Gabriel

Gabe's name is Hebrew gavri'el which means "strong man of god."... well, at least he's learning.

The Dead

Michael Furey live passionately and then he died. Now that Gabriel has realized what it actually means to live i believe he may die as well, it certainly seems to be the case as his soul is fading into that other world.

as for the coffin monks i don't think i was very clear. they repent for the world, dying each day in order to pay for a lifetime of sins. but they don't live passionately. they, like this story, have history(a past) and their present. perhaps this story is a form of repentance. or maybe a prayer.

The Dead

the thing i noticed or something that occurred to me yet is probably completely wrong is that this party seems more like it was ... not exactly held by the most lively of people.
actually i compare it to Tm Burton's Corpse Bride. from the language they use "perished alive" (the hell?), to the dullness of the party itself and the characters (some are more fun or interesting than others) it seems like this is more a wake or party of the dead than anything else. i swear the first few lines had me running the movie and by the end wondering if Michael Furey was enjoying his afterlife as well as Bonejangles (i think that's his name) was.



another little thing and this actually came from my history of the English lang. class. we were discussing the Celts and British today. apparently that comment about being a west Briton has to do with language and the suppression of the Irish peoples. pretty interesting.