Brooklyn

Eilis Lacey, a young woman from a small town in Ireland in the early 1950s, emigrates to Brooklyn, New York, due to few job opportunities at home. She struggles with homesickness, loneliness, and adjusting to American life at first. Over time, she finds stability through a bookkeeping course and a romantic relationship with Tony Fiorello. Just as she begins to settle in, she receives news of her sister’s death and returns to Ireland. Back home, she is warmly welcomed and starts to imagine a future for herself there, which includes a potential job and a relationship with Jim Farrel. Eilis is stuck between two countries, two lives, and she has a hard time picking. She ultimately leaves Ireland to travel back to America to settle with Tony Fiorello.

Main Ideas Seen In The Film:

• Immigration and Displacement:

  • Eilis’s arrival in NY: on the ship, Eilis is violently seasick and isolated, and another Irish woman has to teach her basic survival tips. This scene shows how unprepared and alone immigrants feel when they first arrive

  • Early days at Bartocci’s department store: Eilis struggles with American customers and is scolded by her supervisor for not being friendly enough. Her accent and quiet manners mark her as an outsider

  • Christmas dinner with Irish immigrants: although surrounded by fellow Irish people, Eilis breaks down in tears while serving food. This scene highlights the emotional weight of being far from home, even within an immigrant community

    
    

• Identity and Belonging:

  • Bookkeeping night classes: Eilis begins to gain confidence. These night classes show her transformation from a shy immigrant into a confident young woman. Education became a way she reshaped her identity.

  • Relationship with Tony: Tony accepts Eilis without questioning her background. Through him, she starts to feel she belongs in America

  • Return to Ireland: back home. Eilis realizes she no longer fully fits in; she dresses differently, carries herself differently, and is treated as someone special

    
    

• Choice and Responsibility:

  • Secret marriage to Tony: Eilis chooses to marry Tony before returning to Ireland, accepting responsibility for a future in America, even though she does not immediately tell her family

  • Choice to remain in Ireland for a short period: Eilis contemplates a future with Jim, despite being married, highlighting the emotional turmoil and ethical implications of her decisions.

  • Final decision to return to Brooklyn: when her secret is revealed, Eilis chooses to leave Ireland. This example demonstrates that becoming an adult involves committing to a specific direction, even if it requires personal sacrifice.

    
    

• Women’s Limited Opportunities:

  • Lack of work in Ireland: at the beginning of the film. Eilis can only find part time work under a hostile shopkeeper, demonstrating the limited economic options for young women

  • Miss Kelly’s controlling behavior: Miss Kelly criticizes Eilis's appearance and behavior. Reflecting how women were policed and judged in the workplace

  • Marriage as stability: In both Ireland and America, marriage is depicted as the primary route to security for women. Eilis's future is primarily considered in terms of whom she might marry, rather than her personal aspirations