Immigration Lit Circle Reading Response

Quote #1: “The minute I turn off Barrington Street and down the hill to the lane I hear people saying, oh God, here’s Frankie McCourt in his American Uniform.”-Frank narrating the event of him going back to his childhood neighborhood, Page: 103

Response #1: Before I go on to talk about this quote I need to explain something. This quote is found when Frank arrives in his Irish home town and is walking through the streets of his old neighborhood. He is wearing his American army uniform because after getting promoted in Germany he was offered a pass to let him travel to Ireland and visit his family. As he strolls through the streets he is greeted by his old friends and neighbors that remind him of times they had when he was just a boy delivering telegrams. They usually talked about a time when he stayed over at their house to read books, or listen to the radio.

In his home town Frank was a kid that everyone knew. He took daily trips to people’s houses to deliver telegrams. Sometimes Frank would stay with the elderly people and keep them company. He spent time with the town’s people and became known as a good kid. He learned many things while spending time with the town’s people. For example, a blind man once paid him to read him a book. The book that Frank read to him was talked about in his collage literature class.

Franks mother played a huge part in Frank’s actions that followed this quote. After Frank is praised by the town’s people he goes to his mother’s house. Frank gets mad at his mother because with all the money he sent her she bought a house. She hasn’t moved into the house and hasn’t activated its gas or electricity. She also has no near plans that include moving into the house and she prefers to living in the slums. Frank eventually gets so mad at his family he hails a taxi and just leaves. By doing this he almost completely killed his good reputation with the town’s people. His mother should have used the money Frank worked hard to get properly instead of buying something that she wouldn’t use for any apparent reason.

Question #1: Do you think the town’s people still think positively of Frank? On the train ride back to the army’s base what made him change his mind and go back to his family?

Quote #2: “No. I might not be able to confess in the darkness of an ordinary church confession box but I could never do it here in the daylight all swollen with the mumps with a screen around the bed and the priest looking at me” –Frank narrating the scene of him in a hospital. Page: 99

Response #2: While moving to America Frank had to make quick decisions and find a way to live successfully. He didn’t have time to do any of the daily things that he would usually do in Ireland and he didn’t care. He was constantly looking forward and trying to adapt to an American lifestyle. Even before he got on the boat to America he wasn’t very religious. He sinned and didn’t attend mass. That was something that was very big in Ireland; religion was a big part of their life style. Like the quote points at he gave up on being a good catholic. One thing that he maintained naturally was drinking. At least once a chapter he drinks and sometimes gets very drunk. Usually he finds himself in the company of Irish men, so he, like many told him, stuck with his own kind.
This all makes a lot of sense to me and if I were in his shoes I would do the same thing. Frank wasn’t really crazy for his homeland and he didn’t care if he lost its culture. If I came from the area of Ireland that Frank was from I would just love to get away from it and forget it. Like Frank I wouldn’t care about maintaining my Irish side. I would stay focused on imbedding my feet in the sand of the ocean which is life in New York.

Question #2: Would you care if you moved to a new place and started to lose your homelands culture?