it comes to Christian Kelly. Joseph is an easy target to pick on for Christian Kelly, with him being the new kid and all. It’s clear that he doesn’t want to bring any attention to himself, he does as he’s told to avoid conflict. This type of behavior seems to have been taught. Some people would call him shy. I’d say that he’s observant and very self-aware. Throughout the story, small details are revealed about Joseph. We learn that he’s African; he hasn’t been in a classroom for months. His father was killed, he was a teacher, and this is all new territory for him. There’s a narrator, we aren’t being told about Joseph’s first day by Joseph. I would say it’s because this situation is bigger than Joseph himself, he’s nine I don’t think he could grasp the emotions he’s feeling. He’s smart but he’s a child who’s experienced the tragedy of losing a parent and is now in a whole new country. Certain things trigger him to the tragic day when he lost his father, in particular, loud sounds and bells transport him back to his old life. The question is does Joseph change from beginning to end? He does in the sense that his guard is down; he’s able to be another nine-year-old boy with his new schoolmates. Joseph doesn’t hesitate to grab Christian Kelly’s fingers once he’s pushed. There’s a flashback to when his father was killed, and a feeling of weakness of fear, and of running away hits Joseph. He doesn’t speak up when asked what happened, none of them do. At that moment they become “the three musketeers”.

Tevin Hamilton

English 2400

Section D049

Prof. Sean Scanlan

Sept 17, 2022

Coffeehouse#1

    In the short story, “New Boy”, by Roddy Doyle uses the title not only as a literal symbolism about the Character joseph journey a new school but also metaphorically to symbolize the change in joseph later on in the story and him taking the steps forward to move  from the boy rocked with grief and being a child again and able to laugh. The physical symbols of the title new boy,,first begins in the beginning of the story with the author dropping hints about the fact that Joseph might be from a different country; the author does this through joseph taking phrases such as “your dead” literally and no even realizing it is a threat but instead interpreting it as the other boy just saying that everyone will eventually die someday. Through thia the author established who joseph was and later in the story when the author reveals the death of Joseph’s father, you realize that this line of thinking by Joseph is not only revealing a difference in culture but also the state for Joseph mind in the wake of his father’s death. Through the establishment of how serious joseph is in the beginning of the story breaking down phrases that he does understand into was that he can interpret them as well as the he interprets them leading to conclusions such as when he breaks down the prase “your dead” and concludes that kelly means that everyone eventually dies.  The author is not only using that as a way to symbolize cultural deference but to portray the state of mind Joseph is in when he goes straight to inderpren threat kelly is saying everyone eventually dies this shows a synicilism that is not usually present in children it is only after the reveal oh Joseph’s father death and joaeph finding the body are a le to identify the secound meaning behind Joseph breaking down kellys threat.

Later in the story the author shows a shift in Joseph character when the teacher confronts him,Kelly and quin about what happened and Kelly starts to make jokes about, you see a clear difference in the response from Joseph he he is no longer interpreting the things kelly is saying in a lateral sense and he is even laughing at the jokes this symbolize Joseph joking from someone outside the culture being inside but even mire than that when Joseph starts to cry as he laugh this him cleansing him self and begin a new as someone that has been through a tragedy but is not defined by it and can still be a child. Through this form of literal and metaphorical symbolism the author shows Joseph being new to the country and his state of mind, and then later on the transition to him starting to understand the culture more and not interpreting thing a lateral and being able to laugh at jokes going fron a closed child who being through a hardship to opening , in a way coming out of his cocoon and being reborn as a new boy.just as he does with the title showing the. 

Thomas Needham

September 17, 2022

ENG 2400

Assignment “New Boy”

When reading “New Boy” it gave an accurate description of the main character of Joseph as not just a new kid in a new school but a black child in an Irish school in Ireland. I believe it gave the story more depth because rather than it be a child who is Irish it is a child who is culturally different in every way.

What I liked about “New Boy” is while Joseph is getting acclimated on his first day Joseph is also getting bullied by Christian and Seth, being helped out by Hazel and instructed by the teacher. The bullying doesn’t seem to end but when Christian pointed his finger at Joseph and rubs it on his shoulder, despite the way a story about bully’s getting their way on the first day Joseph decides to fight back…Kind of setting the tone that he will not easily bullied. The fact that this happens in a classroom before lunch lets us the reader know that there can many variables to the story. In this instance it shows character including the main character Joseph,Hazel, the antagonist’s Christian and Seth, an authority figure who is the teacher, Pam who is also bullied in class and the rest of the students as background roles. Joseph seems to try to dissolve the situation by giving Christian the answer to the problem and wanting to help Seth help out when Seth goes up to the blackboard. Through all of this Joseph is also taking it all in and learning. Basically this is just a way for the reader to get to know everybody who is in the story and gives Joseph a warm, sweetness to his character. I like the way Doyle gave everybody in this story a unique trait in their behaviors also. I especially like how the teacher tried to let Joseph aware of what happened before he moved to Ireland which kind of made assurances on how he should be treated.

