While the differences in identity between those in the Republic of Ireland and those in Northern Ireland are represented in different ways, the identity and social constrains of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland are also set up in different ways. Both sides having different identity and social constraints represents the issues between the sides and also exemplifies how each side has to deal with the different processes growing up and expectations.
In “Quietly” by Owen McCafferty, Jimmy and Ian are discussing the fateful day Jimmy’s dad was killed and how Ian was the one who threw the bomb. Through this informal conversation, the identities of each individual comes out. The day Jimmy’s dad died he was minding his own business, in his own thoughts, at home with his mother. Jimmy had a big life set out before him and the ability to go to university, but after his dad died, all of that went away, and Jimmy essentially fell apart. Ian on the other hand, didn’t know what he was getting into, he didn’t recognize the cause of the IRA and what exactly he was joining. He was too young to drive, but not too young to throw a bomb. For him, he had no other option and he was held within these social constraints.
Jimmy, the Protestant, had a pretty decent life, and his identity came from his family and his future. His social constraint was within the expectation that he would go to school. Ian though, the Catholic, had to join the IRA, without any other option, and he and other members (women included) were required to do certain things, like throwing bombs. Ian was stuck in the social constraint of having to join the IRA, and honestly his identity was lost, as he didn’t know who he was. These two show the different sides of conflict in Northern Ireland, but also humanize both sides. Both had good things coming for them, but circumstance had a different path for them.