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The Catapult
Mahony triumphantly displays the catapult or slingshot that he brought for their adventure when he meets the narrator at the Canal Bridge. He is proud of said catapult and he brags to the narrator about the improvements that he has made to it. Mahony initially brought the catapult along because he thought that it would be fun to try to shoot at birds. While he is ultimately disappointed that they were never able to find any birds to “have some gas” with, he does use the unloaded catapult to chase after a group of poor, “ragged” girls that he and the narrator pass on the streets of Dublin.
The catapult is meant to be a symbol of masculinity. To begin with, it is phallic in shape and “bulge[s]” from Mahony’s “inner pocket” before he takes it out to show the narrator. Mahony then proceeds to “brandish” it at a group of girls a few moments later, which is suggestive of a sexual encounter. It is essential that the catapult belongs to Mahony and not the narrator because it highlights the contrast between the tough and athletic Mahony and the timid and contemplative narrator. The narrator has an inferiority complex when it comes to his friend; he is jealous that Mahony, with his catapult and his bravado and his three “sweethearts,” follows the conventions of traditional masculinity better than he does. This point is solidified at the very end of the story, at which point the narrator becomes frustrated that Mahony had to come rescue him from the old man because he was unable to do so himself.
Canal Bridge
The narrator, Mahony, and Leo all meet to pool their money together and solidify their plan to skip school the next day so that they can go on an adventure. Of all the places that the narrator could have chosen, they agree to meet at the Canal Bridge the following morning before embarking. The narrator lives the closest, so he arrives at the Canal Bridge first. In high spirits, he admires the sunshine and the natural beauty as he waits for the rest of his friends. The bridge that the narrator mentions is a real bridge called the Newcomen Bridge which allows Dubliners to cross over the canal along North Strand Road.
Bridges often have a symbolic presence in literature. By definition, a bridge is a transitional entity that takes a person or a group of people from one plane of existence to the other. As a result, bridges are often used in works of fiction to symbolize an internal transformation as a character leaves one phase behind in order to start a new chapter in their lives. Within the context of “An Encounter,” the Canal Bridge symbolizes the narrator’s transition from childhood to young adulthood as he reaches a higher level of understanding along his adventure.
