Borstal Boy Throughout history there have been many conflicts, some are internal problems, while others are not. The book Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan is an example of both, at first most problems seem worth killing and dying; however towards the end the problems are more of an internal nature. The issue at the beginning is liberation from the United Kingdom, when he joins the Irish Republic Army (IRA) and travels to Liverpool to blow up a port. He eventually realizes that the problem is internal and realizes that many other people like him have very similar problems and that he needs to let something go. In Borstal Boy, Brendan Behan demonstrates this through his conversations with other young delinquents and prisoners who are also part of the working class, who all have more in common with each other, than the upper classes of the same religion and ethnicity, whether the person is Irish Catholic or English Protestant. He also realized that this mutual hatred was artificial and encouraged by a middle class that was afraid of the working class. In one part of the book Brendan has now observed firsthand the natural trust and brotherhood of lower-class city kids, regardless of where their home is. Brendan says that "other boys might bother me about Ireland or the bombing campaign, but I was closer to them than they would ever let Ken be" (Behan 227), this is because Ken was not lower class, and he they do not have the same life experiences as other prisoners. Brendan also reiterates this when he says: “I had the same upbringing as most of them, Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and London. All our mothers made the pledge promise on Monday, r... middle of paper... are not equal or fair. According to Warren Buffet "there is a class war, of course, but it is my class, the rich class, that wages the war, and we are winning it, but they shouldn't do it". This is an example of a class prevailing over another, but this is not the first time. Industrial Workers of the World is a great historical example, in 1930 the Harlan County Coal Strike began, the IWW came to the defense of the coal miners in Harlan County, KY, many of its members were charged with murder for defending the picket. lines during a strike, however there were murders on both sides and the factory foremen/owners received no punishment. After reading this book I can now understand why problems like this arise and why some groups might be, even though it might seem odd or backwards. Works Cited Behan, Brendan and Benidict Kiely Borstal Boy Boston: Nonpareil Books, 1959. Print.