Caitlyn's First Reader Response

Dear Fellow Readers,
     In Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize winning book, Angela's Ashes, many of my views are challenged by his recount of his early life. Within the first 90 pages, most of my views that were challenged were about families and how they act towards their children. Much of the events within these first chapters are astonishingly different than the views I was brought up with.I myself being partially Irish, like McCourt, find it weird about the way that this family acts. Their culture has shaped them to be this kind of family, but mine wasn't. This intrigued me, but not for the fact of the way they act. They act so differently, but so fluidly. It's like, this is what their parents did, so they are copying them. What did you think about the way that McCourt's family acted? Does it seem to you that they are intentionally acting this way, or were they brought up like this?
     The first thing that troubled me was McCourt's father, Malachy. His father is first portrayed as a drunkard who cannot hold down a job or a family. That is, until he marries Angela, who is McCourt's mother. Still, his drunkard ways remained, even with 4 children. One night, Angela is sitting up waiting for Malachy to come home from work while the children are in bed, and then Malachy returns home. He starts singing an old Irish song and rousing the children out of bed like they're soldiers. She tells him, "Leave the boys alone. They're going to bed half hungry because you have to fill your belly with whiskey" (McCourt 25). I know that people have obsessions with things like alcohol and drugs, but you would think that if they had children, they would put them first. This strongly clashes with my views because even though Irish are known to be big on drinking, they are even bigger on the importance of their family. Malachy almost ignores his family needs just to have a drink. This sickens me, but what do you feel when you are reading this? Doesn't this seem wrong to you?
     Another thing that upsets me is favoritism. Favoritism in families is when parent favor one child over the rest of the children. This happens in the McCourt family when baby Margaret arrives. She is the fifth child, and the only female one. Both Malachy and Angela love her more. At one point, McCourt recalls, "The twins [Eugene and Oliver] cried when they were small and Dad and Mam would say Whisht and Hush....But when Margaret cries there's a high lonely feeling in the air and Dad is out of bed in a second, holding her to him..." (McCourt 30). Malachy neglected his other children, but not Margaret. She was the pride and joy of the family. Also, McCourt remembers how his parents were, "talking about Margaret now and I'm forgotten" (McCourt 34). His parents seem to love their baby girl more than their 4 sons. That is, until Margaret dies. What do you feel about this idea of favoritism? Do you think it's right? And how does it affect McCourt as a child in your opinion?
     The last thing that bothers me in this novel is the lack of respect the family has for each other. One particular incident irks me very much under this matter. At this point, Oliver has also died, and more recently, Eugene has died from pneumonia. Malachy takes Eugene's coffin to go find a hearse for it. He finds a man who can drive it, and they agree to negotiate a price at a local bar. McCourt was looking for his father, and he finds him at the bar. What McCourt sees troubles him. He tells his father, "That's Eugene's coffin. I'll tell Mam you put your glass on Eugene's coffin" (McCourt 86) The two men were using Eugene's coffin as a table to put their drinks on. One big question that was flashing through my mind at this point was, Where is the respect that this little boy deserves? He is dead, and he should be treated in the proper way, not used as a table. I a;ways thought that Irish people were brought up to be Catholic Christians, and that they honored their dead, but this was crossing my line. If I was there in that situation, I would have slapped Malachy and taken the coffin away to give Eugene the respect he deserves. While reading this, did you have the same reactions, or did you think something different?
     These events have forever changed my views of Irish families. I know that probably not all of the families act this way, but this family made me think twice. The McCourt's are a family that are not easily forgotten, and they also show how different families can be within one culture. As a reader, think about this: What if all families were exactly like this? How would things be different for you and the people around you?
Sincerely,
Caitlyn