Dancing at Lughnasa, Symbols and Metaphors

Symbols and Metaphors
-references to the cracker mirror on the wall of the Mundy household = Maggie jokingly references to her avoiding 7 years bad luck by continuing to use it; the audience may sense this object, and the associations referred to as an omen of very bad fortune that might engulf the family before too long = THE BEGINNING FORESHADOWS THE END. MAGGIE REF TO THE MIRROR CAUSING BAD LUCK IS DRAMATIC IRONY
- The kites which occupy Michaels attention for almost the entire duration of the play can be viewed as symbolic of freedom, the desire for flight which is harbored by many characters within the play. LINK KITE WITH MAGGIE STARING OUT OF THE WINDOW = yearning for freedom, but where Michael can achieve said freedom due to his gender, Maggie is condemned to a life of destitution because of her femininity, because she is a female in a heavily patriarchal society.
-Their eventual appearance, being garishly painted establishes a sense of malice within the play, as if there is some kind of malignant force about to hit the characters lives. The movement of these kites does nothing to detract from this disturbing image, as if they are emblematic of the imminent changes that are about to hit the family
-SUPPOSITION THAT in the final tableau, the characters are in an ‘other-worldly’ state = they are apparitions, ghostly? Only reinforced by the…