"A theme or issue explored in a group of narrative 
texts can offer us valuable insights to life"
Complare the texts you have studied on your comparitive course in the light of the above
statement. Your discussion must focus on one theme or issue. Support the comparrison
you make by reference to the text.

                                                                  Violenece and the threat of violence have a huge impact on the lives of the people in the world of 'On The Waterfront', and the prevalance of violence in this society is a unique aspect of it. In this world, the lives of ordinary working men are controlled by a group of racketeers. In a key-scene at the beginning of the film, we witness the brutal murder of a man named Joey Doyle. He was going to testify against the corrupt men who control the dockworkers union. Johnny Friendly and his mob force the dockworkers to pay them in order to be given work.
                     Friendly is a money-lender. We see that Friendly offers money to the father of Joey Doyle, the boy he had murdered, for Joey's funeral. He controls the lives of the dockworkers in everyway. He uses violence, or the threat of violence to intimidate people.
       We see the men scramble like animals to get the 'tabs' which will allow them to work. However, men like Terry Molloy, who are in with the union, get nice easy jobs. The police investigating the corruption are unable to break the code of silence; everyone stays 'D and D' in order to stay safe. Even in thsi early stage, we can see how violence has a serious impact on the lives of everyone in that society.
      As the theme develops, we see that there are those who wish to fight this violence in society. In another key scene, Fr Barry, holds a meeting to encourage the men to break the code of 'D and D'. The meeting is broken up by rocks shattering the church windows. During it, Terry rescues Edie, Joey's sister. Edie can see that there is more to Terry than meets the eye. Consequently, she changes Terry's views. 
'Shouldn't everybody care about everybody else?' Edie has faith in Terry and in basic human nature and he begins to feel guilty, frustrate and responsible for her brother's death. He slowly begins to turn from violence and the mob.
                                The end of this film seems to suggest that violence in society can be overcome if people are courages enough to stand up to the men of violence and use the law to defeat it. By witnessing the violence in this world, the reader shares the uniquely violent world of the text.
             As the reader sees that violence also has a huge part in the lives of the people in the world of 'Lies of Silence', they share that unique world with the characters. In Northern Ireland, there are paramilitary groups which operate outside the law. In this story, the focus is on the IRA. We see that special security is needed when there is a meeting of the Orange Order in the hotel. Armed police trucks and armed police men are a normal part of this world. 
            The characters are familiar with the violence in their world;

He had seen them on the evening television news and in newspaper photographs. 
Theatrical figures firing revolvers over parimilitary graves

Just like in 'On The Waterfront', peoples lives are controlled by these men of violence.

There isn;t a building site or a pub in this cuty that you or the UDA don't hold up for protection money

In exactly the same way as Johnny Friendly and his mob, the paramilitaries in Northern Ireland extort money from the people. If the businesses do not give them the money, they are under the threat of violence. Also, people are expected to stay quiet. When Moira and Dillon defy the IRA, they recieve several warnings to stay quiet. In the end, Dillion pays the same price as Joey Doyle for his unwillingness to obey.
           The IRA, like the union in 'On The Waterfront' has a socialist manifesto. They claim to protect the rights of the ordinary worker but again the reader shares the uniquely violent world of Northern Ireland has contaminated these ideals.
                                     Violence is also a part of the world in 'The Plough and the Stars'. The reader again sees the huge impact that violence has on the people in this world. The violence is linked to the Irish Citizen Army and the 1916 rising. These are seen in history as being vital in gaining freedom for Ireland, but O' Casey is trying to bring to mind the suffering this kind of violence brings to the people of it's society. In the speeches made by Paudraic Pearse and Jack Clitheroe, there is a call for violence.
              But O' Casey then shows that suffering caused by violence. Nora describes the horrendous images;

"every twist in his body was a call against the terrible thing that had happened to him"

Pearse says that the "bloodshed is a cleansing and sanctifying thing", however Bessie Burgees' description of the trenches in France puts a far less idealistic image in our minds.
         The terrible suffering of Nora as she loses her husband, her baby and her sanity, along with the pointless death of Bessie make the reader clearly share O' Casey's understanding that violence has a horrific effect on any society.
                     All three texts critisize violence in society. Elia Kazan, Brian Moore and Sean O' Casey create unique worlds and the is the violence in these societies that give them a unique aspect. The reader shares the authors vision of their world when the texts are complete.