Truth Matters. Father Figures in David Park's "The Truth Commissioner"

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, , language: English, abstract: David Park's novel "The Truth Commissioner" is acclaimed to be an outstanding story about the making up of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that has never and probably will never take place in the war-torn country of Northern Ireland. It therefore is entirely fictitious but it orientates on similar proceedings in South Africa or Chile. Since the novel is not only dealing with political issues it focuses rather on the narration of four main characters who apparently have nothing in common. But when taking a closer look upon these four foundation pillars, each of them is a father figure in his own way. Fatherhood is undoubtedly a big issue in the book considering how different all four men live with the consciousness of being a father, being a father soon or never being a father at all. Thereupon, this paper makes an attempt to elaborate, evaluate and compare all four characters and their father-child-relations.