Thursday, October 15, 2009
Blog Post Week 7 Jebediah Pritchard
Everyone has, to some degree a connection to their Motherland. The Motherland for the characters in Angela's Ashes is The Republic of Ireland. The notion is introduced of leaving Ireland.Malachy senior reviews his lot in life and moves to England. He says that he will help his family, that he will send them money to improve their lives. This seems rather well, at least on two accounts. Angela has told Malachy that she shall have no more children. This brings about a discordance between the two of them, because not having any more children, in their society and their religious situation, means not having sex anymore. Therefore, to an extent, a physical distance between Angela and Malachy appears to be a good thing. Perhaps the move will ease tensions. The other way that moving to England would help the family would be the money that Malachy senior would send back to his family. There are a lot more opportunities for employment in England and in the capital than in Ireland. Though Malachy does not give the money to his family, he does not help his wife nor kids. It is all rather sickening. A better situation is wished by everyone.
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I’m very glad to know Angela has finally decided to put her foot down about having more children. She realized that she is very worn out, tired, and the living situation is getting worse. Malachy, the father, still isn’t sending money home for the family. This really upsets me because he left his family to work, and leaves them with nothing. As Malachy is in England working and drinking away, his family is in desperate need of money, food, and a better environment. Angela gets sick, and Frank is basically in charge of taking care of his brothers along with his sick mother. This is too much for a boy his age, although he is doing a good job; it is just way to much responsibility for a boy of ten or eleven.
ReplyDeleteThroughout these chapters I have noticed Frank’s intelligence more. His teachers and even his mother notice he is smarter than most boys his age. School becomes a priority for Frank and his brother Malachy. It’s very disappointing that the teachers in this school don’t want these young boys and girls to exceed expectations; in addition, they preach labor jobs to these young boys. In Ireland school is more a disciplinary place, which makes these young children fear going. Since it’s not fun, but kind of scary in a way it discourages them to learn. They are all very capable of being intelligent.
-Ashley B
I am so happy to have read that after years of stupid child bearing, that Angela is FINALLY putting her foot down. It is about time, and is so sad that four children had to die because of them. I know that is kind of harsh; however I can’t help but think some ill feelings towards her and Malachy. I understand that they were very much into the catholic religion and that they didn’t believe in birth control, and that Angela felt that as a wife she had to "please" her husband. What has Malachy done for the family? NOTHING! I know in class we talked about how if Frank doesn’t hate him, then we should really hate him either but I definitely don’t like him that much.
ReplyDeleteWhen he leaves, I think he does the family in one way a favor, and then another way he kind of "destroyed" the family hold. At least they don’t have to deal with his drunkenness and wasting the money on alcohol and coming home drunk and making his children swear they will die for Ireland. Even though we discussed it in class, he hasn’t completely stopped responding to them. I think he just wanted out. He didn’t seem like he wanted to be in this family. Which in the very beginning he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. So it’s hard to see his side, and then it’s also hard to be hateful towards him.
Alex Rhodes.
In this week’s reading, we see Angela finally sink to her lowest. She had decided to go to the Dispensary. She would even say that it was the worst thing that could happen to any family. “It’s worse than going on the dole, it’s worse than going to St. Vincent de Paul Society, it’s worse than begging on the streets with the tinkers and the knackers.” Angela has finally turned to the Dispensary, only because she has no money to feed her and her children. Malachy had left to work in England and had not sent any money back for his family. Malachy should be ashamed because while he is enjoying his drink in England, his four sons are starving back home. Angela also becomes extremely sick after Malachy has left. She hadn’t moved from the bed in days, and all she said she wanted was lemonade. Frank, even though he knew it was the wrong thing to do, stole two lemonades from the pub. He wanted his mother to get better, while he was taking care of his three younger brothers. Again he is given such a large responsibility at such a young age. He steals food for his brothers and himself, all the while Angela is lying in bed, and Malachy is drinking his wages away in England.
