Juno and the Paycock

Captain Jack Boyle is the 60-year-old patriarch of the family but not the breadwinner. O’Casey describes him as “stocky […] stout […] with his cheeks [...] puffed out, as if he were always repressing an almost irrepressible ejaculation” (437). He is a talker and an excuse maker, especially when it comes to finding employment. He’ll immediately remark about the pains in his legs when a potential job opportunity comes his way. Jack has a word or lie ready for any situation so he can come away unscathed. For example, when his wife grills him regarding his whereabouts, he immediately says, “I’m telling you for the last three weeks I haven’t tasted a dhrop of intoxicatin’ liquor” (438). He spends the bulk of his time not with his family, but with his neighbor-friend Joxer Daly. Despite his low economic status and the unrest in Ireland and in his home life, Jack lives a life of leisure. He and Joxer go into snugs, or pubs, drink, sing, make merriment, and reminisce about Jack’s days as a seaman for Ireland, “Them was days. Nothin’ was too hot or heavy for me then” (441). He’s both a laborer and a poet. In Act II, he recites one of his poems for his family and neighbors.