Quote #1: “The old Irish told me, and my mother had warned me, stick with your kind. Marry your own.” –Frank. Page: 352
Response #1: This quote is specific to one event in the book and I think it represents a big problem he faced in America that also challenged an Irish tradition, drinking. He thought that girls who weren’t Irish wouldn’t care about his drinking habits when in reality they really didn’t like them. Frank married a girl who grew up in a totally different environment than him. Because of this she wasn’t used to the mass amount of alcohol that Frank and Irishmen consumed on a daily bases. She got mad at him because of all his drinking. Sometimes he would forget meeting her at restaurants and at other times he wouldn’t come home until it was late at night. Eventually she was so fed up with this that she divorced him. This moved him a few major spaces back in the game of life. If he followed what so many people told him, he would have married an Irish girl who didn’t give a “fiddlers fart” (Irish vocabulary from the book) about all his drinking.
Personally I can’t connect or agree with Franks actions. I understand that drinking was something that came culturally for most Irish and he started in his child hood but that was no excuse to put aside real events and problems that actually meant something to his life. It seemed as if whenever he did one thing right or times got tough he went out to drink. He was always drinking, putting aside life and important matters for just one more beer. But it was never just one; he usually ended up sitting on one bar stool for hours, forgetting his responsibilities as a father and sometimes as a teacher.
Question #1: How do you think drinking/alcohol will affect your adult life?
Quote #2: “I’ll do anything for you” –Frank talking to a girl as she breaks up with him. Page: 265
Response #2: Throughout this book Frank is somewhat controlled by women. I think it was one of the biggest problems he faced in America. One girlfriend, he had in America left him for an insurance man. Frank wasn’t ready to give up on her so he went to an insurance firm and trained to become one. After a few weeks he decided to give up on her and left his job at the insurance company. By doing this his name was known to all other big firms and he was unable to get a job at an insurance company again. Here a perfectly good career opportunity was flushed down the toilette just because of one girl.
I can say I have been in Frank’s socks but not in his shoes. There have been times where I would do almost anything for a girl but I wouldn’t do everything. I stay away from doing stuff that would limit future career opportunities or get me in trouble. Overall I would be smart about it. Frank seems to be lead by his heart and not by his brain. He doesn’t think. He throws himself into situations not thinking about the future. This is something that he failed to fix throughout the book.
Question #2: Have you ever done something stupid because of a girl? If not, can you see yourself in the future doing something stupid because a girl?
Response #1: This quote is specific to one event in the book and I think it represents a big problem he faced in America that also challenged an Irish tradition, drinking. He thought that girls who weren’t Irish wouldn’t care about his drinking habits when in reality they really didn’t like them. Frank married a girl who grew up in a totally different environment than him. Because of this she wasn’t used to the mass amount of alcohol that Frank and Irishmen consumed on a daily bases. She got mad at him because of all his drinking. Sometimes he would forget meeting her at restaurants and at other times he wouldn’t come home until it was late at night. Eventually she was so fed up with this that she divorced him. This moved him a few major spaces back in the game of life. If he followed what so many people told him, he would have married an Irish girl who didn’t give a “fiddlers fart” (Irish vocabulary from the book) about all his drinking.
Personally I can’t connect or agree with Franks actions. I understand that drinking was something that came culturally for most Irish and he started in his child hood but that was no excuse to put aside real events and problems that actually meant something to his life. It seemed as if whenever he did one thing right or times got tough he went out to drink. He was always drinking, putting aside life and important matters for just one more beer. But it was never just one; he usually ended up sitting on one bar stool for hours, forgetting his responsibilities as a father and sometimes as a teacher.
Question #1: How do you think drinking/alcohol will affect your adult life?
Quote #2: “I’ll do anything for you” –Frank talking to a girl as she breaks up with him. Page: 265
Response #2: Throughout this book Frank is somewhat controlled by women. I think it was one of the biggest problems he faced in America. One girlfriend, he had in America left him for an insurance man. Frank wasn’t ready to give up on her so he went to an insurance firm and trained to become one. After a few weeks he decided to give up on her and left his job at the insurance company. By doing this his name was known to all other big firms and he was unable to get a job at an insurance company again. Here a perfectly good career opportunity was flushed down the toilette just because of one girl.
I can say I have been in Frank’s socks but not in his shoes. There have been times where I would do almost anything for a girl but I wouldn’t do everything. I stay away from doing stuff that would limit future career opportunities or get me in trouble. Overall I would be smart about it. Frank seems to be lead by his heart and not by his brain. He doesn’t think. He throws himself into situations not thinking about the future. This is something that he failed to fix throughout the book.
Question #2: Have you ever done something stupid because of a girl? If not, can you see yourself in the future doing something stupid because a girl?
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