ReplyDeleteLeah Scabilloni
Malachy begins to drift farther and farther away from his family as he looks for work in England. Although he goes away to England to find a good job, he sends only one paycheck back to his family. Malachy now is able to be away from his family and spend his earnings on drinking at the pub as often as he wants without being bothered by Angela or anyone else because of the distance. Angela herself finally decides that having more children would not be a very good idea anymore because her family cannot afford it. Having Malachy off in England is probably best for each other and the family; no children will be conceived because Malachy will not be there to have sex with Angela, and he is doing no good for family anyway drinking away the dole and his earnings. Having a parent absent from the house and his mother ill, Frank has even more responsibility in the household than he already held. Because they have no money since Malachy is sending them nothing, Frank begins to steal food and drinks from trucks off the street. Having to worry about whether or not the children are getting fed each day, Frank had no choice in providing for his family.
ReplyDeleteThis book shocks me in the sense as soon as I think it can't possibly get any worse it does. In this weeks reading Angela finally comes to her senses and says enough is enough. No more children. Malachy goes to england to work. For a while I was like O.K. he will send money but when he doesn't I was not thats surprised at all. Frank becomes sick yet again with an eye infection and has to spend more time in the hospital. I found it horrible that when Angela went to ask for a docket to seethe doctor they mock the people in line. I think when you see people fighting to survive and you mock them when your job is suppose to be helping them it is just plain wrong. Later Angela is finally forced to go the Dispensary where people are mocked yet again about being in a bad situation. Angela gets sick and Frank goes out and steals bread and lemonade for the family. He later goes out and steals Jam and coal. I think it is terrible that Malachy is over an england working and still can't manage to send any money back. Finally Angela is taken to the hospital. Frank and his brothers have to go and stay with aunt anggie until she gets better. I don't understand why franks grandma and aunt treat them as if it is there fault. It is not their fault their mom got sick or that their dad is from the north yet they seem to take it out on the kids time after time.
ReplyDeleteJenn Phillips
After reading this part of Angela's Ashes I am so happy for Angela for putting her foot down and demanding that her and Malachy stop having children. It is about time, I mean how many children have they had already and how many of them have survived, half? They are not fit to have that many children, the really aren;t fit to have children at all actually. I am really happy that Angela finally relized that. On the other hand I was not so happy with malachy. He went off to England and of course forgot about his family back home. For Malachy it is out of sight out of mind. He spent all of his money that he was supposed to send home on alcohol in the pubs. Therefore his angela and the kids are even more poor than they were before. They hit rock bottom and have to go to the absolute last resort for money, which is extremely embarrassing for the whole family. Angela ends up getting sick and has to stay in the hospital, the kids are sent off to their aunts house because only one parent is there to take care of them. Their aunt takes everything out on the children as if it were their fault. i don't understand why everyone is angry with them and not sympathyzing or trying to help them out.
ReplyDeleteWe only read two chapters from Angela’s Ashes this week, and they were chapters 9 and 10. But these chapters included a lot of important events that contribute to the plot of this book. We learn the significance behind the title Angela’s Ashes. Whenever Angela looks at the fire, she is reminded of how bad she is feeling about her life and the situation her family has been put in. She seems ashamed and embarrassed because she asks her children what they are gawking at. In class we were discussing whether we thought Angela was a good mother or not, and I have a lot of sympathy for her. Her husband has left her with all of their children and no money, and she is not able to go out and get a job because she has to be there to take care of them. She appears somewhat helpless to me, and if I were in her position, I have no I idea how I would handle four kids on my own, not to mention the deaths of three children and a miscarriage. It is also revealed that Angela is now refusing to have any more children with Malachy. In my opinion, this is a very good decision that I think will end up benefiting the children and Angela, but it has obviously upset Malachy. He moves to England and the family is expecting that he will send money home to them, but he fails to do so. I have not made up my mind on how I feel about Malachy yet. I am still holding out hope that he will stop drinking and support his family even though he is addicted to alcohol and depressed.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Iams
“Angela’s Ashes” keeps getting more interesting as the book goes on. Angela finally tells Malachy that they need to stop having children. I believe that it is necessary for her to do this. She cannot raise anymore kids in the poor conditions the family is in. Even though Malachy is against this decision Angela goes through with it. As the story progresses you can tell how smart Frank is. The way he tells the story it seems as if he still is a child but yet has the intelligence of someone far older than himself. His grandmother gets mad at him for reading so much. She thinks that it is not good for him and blames his conjunctivitis on it. In reality she thinks that reading so much will give him to much knowledge for his age. When Malachy said that he was going to England for a job I did not see it ending well. The way he has held jobs in the past does not make this seem like it is going to work. His alcoholism always got in the way of his jobs or providing for the family. So when he went away I did not expect anything to change. I did not see him sending any money I could only see it being spent on booze for himself.
