Dear Caitlyn and Neil,
One thing I've realized about Angela's Ashes is that it deals with large changes in the mood of the text. One minute you might be reading an incident Frank encountered that is about to make you break out into tears of agony; the next minute you could be reading something that happened that makes you break out into tears of laughter. Regardless of the mood Frank Mccourt writes in, it is quite evident that all of the events he experiences are shaped by his Irish culture. I don't think my life as an American is anywhere near Frank Mccourt's. For starters, have you noticed that he uses very unique vocabulary and phrases? I can't tell you how many times I've read him saying "Mam," or his father saying "Och" or "Och, aye," or when Frank attempts to attack Declan Collopy, and Declan calls him a "mad, feckin' eejit" (Mccourt 177). Yet, I can relate quite similarly. I refer to my Polish grandfather as dziadzio, which is Polish for grandpa, and I refer to my grandmother as babcia, Polish for grandma. Do you have any distinct terms you use that derive from your ethnicity? And do you have any idea what "Och" or "Och, aye" means?
As unique as the Irish culture is, which is quite evident throughout this novel, it is interesting to see similarities it shares with other cultures. For example, the citizens of Limerick, where Frank's family lives in the book, are very prejudice towards Malachy, Frank's father. Frank mentions in the book that Malachy frequently applies for jobs, "but when he opens his mouth and they hear the North of Ireland accent, they take a Limerickman instead" (Mccourt 94). Because Malachy is from the North of Ireland, he has difficulty getting a job, along with his struggle to show up to work on time because of his alcohol addiction. I decided to research why they are prejudice towards the Northern Irish, and I found out that this is because Northern Ireland is actually part of England, which who had a long rivalry with Ireland . Likewise, in our society, there are particular races that are treated unfairly among the rests of society. Unfortunately, their are several people in our country that are still racists towards black people. Not to mention Muslims are often depicted as a threat to our country, only because of the small group that caused the plane crash on 9/11/2001. What are your views of racism? What other groups of people do you know that are treated differently from everybody else?
One radically different element of American and Irish culture is the schooling system. Reading about the Irish schooling left me with my jaw-dropped. I couldn't believe what I was reading! One of Frank's masters, or teachers, makes the threat that "if he hears a single boy in this class asking foolish questions or talking about The Collection again he'll flog that boy till the blood spurts" (Mccourt 119). Can you imagine what would happen if one of your teacher's wacked you with a rod so hard that you bled, just for asking a foolish question?!?! I don't even know where to begin! First off, he/she would obviously go straight to jail or the Adult Correctional Institute (ACI) on account of child abuse. But what if it were okay, like it was in Ireland, at least during Frank Mccourt's childhood? I wouldn't have the courage to get out of bed every morning. I wouldn't be able to stay calm during the school day. Oddly enough, something about this type of discipline enforcement somewhat pleases me. I can't stand it when there's that student in class that is very disrespectful towards the teacher, yelling out in class, talking over the teacher, trying to act as if they have authority over the teacher. The reason they never stop is because their parents don't keep them in-line, and all that ever happens is a mere scowl from the teacher or having to stay after class for 15 minutes. I guarantee that if they were hit so hard that they bled, and they cried in front of the entire class like a baby, they'd never act up again. What was your reaction to the Irish schools' disciplinary actions?
I feel that as the course of the book progresses, Frank's parents are beginning to fail in keeping him out of trouble. There are multiple instances that support my claim. First, when Frank's parents tell him he will start dancing, he goes to classes for a short period of time, and soon, he starts taking the money he is supposed to pay the dance teacher with and he goes to the movies and buys toffee. The pattern continues for a long period of time, and when his parents find out he states "Dad doesn't care about my tooth or anything. He says I'm going to confession and drags me over to the Redemptorist church" (Mccourt 144). Frank received no further punishment, which indicates he will soon misbehave yet again, because he does not fear punishment. Likewise, he skips school one day with his friend Paddy Clohessy, and to evade his parents, goes home with Paddy. When his mother finally finds him, once again, she does not care, and he receives no punishment. I feel that when children lack punishment, it results in unhealthy future behavior. I know that this was never a problem for me, as my parents frequently scolded me for the smallest of acts. Do you believe it is best for a parent to be very strict, or passive? What kind of parents have you grown up with?
Yours Truly,
Patrick Gregorek
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