12/9/12
Angela’s Ashes
by Frank McCourt
Pages
98-118
Summary of what I read:
In
this passage it is Christmas time. The McCourt family has yet again moved and
now live in a big house. They like this house except for it is right at the end
of a long line of houses so it is right next to the outhouse that everyone
uses. It gets really smelly and they find out that the house leaks. Because of
the leaking the family moves upstairs and they end up living up there until the
downstairs is no longer flooded. They call it "Italy." Even though it is Christmas time Malachy has
no job which means the family has no money. They end up having to eat a pig’s
head instead of a ham. Shortly after Christmas Angela has another baby. It is another
boy and they name it Michael.
Important quote from
the text: “Women stand with their arms folded, chatting. They
don’t sit because all they do is stay at home, take care of the children, clean
the house and cook a bit and the men need the chairs. The men sit because they’re
worn out from walking to the Labour Exchange every morning to sign for the
dole, discussing the world’s problems and wondering what to do with the rest of
the day” (McCourt 107). I think that this is an important quote because it
describes perfectly how unappreciated women were back then. This is said by the
child Francis, and even he realizes it. All of the mothers work at home all day
doing their best to make up for and create what the father can’t provide. The
men can’t find jobs and when they do many of them just drink their profits away
and leave their wife at home to figure out how to feed and clothe their
children. Many of the men don’t seem to care or even realize how much the women
do.
Connections to the
text: I connected this text to the lives of some families
living in this day in age. Right now we are in a recession and many people are
having a hard time finding a job. Though they have a hard time finding a job
many still find the money to spend on things that they do not really need such
as alcohol, gambling, junk food and many other things. Many times they put these
things that they consider their needs in front of what their family actually really needs.
