Dear Reader,
I
think that the fact that Frank got sick and went to the hospital was a good
thing. I know that it sounds like I am being a complete jerk here but it is
true. When he was at the hospital he met Patricia. If he never got sick and had
to go to the hospital that never would have happened. I think of that as a
pretty crucial part of the book. His father also kissed him on the forehead
when he was at the hospital. This was the first time that his father has ever done
this. This made Frank feel “so happy I feel like I’m floating out of the bed.”
(193) This is one of those moments where you hate and at the same time kind of
like the father at the same time (more on the hate side of course)
I
am so happy that the father finally decided to go off to England to get a job.
It took him long enough. It still makes me mad though, that the fact the mother
had to threaten that she was going to go find a job in England just to get the
father to get up and actual take control of his life and family. He will
finally “go to England” (218) to finally get a job. Things are starting to look
a bit brighter for Frank and the rest of his family. I hope the story line
continues in this kind of direction.
I
feel so bad for Frank. He has such mixed feelings about his father. Sometimes
he loves his father, while at other times he hates his guts. For example, when
his father kissed him on the forehead, he was one of the happiest kids I have
ever seen. He also hates him in the way that he comes home almost every day drunk
out of his mind. He wishes he could say “I love you, Dad,” (210). He doesn’t
know what to think of his dad, whether it is in a good way or a bad.
Sincerely,
Adam
Dear Adam,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the bit about him needing to go to the hospital. Here's a link to an article about tuberculosis in 1940's Ireland: http://viking305.hubpages.com/hub/TB-a-disease-with-no-social-bounderies You're right, it was a crucial part of the book, and Frank's life. I think it wasn't as important that he met Patricia, but as he fell in love with reading. Without reading, he wouldn't have been able to get back to his grade and get a somewhat decent education. Better reading leads to better writing, and this altered his life. He probably would have never even written Angela's Ashes if it weren't for those days in the hospital that he spent reading.
Sincerely,
Emily
I don't know why that link isn't working, so here's a link to a copy of the Highwayman poem that Patricia read to him: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171940
ReplyDeleteIt won't take you directly to it if you click on it, so just copy and paste it into the search bar. :)
ReplyDelete