During what I can only think was recess is where we get a glimpse of what happened to Joseph back home and how his Father died, how it coincided with Joseph going in to the school yard with Christian and Seth. I think the comparison of what the bell meant in the present and what the bell meant back home for Joseph brought back experiences of missing his father who was a teacher. To me Joseph reminds me of a person who will do his best to not get in to trouble and avoid confrontation like he did by giving Christian the answer to problem # 4. Joseph is a person who tried his best to fit in. To me and this is my opinion of the story this whole story by Doyle shows a lot of transition for a boy who went through hard times before he came to his new school.

During the Bell chapter of this story if there is a visual it would show Joseph going to the school yard and also showing him seeing the soldiers go in to his old school, at least that would I would see. Both situations are easily similar but also easily different. With Joseph and his run in with both Christian andSeth and him finding his father had the same feelings. However the death of his father played a bigger role with him. As stated before Joseph has the will power to fight back which he did earlier with Christian but him seeing his Father on the ground brought a feeling of hopelessness as I read it. The differences in both experiences such as kids surrounding them,the teacher intervening and what I could tell by reading probably had a nice scene compared to Joseph back home with his old school due to it having such a violent impact on his life. All the characters change through out the story accept the teacher and Hazel, at first Christian and Seth obviously do not like Joseph but out of some sort of pact among students. The kind of connection I got was that Joseph made himself fit in.  Doyle put the characters in such as a smooth change in their character, you had bullies,authority figures and protectors . While all the time being able to see what Josephs life was like before he arrived in Ireland where he had nobody who fit that description. Also I thought the way Doyle showed that first day at a new school is an experience that everyone goes through but the fact that a black child was included with a bunch of Irish kids made it more interesting to me.

NEW BOY by Roddy Doyle, when I read be carefully, I sums up that the main character of “NEW BOY “is an acclaimed abstract a new student, suddenly Joseph transferred to new school. The first day of school, He need to take a test.  Teacher-Lady introduce himself to another students. “Again. She says his name. Again, she smiles, He stands. Looks only at the teach-lady. Everybody, This Joseph say Hello,”. I chose this quote because it sums up that Joseph first day in the school.

The format of new boy, where the biggest constrain was run time had quite made him new student from the expectation of conventional school which normally impose on him if this was a new environment. I found in “New Boy” showed that Joseph was a student in the new school, which was smart, humble, and strong than other students around him. According to the story, Joseph start showing him his intelligence by solving the Math’s problems that Christian gives him During their exams. He was showing to other classmate his intellect. In the space of couple hours. He changes from an acceptably attractive new student to the other classmate.

Finally, I like this story because Joseph was showing his intelligence appearance, mobility and how he must accept this new status and be happy of having supported. The one which is successful one the lessons, the story of Scorsese of this new world new student and other classmates who really disconnected attracted a lot of praise from classmates in the school.

After reading “New Boy” by Roddy Doyle, I can empathize with the main character, Joseph, who has to live with moving to a new school.

He has to live with being different by having a lower IQ than the rest of the students. This is more obvious when the local bully, Christian Kelly, threatens him by saying that he is dead. At first, he was confused since he knows that he is not currently dead and that he surely means that “he will be dead.” The reason why I empathize with this scene is that I also struggle in a new school and have an abnormal mind compared to the other students around me. Because of this I also tend to think in weird ways when communicating with others.

There is also the scene where Joseph starts showing off his intellect by solving the math problems that Christian gives off during their exam. He keeps saying “17” since it is the closest answer.  After that, he still says “17” to piss him off. This also resembles part of my life by having to show off how smart I am to piss off whoever in my school that tries to belittle me from my indifferences.

After Joseph finished his test, he counts all the students around him. He counted twenty-three (including himself) with five empty desks remaining. Then differentiate everyone based on their appearances. The most intriguing is the girl sitting behind him; he wonders if she is Irish judging by her Irish appearance which he is not familiar with. As usual, the reason this is relatable to me is that during my time in school, I would also peruse the entire classroom to count how many students there are. And then take a closer look at their appearances to find out which race and ethnicity they belong to and finding out which type of manner I should use when communicating with them to fit their culture.

