What picture of the life of the Islanders do you get in the play “Riders to the Sea”

Answer

What picture of the life of the Islanders do you get in the play “Riders to the Sea”?

In “Riders to the Sea” (1904) by J. M. Synge (1871-1909), we see a vivid picture of the harsh and tragic life of the Aran islanders living on the west coast of Ireland. Their lives revolve around the sea. The sea is both their source of livelihood and the cause of their suffering. The play shows how the island’s people live in constant fear of losing their loved ones to the sea, yet they depend on it for survival. In the play, we also witness their religious faith, superstition, and how the community depends on each other.

Poverty: The islanders are very poor. They struggle every day to earn their livelihood. They depend on fishing and trading to earn their livelihood. Bartley, the last surviving son of Maurya, wants to go to Connemara to sell a horse. Bartley knows he must go to the mainland by crossing the sea to sell the horse, otherwise, his family will starve. Maurya does not want her son to go to the sea in bad weather. However, Bartley explains he must go, as no boats will go in two weeks or more. Bartley says:

“This is the one boat going for two weeks or beyond it.”

This line gives us a clear idea of how difficult the islanders’ life is. In another scene, Cathleen tells Nora to give Bartley the rope for his journey out to sea. Nora says their pig was trying to eat the rope:

“I hung it up this morning, for the pig with black feet was eating it.”

The fact that the pig was trying to eat the rope suggests how poor the family is—they have no food for themselves and definitely no leftover food to feed the animals.

Dependence on the Sea: The islanders are deeply connected to the sea. The sea provides them with their livelihood. Fishing and trading are the main