Finnegans Wake

Part 2 of Finnegans Wake opens with a format switch. A theater program lists the characters and their alternative identities as though they were the cast in a pantomime performance of The Mime of Mick, Nick and the Maggies, “adopted from the Ballymooney Bloodriddon Murther by Bluechin Blackdillain” (219). As Shem, Shaun, and Issy play outside the pub, other children join them. Shem and Shaun, in this chapter, are also Glugg and Chuff, respectively, and Issy is joined by the 28 girls who cheered for Shaun outside the court. Shem and Shaun continue their tense rivalry, battling one another for the approval and love of Issy and her friends. In this moment, Shem takes on the role of the devil, and Shaun plays the role of an angel. Shem must guess the “selfcolours” (237) of the girls. However, he struggles due to his poor eyesight. Shaun emerges triumphant from a fight against his brother. Shem struggles to answer the questions thrown at him by Issy, so the other girls make fun of him. Just as Shem threatens Shaun with violence, the children are called to come inside for their dinner as “the curtain drops by deep request” (257).