Unsinkable

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse.

Paddy is one of the novel’s four protagonists and the character around which the main external conflict of the story revolves. Prior to boarding the Titanic, Paddy lives on the streets of Belfast, Ireland, with his best friend, Danny, and the boys survive by pickpocketing wealthy people in order to purchase what they can. Paddy is scrawny and underfed as a result of his rough life. Still, he doesn’t give up, and his determination is revealed by how he “walked sixty-seven miles to Belfast after the last whiskey-driven beating he intended to endure from his stepfather” (8). Paddy’s presence on the Titanic reflects the points discussed in The Impact of Class on Experiences. Where Alfie and the girls board the ship through legally sanctioned means as either workers or passengers, Paddy is unintentionally loaded with cargo. While this is an accident, it highlights how Paddy lacks the opportunity to board the Titanic any other way, as he is too disadvantaged to afford passage and does not have the skills or connections to gain employment.

Paddy’s ongoing conflict with the gangsters adds a level of suspense and action to the storyline.