In Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the main characters’ motivations seem very clear.  Whether they want security, freedom, love, or power, each person has one thing that drives them to actions both horrible and mundane.  But one character stands out in his lack of standing out: Ray Dooley.  The kid seems like he’s just there; he delivers a few messages, comments on television programs, and tries to buy a fireplace poker.  Is there anything driving him besides the needs of the plot?

Actually, Ray has a very specific need: the need for respect.

People are constantly taking Ray for granted.  Time after time, his friends and relations use him as a messenger boy, and both Mag and Maureen forget his name.  He often tries to give his opinions on everything from television programming to the behavior of clergymen to the state of the town, and he shares his plans for the future, such as learning to drive.  But others constantly scheme around him, pushing him to the background and only calling on him when someone needs to deliver a message.  Ray is left frustrated by the lack of respect he gets, forced to deal with “loons” like Mag and Maureen.  And when Maureen steals his swingball set, he refuses to forgive her, especially since he finds it sitting disused in a corner.  The lack of respect and meaning Maureen shows to the swingball set could be symbolic of the lack of respect and meaning Ray experiences on a daily basis.

In small town rural Ireland, young men and women can feel trapped, as though they are not taken seriously and will never amount to anything more than the life mapped out for them.  Ray is the archetype for this group; he embodies all their restlessness, claustrophobia, and hopelessness.  His story is that of every Irish boy or girl that grew old and died without ever achieving or earning anything of value to them.  As Ray said, the rural small town will kill you, “Just that it takes seventy years.”