Blog Post Week 6 Jebediah Pritchard Reaction to Ashley B
Catholicism plays a central role in the lives of the characters in Angela's Ashes.
In class it has been mentioned several times that the Irish don't or may not have national
pride, and as it was dispelled in class, that was a not good thing , well maybe. Something
that is national and is deeply engrossed in their lives is their religion. Catholicism is central to
all aspects of their lives. The youths attend religious schools, the weekends are managed around
church. The a rite of Catholic passage is mentioned in the reading. That of the ingestion of the blood and body of Christ. To not pass this rite is a horror and to pass is a further step into
the vestments of the body of the Catholic faith. That one, Frank, in our example will become further closer to God, further Catholic.
What if someone was not Catholic, did not believe in its message. Of course many of the people did , just that they say that they did believe, it was not the thing to do to not be Catholic. This is anti intellectualism and generalized backwardness. When the parting of the Catholics and the Protestants occurred, one was to have the ability to be Christian as one wanted, well it is well established that one could only be the type of Christian that your country followed, and not until our times have atheistic moments be met with less horrible results by the followers of the Cross.
Reaction to Ashley B
The Dad is without a generally speaking proper stable job, and it is mentioned that he is not dumb and could maybe seek better vocation. Well maybe. The life events that Malachy finds himself in are hard. He is not weak nor deficient, our environment plays a strong role in our lives. Having many children, having children die, having dis concordance with your wife, having bad jobs, in as much as working rather hard for low pay, these events to not entertain good tidings. Such experiences that the husband faces, as reinforced by the other husbands doing the same, serve to lessen a man a wear away at his spirit. To call the father weak, that is to say that the vast majority would be weak, given the common lot and common problems of the Irish people at the time.
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Reaction to Jebediah:
ReplyDeleteReligion does play a huge part in Ireland, and in the lives of each family. I feel that the people in Ireland are very involved with their religion right now mainly because of the depression the country is in. Their church is something good for them, and something they could look forward to that is positive in their lives. Although, some people take it to the extreme like Frank’s grandmother, it is still a great way to keep their heads up in such a bad situation.
This week’s readings in Angela’s ashes were, I thought, much centered on the religion aspect of their lives. Frank makes his first communion and I, as a catholic, had to laugh while reading that part about him getting sick after taking communion and his grandma acting out about it. I think that if that would have happened in my family, we might have laughed. As for the priest dropping the Eucharist, which we talked about as well, my priest would have literally said “oops” and picked it up and set it aside. That’s just how my church is. So I guess it depends on the time it is and who the priest is and how strict the church is. The fact that they are so poor and going to school hungry, it makes me sad that during that time that is what they had to do and they lived like that every day. I hated when I had a class before lunch and all I could think about was my stomach growling. It kills me that they had another child. How could they do that? They are barely getting by with what they have with two kids, and now there is a third. What else upsets me is that Malachy is actually smart, and he is throwing away his money, stupidly, to alcohol. It’s just all frustrating.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Jebidiah’s post I completely agree with what he said about your religion. Whatever you consume yourself in so much that you live by it, maybe that is your religion. I agree. Maybe that’s what they are living by, because what Malachy is doing for his family is not very catholic like. So in a way maybe they just make up their own rules in the end?
Alex Rhodes.
I thought this week’s reading was a little bit more entertaining and sad at the same time. I thought it was entertaining because of what happened with is friend Mickey and Billy. They all go to Mickey’s house and frank and Billy pay to see Mickey’s sisters get changed in the window. They get caught because Billy falls off of the roof and makes a loud noise. I also thought it was a little sad because when franks dad goes to pick up the money for their new brother, the dad tells them to go home. Franks mom realizes what their dad has done and sends frank out to go find him. He eventually hears him in a pub singing a drunken Irish song and frank is extremely upset with him. He brings him home and realizes what he is doing to the family. Also frank gets really sick from starvation. He is on the verge of death and his dad comes in to the hospital to visit him and he realizes how much he loves him because he thinks of all the stories his dad would tell him at night when it was only them two who would be up.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Jebidiah’s post I completely agree. It even shows in the book that they follow the religion that their country follows and no one really goes off to do what they wanted. And if they did at this time it would have to be at a secret spot.