What stands out to me in this story was how the writer was not able to capture a child’s voice. Meaning that I felt as if the way these children spoke was far too mature. As a result I felt like I was reading a story about adults who are trapped in children’s bodies. I did not find the characters to be very interesting either. I think this was due to the story being written in the third-person, which also caused the writer to not give Joseph, the protagonist, very much dialogue. From what I read Joseph did not have much depth as a character, we knew very little about him by the end of the story, except that he moved from somewhere else (possibly abroad), and that his father died. Other than that I do not think Joseph had any traits that helped carry the story. Other than Joseph the story seemed to be a classic new kid at school story where the protagonist has to overcome a bully or bullies, but in this case some of the interactions between Joseph and his bully Christian trigger memories of his late father. Some symbolism I noticed throughout the story are: the teacher constantly commands the children to raise their hands, and how to the teacher always says the line, “God give me strength”. Clearly there are religious symbols that the writer is alluding to, I do not know exactly what they mean but I am assuming it has something to do with Joseph’s late father.

Roddy Doyle’s “New Boy” tells the story of a young boy named Joseph’s first day of school, through third person point of view. The story takes place in a school somewhere in Ireland. As Joseph is from Africa, he is nervous about his new surroundings and fitting in. Throughout the story he remembers his experiences from his school in Africa and compares them to the ones he’s currently having. He thinks of how much he liked the sound of the bell at his old school and the way the new one sounds harsh, and electric. Which could be symbolic of him feeling unfamiliar at his new school. Joseph gets picked on by his classmate Christian Kelly. Here, Joseph has to make a choice, to fight or de-escalate. There are a few things that make Joseph an interesting character and different from his classmates. Firstly he seems to be very perceptive. Though he doesn’t always understand the words spoken by his teacher and peers, he understands that it is important for him to know what they mean. So he thinks them over until he can find the meaning behind them. Not only perceptive, but he seems desperate to blend in. He raises his hands when other children do, he doesn’t smile because he thinks it will make them laugh. Lastly, Joseph is strong. He grabs Christian Kelly’s finger when he tries to wipe his booger on him and again when he pushes him. These qualities are unusual for your average 9 year old. This alludes to how he grew up differently from other kids. Joseph had to pick up these qualities to survive. He couldn’t stand out or else he’d be targeted, and he couldn’t be weak because he’d be bullied or worse. This is shown through Joseph’s memories from home. He describes seeing a soldier fire at the school bell, killing his father who was a teacher. He recalls the sound of gunfire, screaming and crying, the soldiers’ laughter. Even his father’s lifeless body. Joseph likely knows the consequences of violence, having seen them first hand. He decides to de-escalate the altercation between himself and Christian, with Seth Quinn onlooking. Though he still stands up for himself. He learned from his earlier experience with Christian Kelly that grabbing his finger would stop him from doing anything further. Ultimately, the boys develop an unspoken pact to not tell their teacher what happened between them in order to not be punished. In this moment Joseph seems to feel that he is safe in this new place, laughing with the three boys. He comes out of fight or flight mode and grieves his father, realizing he can never laugh with him again. But maybe it would be okay in this new place with new people. The boys laugh together and they seem to become friends, the teacher nicknames them “the three musketeers.”

I found “New Boy” to be an interesting story that address how difficult it is to be the new kid in school, especially as a minority in a school with mostly white children. Some moments that stood out to me as the story progresses is when Christian tells Joseph that “You are dead”. I found it interesting that, as a 9 year old boy, Joseph thinks of this moment in a practical way by thinking that he is clearly not dead, that Christian must mean that he is going to hurt Joseph. This is the moment we learn that Joseph has seen people dead men and boys. As the story continues, we learn that Joseph’s father was murdered by men which is never discussed further than that. This leaves his death up to interpretation, possibly the militia groups in Africa murdered his father. This would also explain why Joseph has had to move somewhere new. Throughout the story, we see Christian poke at Joseph, Joseph responds by grabbing his finger and the teacher does little to nothing. Later, Christian pushes Joseph during recess and Joseph, again, grabs his finger. Once they get back to class, the teacher confronts Joseph, Christian and Seth on the matter and none of them speak. I wonder if Joseph does this so that Christian and Seth will leave him alone or if Joseph is someone who has been taught to not speak up against others, that he prefers to handle it himself. Hazel tries to interject, but the teacher wants to hear none of it and Hazel walks away and calls the teacher a bitch. This leads to the teacher, once again, getting flustered and telling everyone to put their hands in the air which happens many times over the course of the story. The boys eventually walk back in together, this may mean that they are now friends, Joseph may not get bullied anymore for showing he won’t tell on them.

Test #2!

Yay. Enjoy!

Test #1