Physical Escape DWE Flashcards
(4 cards)
Why he wants to escape
• Thomas McNulty is forced to flee Ireland due to famine and crushing poverty:
“We were a plague. We were only rats of people. Hunger takes away what you are.”
• He also flees violence and death multiple times in America — especially after he kills Starling Carlton to protect Winona:
“We’re to kill them all and leave nothing alive.” - starling cartlon
“Harry Sarjohn says he saw a trooper do it… can point out his face maybe.”
How he escapes
• Thomas escapes to America, then again later to Tennessee with Winona.
• He is helped by access to money, allowing him mobility:
“We don’t lack for the dollars to get us home, that’s one thing.”
Effect of his escape
His escape is about survival, not freedom or happiness.
• Thomas shows resilience and adaptability, surviving multiple traumas through flight.
• However, this constant fleeing results in a life shaped by loss and fear, even if it ends with hope and family.
Deeper meaning of his escape
Escape is instinctive and necessary in a brutal, unforgiving world.
Barry shows that physical escape is sometimes the only way to preserve humanity — not about ambition, but staying alive.
