Circle of Friends (Leaving Cert English)

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Niamh Has been studying the novel Circle of Friends in English Class. When she had finished reading the novel, she decided to make a brief stop motion video of the main events in the story. Enjoy here work.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eqKP1xcAjE[/youtube]

Circle of Friends – Maeve Binchy

This novel deals with the various relationships between different friends who go to college in Dublin. They study in U.C.D. One of the central characters is Benny Hogan who lives in a small village called Knockglen. Her family own Hogan’s Outfitters a big shop which sells clothes for men. Sean Walsh works in the shop and Benny’s parents hope that their daughter will be attracted to Sean and possibly marry him. Benny has no interest in Sean. Benny befriends a girl called Eve who has been abandoned in a convent because her mother was the disturbed daughter of the rich Westward family who married the gardener. Nan Hogan is another student who becomes part of the gang. She is a beautiful looking young woman whose father is an alcoholic and works as a builder. They live in a working class area. Nan is determined to marry well. Early on in the story there is an accident and a young man is killed. He is the son of Kit Hegarty a woman whose husband has abandoned her for a younger girl. She keeps students in order to earn some income. Eve is injured in the accident, but she recovers and pays a visit to Simon Westward in order to get enough money to pay her fees for college. Eve owns a cottage near the Westward home, which has been left to her. Benny is attracted to a good-looking young man called Jack Foley. His father is a doctor and he is the centre of attention since all the girls are attracted to him. They begin a relationship even though she stays in Knockglen every evening. Benny’s father dies suddenly of a heart attack, and shortly afterwards she discovers that Sean has been fiddling money. Sean leaves after this discovery, but remains in the village. He marries a lady called Dorothy Healy.

Nan begins a relationship with Simon Westward and she becomes pregnant. Simon wants nothing to do with the affair after that. Nan then decides to trick Jack into a relationship and pretend that it is his baby. He agrees to marry her even though he is still in love with Benny. Eve attacks Nan in anger and Nan’s arm is injured. She has a miscarriage after that and loses the baby. Eventually she breaks it off with Jack and he tries to become reconciled with Benny. She has changed however and realizes that Jack is too fickle and inconsistent, so she refuses him. The story closes with the gang continuing their relationships. Benny has become attracted to another boy called Bill Dunne.