Bull is a flawed hero, or possibly a tragic hero. He feels his elder son (Seamie, who hanged himself 18 years ago) and his mother were sacrificed for the field. He has guilt over this, and he's obsessed with the field, and cannot bear the thought of losing it. It's sacred ground to him. And so he (unintentionally) murders the Yank, and alienates his remaining son, Tadgh, who is his pride and joy. But he ends up knowing that he's defiled his sacred field by committing murder over it. He's overwhelmed with guilt. Bull ends up losing everything, and I think at the end he's lost his mind.
The Yank was somewhat of a jerk. He looked down upon the villagers, and felt that he was doing the community a favor by paving over the field, building a hydroelectric plant, and mining limestone. He felt he was doing the community a favor, providing jobs, and raising them out of poverty, and if a few farming villagers (including Bull and his family) lost their livelihood, it was a small price to pay for the good of the community.
The priest was clearly a respected force in the village, and ought to have played a more forceful role as a mediator between the Yank, the Widow, and Bull McCabe. He did make a half-hearted effort to dissuade the Yank from buying the field and advised him to look elsewhere for a location for his construction projects. But the Yank was too stubborn and arrogant to consider this. The priest also suggested to Bull that he buy a different field, but Bull became furious at this, after all the sacrifices his family had made for generations in maintaining the field, and wouldn't consider it.
The priest had also become aware that the Widow, who lived alone, had been harassed for over 10 years over her ownership of the field. It was Tadgh (Bull's son) and Bird who'd been carrying out that harassment. Bull wasn't even aware of it until the priest told him about it. But the priest didn't care for Bull, considered him a bully, and didn't realize that Bull was unaware of the harassment. And until the confrontation in the church rectory, probably
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ronnoco28 (11)
a year ago
wasn't aware of how deeply emotionally attached to the land Bull was. The priest ought to have stepped forward and acted as a mediator between the Yank, the Widow, and Bull, and tried to arrange some sort of compromise. But that would have been extremely difficult to do, as all three were unwilling to come to any sort of accomodation. And therein was the tragedy. The Yank lost his life, Bull lost his son and all hope for the future, and probably his mind as well. The Widow will have to look elsewhere for a buyer for her field, and surely it will go for a lower price than she wanted. That's what happens when people are so obsessed with getting their own way, and are unwilling to compromise.
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