Days Without End

John Cole is, to Thomas, a trustworthy person with educated opinions. Sometimes, however, John expresses approval of someone Thomas and the novel present negatively. Locate one such instance and argue the way in which John’s perspective adds to or nuances the text’s stance on racism, empire, war, etc.

Thomas, thinking of the Great Plains, says, “Oftentimes in America you could go stark mad from the ugliness of things” (79), a statement that counteracts much of the patriotic rhetoric around American landscapes. Construct an argument about how Thomas’s understanding of America reinforces or counteracts ideals of patriotism often included in fictionalized Civil War narratives.

Westerns and Civil War novels often mythologize the North, the South, and the West as highly distinct places. Does Days Without End play into or reject this convention? Support your claim with evidence from the text.

When talking about incidences of cannibalism on the ship from Ireland, Thomas says, “I am not saying I saw that” (34). Think about the things Thomas doesn’t say and how they create meaning in the novel.

In the novel’s opening pages, Thomas says, “If you didn’t work for the few dollars in America you hungered, I had learned that lesson” (15). Considering that John and Thomas first join the army to earn money, in what ways can the novel be (or not be) read as a critique of capitalism?

Identify several conventions of Western narratives and analyze how Barry supports or subverts these expectations of the genre. How does his choice to adhere to or veer from those conventions create meaning in the text?

Thomas’s narration is subjective. Does the novel suggest that, at any point, he becomes unreliable? Argue why or why not using examples from the text.

Sebastian Barry is an Irish author. How does his nationality inform your understanding of the text as a novel about America and what examples from the text support that conclusion?