ReplyDeleteNick Romus
As the book comes closer to an end, Angela finally said no to more children. She could barely support the children she has now and it would be almost impossible to add more. Malachy is a big reason for that since he wastes most of his money on alcohol. Malachy eventually goes off to England to find a job. He ends up getting a job, but also sends his paychecks back to his family. That changes very quickly as Malachy goes back to the pub and begins drinking once again. He doesn't have anyone to annoy him and he can basically do what he wants. It's a good thing in a way because the kids don't have to see him coming home drunk knowing he wasted his money on something foolish when he could have used it to feed his wife and kids. Having no money leads Frank to steal food. He had to step up and take action even though it led to that. He saw a box of food with milk and lemonade so he decided to just take it all. He most likely will not be able to steal very often since he will most likely get caught soon enough.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of chapter nine, we see Angela finally realizing that it is time she stopped having more children because her and her husband, Malachy, cannot provide for the ones they already have. I believe by her doing this shows that she sees how bad their situation is and she finally is trying to take control, which is good, but it is also too little too late. Malachy dislikes the fact that Angela is going against her “wifely duties” by refusing to have more children. After hearing that jobs are available in England for Irishmen, Malachy, decides to find work there in the munitions factories. However, Angela never receives any money from her husband and is angry when she sees the other families who live on the lane getting money orders from their husbands also working in England. Angela has every right to be mad and I do not think that Malachy should ever have left his family for England. Even though there were jobs available there, Angela and his kids were not there to remind him that they needed the money.
ReplyDeleteFrank is then sent back to the hospital again for a severe infection in his eyes. Back at the hospital, Frank sees Seamus and Mr. Timoney from his last stay at the hospital, and Seamus spends much time with Frank reading poetry to him. After Frank returns home, the Angela is forced to move her and the children upstairs in order to escape the damp room. Despite their terrible living conditions and lack of food and money from her husband, Angela refuses to go to the Dispensary to ask for money. She believes that it is more humiliating and shameful than going on the dole. I think that Angela should swallow her pride and go to the Dispensary because her pride is not what is most important; what is most important is feeding and providing her family with the basic needs for life.
Soon Angela turns very sick with pneumonia and the responsibility is put on Frank to care for his mother and siblings. Frank steals food to feed his family and is unable to attend school in order to tend to his mother. This responsibility is above and beyond what any boy his age should have to worry about. While Angela is at the hospital the boys stay with their Uncle Pa Keating and Aunt Aggie where they are feed until their mother can return home.
