Form
The form of a text is the type of text you are reading or watching. The form of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha is a novel. This means it is a narrative text telling a fictional story which is written in prose.
The novel is humorous at times because of the scrapes Paddy finds himself in and also his innocent narrative voice.
However, it is also tragic at times because of the breakdown of Paddy鈥檚 family and his dawning realisation that his parents are separating.
So - despite the frequent comic episodes in Paddy鈥檚 narrative - much of the tragedy in the novel lies in the fact that it is the study of a child鈥檚 observations as his family breaks up.
The novel could then be seen as a tragicomedyA play or novel that blends elements of both comedy and tragedy, making it both sad and funny.. It is an example of a BildungsromanA type of novel that tells about the early moral, psychological, and intellectual development of the main character. The Harry Potter books are a modern-day example. as it traces the events of a young boy鈥檚 life that lead him to maturity and see him growing up.
Roddy Doyle鈥檚 books tell the story of everyday life in the recent history of Ireland. He is known mainly for his famous Barrytown Trilogy. This is made up of The Commitments (1987), The Snapper (1990) and The Van (1991).
These novels are all set in Barrytown, the same fictional suburb in Dublin where Paddy lives. Therefore - although the area is fictional - Doyle had previously created many stories of people living in this area in other works.
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha is just another example from one of many where he uses Barrytown to focus on individual people and situations from what could be any working class Irish community.
Roddy Doyle - like Paddy Clarke - started life in Dublin in 1958. He too was brought up north of Dublin in a working class suburb.
This could suggest that Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha might be seen as a semi-autobiographical work as it is likely Doyle used many of his own experiences when writing the novel.