Colm Toibin, Brooklyn

Rose poured more tea as Eilis quietly left the room. [...]

When she returned she realized that Father Flood had heard about her job at Miss Kelly's, had found out about her pay and had expressed shock at how low it was. He inquired about her qualifications.

"In the United States," he said, "there would be plenty of work for people like you and with good pay."

"She thought of going to England," her mother said, "but the boys said to wait, that it wasn't the best time there, and she might only get factory work."

"In Brooklyn, where my parish is, there would be office work for someone who was hard-working and educated and honest".

"It's very far away, though," her mother said. "That's the only thing."

"Parts of Brooklyn," Father Flood replied, "are just like Ireland. They're full of Irish."

He crossed his legs and sipped his tea from the china cup and said nothing for a while. The silence that descended made it clear to Eilis what the others were thinking. She looked across at her mother, who deliberately, it seemed to her, did not return her glance, but kept her gaze fixed on the floor. Rose, normally so good at moving the conversation along if they had a visitor, also said nothing. She twisted her ring and then her bracelet.

"It would be a great opportunity, especially if you were young," Father Flood said finally.

"It might be very dangerous," her mother said, her eyes still fixed on the floor.

"Not in my parish," Father Flood said. "It's full of lovely people. A lot of life centres round the parish, even more than in Ireland. And there's work for anyone who's willing to work."

Eilis felt like a child when the doctor would come to the house, her mother listening with cowed respect. It was Rose's silence that was new to her, she looked at her now, wanting her sister to ask a question or make a comment, but Rose appeared to be in a sort of dream. [...] In the silence that had lingered, she realized, it had somehow been tacitly arranged that Eilis would go to America. Father Flood, she believed, had been invited to the house because Rose knew that he could arrange it.

Her mother had been so opposed to her going to England that this new realization came to Eilis as a shock. [...]

She had never considered going to America. [...] Although she knew friends who regularly received presents of dollars or clothes from America, it was always from their aunts and uncles, people who had emigrated long before the war. She could not remember any of these people ever appearing in the town on holidays. It was a long journey across the Atlantic, she knew, at least a week on a ship, and it must be expensive. She had a sense too, she did not know from where, that, while the boys and girls from the town who had gone to England did ordinary work for ordinary money, people who went to America could become rich. She tried to work out how she had come to believe also that, while people from the town who lived in England missed Enniscorthy, no one who went to America missed home. Instead, they were happy there and proud. She wondered if that could be true.

Colm Toibin, Brooklyn, 2009.

•  General comprehension
  
  •  Choose the correct answer.
    

    1. 1. Where does the story take place?

       1. a. England

       2. b. Ireland

       3. c. The United States

    2. 2. The characters

       Eilis is

       1. a. Rose's daughter.

       2. b. Rose's sister.

       3. c. Rose's mother.

       Father Flood is

       1. a. Rose and Eilis's father.

       2. b. a catholic priest.

       3. c. an employer.

    3. 3. Who might emigrate to the USA?

       1. a. Rose

       2. b. Eilis

       3. c. Father Flood

    4. 4. Who is talking?

       1. a. Father Flood and the mother

       2. b. Rose and Eilis

       3. c. Father Flood and Eilis

•  Detailed comprehension
  
  •  Are the following statements true or false? Justify your answers by quoting from the text and indicate the lines.
    

    1. 1. Eilis works at Miss Kelly's.

    2. 2. Father Flood says she would find a job easily and be well paid in Brooklyn.

    3. 3. Not many Irish people live in Brooklyn.

    4. 4. Rose is talking a lot.

    5. 5. Her mother would prefer Eilis to go to England.

    6. 6. Eilis thinks that the people who have gone to America have a better life than those who have gone to England.

  •  Pick out from the text (and indicate the lines):
    

    1. 1. two elements showing that the mother does not want Eilis to go to America

    2. 2. two elements showing Rose is embarrassed

    3. 3. three arguments used by Father Flood to convince the mother

    4. 4. two elements explaining why Eilis had never considered going to the USA.

  •  Choose from the list the adjectives which correspond to the characters' emotions:
    

    1. 1. the mother (one adjective): worried happy . relaxed

    2. 2. Father Flood (two adjectives):

       enthusiastic convincing hesitant  ill-at-ease

    3. 3. Eilis (two adjectives): joyful determined scared anxious surprised

  •  Who or what do the words which are underlined refer to?
    

    1. 1. Line 3: "her job at Miss Kelly's"

    2. 2. Line 5: "he said"

    3. 3. Lines 12: "it's very far away though"

    4. 4. Line 30: "silence that was new to her"

    5. 5. Line 50: "they were happy and proud"

  •  Find a synonym of the following words and expressions in the text (and indicate the lines):
    

    1. 1. asked

    2. 2. occasion

    3. 3. risky

    4. 4. planned in advance

    5. 5. trip

Expression

 Vous traiterez les deux sujets.

•  After Father Flood has left, Eilis and Rose start talking about Eilis's future. Write the dialogue. (80 words)
•  Would you be ready to leave your country to find a job? (120 words)

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