Blog Post 270-End

Dear Reader, 

I really don’t know what to think now that it’s done.  I liked it.  It was sad and miserable, but I liked it.  I like the way he writes.  It was nice to take a break from the boring old quotation marks.  Like I said in my first response; it’s like he’s telling us a story.  I got used to it, and grew to actually enjoy that style.  And as I wonder as I do with every school-assigned book, would I have enjoyed it more if I had read it on my own?  The answer is usually yes, and this book is no exception.  Still this book wasn’t as harmed as others were.  Over-analyzing bits of it is usually what makes me sick of it, but we didn’t do that here.  Instead, every time ¼ of the book passed, I got to rant about it.  I love to do that!!!  I don’t shut up if I’m reading a book I enjoy; I talk about it to everyone!  Nonetheless, I have spent a good deal of time stressing over it, so that somewhat diminishes the ease of this section of the project. 

            I want to talk about the priest that forgave Frank.  I feel like it’s a sort of reoccurring thing throughout the novel where the family members come into contact with charitable people who change the courses of their lives.  They’re really fortunate in these scenarios.  What if he had never met that priest?  He would have never forgiven himself for supposedly sending Theresa into Hell.  I really do think it changed the rest of his life, Frank recalled the priest telling him that, “God forgives me and I must forgive myself, that God loves me and I must love myself for only when you love God in yourself can you love all God’s creatures.” (344).  After that, he was able to get up and move on from Theresa.  He was also able to move on from Ireland. 

            What does, “Never smoke another man’s pipe,” (353) mean?  I feel like McCourt wouldn’t have mentioned it if it hadn’t had some value to it.  Is it a theme?  I can’t tell unless I understand what the old man means.  Is it, “Never live another man’s dreams”?  Or is it “Don’t smoke kid”?  Or maybe, “Do things yourself, and prosper from your own hard work and effort”?  I can’t make up my mind; they all seem to fit the story so well.  Perhaps it means nothing at all.  Maybe McCourt put it in there to show that some things that should be full of meaning, aren’t.  What’s your opinion?

            I understand exactly how Frank feels right before he leaves Ireland.  It’s the fear of regretting his decisions that causes him to wander about Ireland, wondering if he’ll ever see it again.  He wanted, “to get pictures of Limerick stuck in my head in case I never come back.”  (357).  Moving to America was a massive, life-altering experience for him.  Did he ever see his mother or brothers again?  I wouldn’t be able to do that at 19, not permanently at least.  Still, my great-grandmother did the same thing at 18, and never saw Ireland again.  It made Frank’s parting for America so bittersweet, and my heart broke to think of all of the immigrants who've gone through the same experience.  But still, I hope Frank enjoyed America.  I hope that he got to see at least Malachy, that they all wrote, and that his mother never had to empty another chamber pot ever again, just as he dreamed. 

Sincerely, 

Emily Botelho