This week’s worth of reading seemed to be a little light. By this I mean it seems a little more entertaining. The fact that the Frank gets caught staring at his friends’ naked sisters was a very funny scene. Although, upon reflection, it was also sad. When Frank gets typhoid fever and is hospitalized his father finally shows some compassion towards him. It must have been agony when he gets back home just to realize his home isn’t really something he wants to get back to and that he’d be better off in the hospital where he can try to sneak in a conversation or two about Shakespeare. Also this week’s reading has been very fraught with religion. The elitism of the Catholic Church appalled me. When Frank wanted to become an altar boy and the priest turned him away all because he looked poor was shocking. Doesn’t the church teach us how to not judge? How can you preach one thing but practice something different? I am surprised hasn’t really mentioned this, hasn’t figured this out for himself. He is a smart kid. If it were me living his life, I probably would have turned away from religion. My life has been horrible enough for too long. If religion hasn’t helped, what can? Although I wouldn’t publically shun religion because I’d probably wouldn’t get the dole money if I did.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with what Burtch says in his post. When Malachy Sr. uses the money for his newborn, Frank, for the first time, realizes just what his father is doing and how wrong it is. I believe Frank is totally justified when he gets so upset. The scene with the hospital shows a different side of Malachy. But can this one scene really make up for the ten years of bad parenting?
Reading Angela's Ashes this week has been a lot more interesting compared to previous weeks. The part at franks communion and gets sick was a little funny since it was just a big deal. I am catholic and i couldn't imagine that happening today. When the priest dropped the Eucharist, that wouldn't have been a major issue today, but it was back then as it was shown in the book. When Frank and Billy pay to see Mickey's sister change in the window was another funny part, but also a little awkward. They end up getting caught because Billy falls of the roof and makes a lot of noise. There was also a couple sad parts. For example when Franks dad went to pick up the money for their new brother he was told to go home. Frank eventually finds him in a pub drinking and singing and Frank becomes mad at him. Because all the money is being wasted in alcohol, Frank is getting sick because he isn't eating. Frank wanted to become an altar boy but the priest turned him away since he looked poor. The church is supposed to accept everyone but that clearly doesn’t seem like it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Burtch. This chapter was very amusing, but very sad at the same time. It was funny that they paid to see his sister, but also that he woofed his cookies after receiving the communion. It is very sad that the only good things in his life that are happening are all short lived and immoral. He barfs up god and is caught peeping at a naked women. The other sad part is that all he seems to remember is that bad times. You’re telling me that there is not one good time that happens in his li8fe during that time. Also it seems to me a bit odd that he can actually remember all this. I personally can barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, but he can remember what he did 15+ years ago. Anyone see this as the truth getting stretched a bit here... He not only remembers how the events unfolded, he remembers little details that most of us would just casually brush off even trying to remember. I honestly think that this story is not completely truth full and there is a lot of exaggeration and compensation in the story.
ReplyDeleteI have read Angela's Ashes once before and I would not mind reading this book many more times. It is one of my favorite books and each time I read it I learn something new. Frank McCourt's writing style is unbelievably gripping and keeps you on your toes. McCourt manages to make this parts of his book humorous even the tone of the story is depressing and sad. In the last chapters we read, Frank is diagnosed with Typhoid Fever and is hospitalized for a long time. During Frank's stay in the hospital his father, Malachy, visits Frank and Frank realizes just how much he loves his father. He says this is the first time that his father had made him feel "truly" happy. Also during his stay, Frank meets another patient named Patricia Madigan who is hospitalized and dying with diphtheria. The two spend much time reading poems and Shakespeare, however, a mean nurse tells them that Typhoid Fever should never talk to Diphtheria and she moves Frank to a separate ward. A few days later, Frank learns that Patricia had died. This part of the book made me really sad because he truly enjoyed Patricia's company and then he lost her. Frank returns home a few weeks later and returns back to the poverty he had managed to escape for the weeks he was in the hospital.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ashley, I agree that after Frank had found his father using the money for the new money for alcohol, was the first time that Frank realized the severity of what his father was doing. Until now it was Frank's mother, Angela, who would yell at Malachy Sr. and tell him to bring home the money. Now that Frank had to do it, he sees just how badly his father's problem was hurting their family.
I have really enjoyed reading Angela's Ashes much more then "The Dubliners". I thought the set of chapters we had to read this week were a bit more action packed and showed a lot more insight into the way frank had to live. I thought it was interesting how the grandmother took let a Protestant man stay at her house when her own grandchildren are living in suck horrible conditions. In addition, her grandchildren were starving and she cooks and delivers a hot meal to him. When frank ate the meal I was not surprised and as wrong as the deed was I can't blame him. I was really surprised when the priest did not get upset for him stealing a man's fish and chips. The priest did not necessarily say it was ok but it wasn't the reaction I aspected after reading about how strict they were. When frank was delivering newspapers I was surprised by how bad his uncle treated him and how low his pay was. I thought frank is just a boy who is really too young to work. He is related to you and you treat him horribly and pay him barely anything. I also thought how Frank came down with Typhus was really scary. It really shows insight into some of the sickness going around in Ireland at the time.
ReplyDeleteIn Response to Amaquilino,
I could defiantly read this book more then one time. I agree with you about this writing style. I don't know how accurate it is but I love how it keeps you interested throughout the entire book. I really find it interesting how much he has been through in his life and he can still add some humor to the story.
Jenn Phillips