I am planning to focus my final paper on poverty in Dublin and how it is portrayed through Juno and the Paycock. As of right now, I’m still deciding what exact approach I want to take with this topic. Either I will delve into a semi-comprehensive history of poverty in Dublin, going back to early centuries, or I will focus primarily on the late 19th century, leading into the 1920s. The latter option seems like a better choice but finding sources for the early 20th century has been harder than I thought, so I need to do more research. No matter which option I choose, my final paper will focus on the nature of poverty in Dublin and how it affected its inhabitants, and how the government and the church played a role in either perpetuating or relieving the pressures of poverty on the people of Dublin. I will then use that research to close read some passages from Juno and the Paycock and analyze how poverty is portrayed through popular culture and what the play may reveal about the emotions of the people during that time.
Poverty and the Paycock
This is a very interesting set of potential directions for your research. I think that while you may have an easier time looking into Dublin’s history in the 19th century . It will be easier for you to narrow your focus by remaining grounded in the 20th century. either way it seems that you will be exploring poverty, and that will be an interesting read.