Small Things Like These - Cultural Context

This resource provides a clear and detailed explanation of the cultural context of Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These for Leaving Certificate students. It explores how religion, gender, class, power, and shame shaped Irish society in the 1980s and shows how these forces influence characters, choices, and conflicts in the novel. Students gain a rich understanding of the world of the text and how social norms create pressure, silence, and moral dilemmas. This pack supports comparative study and helps learners link cultural context to theme, character, and exam response.