-Ashley Aquilino
The reading assigned for this week was chapters 9 and 10. I was so relived to read that Angela decided to not have any more children. I did not agree with Malachy’s reaction, though. He claimed that Angela wasn’t doing her womanly duty according to their religion. This also shows the theme of paralysis with in religion again. Nothing good comes from being stuck in one’s ways and this stays true with Malachy and Angela. Malachy ended up leaving Ireland to go to England to work. This does not make sense to me because if he wasn’t spending the money he made, if he even made any, on his family while they were starving right in front of his face, then there is no way he would send the money he made in England back to Ireland for them. Again, he is stuck in his ways and will spend it on drinking, showing the theme of paralysis. Another thing that happened in this week’s reading was Angela letting the boy be dirty so that they would be given money. While it sounds like an un-motherly thing to do, it was the only way for the family to get money so it had to be done.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Hampton
Angela has finally made the very wise decision to become abstinent and will refrain from having any more children. I am astonished that it took her this long to accept the fact that she lacks much of a maternal drive and, also, that she lacks the funds to keep her children alive. Though Malachy says it is a “Catholic woman’s wifely duties,” I think the way in how they raise their children is very sacrilegious; the parent’s sins range from starving them to their very nonchalant attitude on their health and well-being. After Angela’s statement, Malachy heads off to England to get a job, promising to send back part of his wages. As is expected, Malachy assumes his “out of sight, out of mind” attitude and sends absolutely no money for his family. I also can’t believe that Frank gets another serious illness. Frank has conjunctivitis and, just like the last time he was ill, he is taken to the doctor much later than he should be. Chapter ten may be one of the saddest chapters yet in Angela’s Ashes. Angela becomes deathly ill with pneumonia. With no parents to care for them, Frank, Malachy, Michael, and Alphie are sent to live with Aunt Aggie. Their father reappears for a short time and then sends himself back to England. It is hinted at that this is the last time they ever see him, as Frank McCourt says his father “forever” forgets to send home any wages. Now that the McCourts are at their poorest, Angela is forced to reach beggar status and plead for the scraps from the priest’s plates. I hope that this chapter was the “rock-bottom” for the McCourts and that they are able to rise from here.
ReplyDeleteChapter 9 begins with Angela deciding she doesn’t want to have anymore children. This angers Malachy and e thinks it is her duty to have children. Even though its already late to stop having children now better now then after having another 4 or 5 children die. Malachy decides he wants to head off to England to get a job. He promises he is going to send back some of his pay, but as expected he doesn’t. After battling an illness that left him in the hospital for weeks Drank comes down with conjunctivitis which his grandmother blames on him always having his head in his books.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 10 Angela becomes extremely sick. She begs for food from anyone she can and has hit an all time low. The kids are sent to live with Aunt Aggie and Malachy shows his face one last time before returning to England forever.
This week in Angela's Ashes, Malachy Sr. has become even more disconnected from his family by going to England to "find work". Really, he is only making it easier for himself to drink as much as he wants away from his family so that he doesn't have to deal with Angela getting on his back. Only one paycheck is sent back to the family, and Angela has no choice but to go to the Dispensary. This is her lowest low, and she knows it. This is seen as being even worse than going to St. Vincent De Pauls or begging on the street. Then Angela gets sick, and little Frank is forced to be the responsible one and the "parent" figure and take care of his three younger siblings. It makes me sad that Frank has to grow up so fast and is cut short of having a normal childhood. He even resolves to stealing because in his eyes, he is so desperate that there are no other options. Once Angela is placed in the hospital, the kids are sent to their cruel aunt's house where she treats them like dirt. It's tough seeing the McCourt family at such a low.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the last few chapters this week I am very happy with Angela with the decision she made to not have anymore children. It is horrible the way Malachy tried to put religion in her face as a way to get her to do what he wants. And even more horrible because he himself is not very religious. I also feel that he is ignorant because he, at this point in the book, can not provide for the wife and kids that he has now. Why would you choose to bring an innocent child into the world that you will just refuse to provide for? As a man I can not help but to have no respect for Malachy at all. I also feel that having a religion that tells you that you can not use birth control is wrong. Just because he have a passion for you spouse does not mean you should have a child in return. Certainly not if your not ready for one. Sadly so many people in the world today have kids that they simply can't give what is needed for a child. And why should a child suffer for just because the reigion that their parents follow tells them that can't do something. No one should be a slave to their religion and having kids should be a choice that is decided on by both the parents not some religion.
ReplyDeletePosted By: Kris Braxton