Q2 Outside Reading #6

One of the few times Malachy is there for his children, he decides he wants Frank to become an altar boy. Angela doesn't think he'll be accepted, but Malachy takes him through the steps. "Every evening after tea I kneel for the Latin and he won't let me move till I'm perfect" (McCourt 148). Religion is a part of Frank's world, he goes to a Catholic school, got confirmed, but that was all just part of school. His father really wants him to become more involved in religion, which will make him a more rounded person. Although Frank does his best, he is rejected from the church. His mother basically blames it on Malachy. "Oh, no, they want the nice boys with hair oil and new shoes that have fathers with suits and ties and steady jobs" (McCourt 149). Angela is pointing out that if Malachy were a more caring father then Frank probably could have been an altar boy. If Malachy would keep a job, bring home the paycheck and provide for his family, his boys would have a better life.

Q2 Outside Reading # 5

School back in Frank's time was much more difficult. I'm not talking about the actual subjects but about how it was run. They were taught by priests and the priests resorted to violence to control the boys. "... Mr. Benson heard him and took him out to the hallway and knocked him around till he howled" (McCourt 121). Also, there was a hierarchy within the boys. Those who had less were beaten up by the boys who were more fortunate. "Now if I hear of one boy in this class jerring and sneering at McCourt or his brother over their shoes the stick will come out" (McCourt 106). The McCourts couldn't afford new shoes so their father tied pieces of tire to the bottom of their shoes.
The priests have very different styles of teaching than the teachers today. The priests make the boys repeat everything they same back to them to make sure they're listening. "What have we dont, boys? Bared our necks to the Protestant ax, sir. And? Mounted the scaffold singing, sir. As if? Embarking on a picnic, sir" (McCourt 122). The boys also have to show respect to their teacher by calling him sir, which is not done today. The teachers also have very low tolerance levels. "You're not here to be asknig questions... if I find any boy in this class asking questions I won't be responsible for what happens" (McCourt 118). Today students are suppose to ask questions but in Frank's time that could lead to punishment. That may be because of the different time periods but also because we're in a different country.

Q2 Outside Reading # 4

Once again, tragedy hits the McCourts. Both of Frankie's younger brothers, Oliver and Eugene, die. This hurts the McCourts in many ways. Obviously they are mourning the loss of two of their children/brothers. Also this means that they receive less money from the dole. It's true they have less mouths to feed but they still can't survive on what little money they have left over after paying rent. Living in the apartement when her twins died is haunting Angela. "She sees Eugene morning, noon and night. She sees him climbing the bed to look ou at the street for Oliver and sometimes she sees Oliver outside and Eugene inside, the two of them chatting away" (McCourt 91). Because Angela feels haunted by her sons she forces her family to move.
The move hurts the family a lot. First of all they are further away from Frankie's and Malachy's school. They have to walk a longer distance in the terrible weather which gets them sick. Another problem is that this new home costs more than the last one. They are still living on the charity money because Malachy (the father) can't find and keep a steady job. Another, less eminent problem, is that the toilet, which is by the whole lane which consists of seven houses, is located right outside the McCourts house. "These houses were built in the time of Queen Victoria herself and if this lavatory was ever cleaned it must have been done by someone in the middle of the night when no one was lookin'" (McCourt 92). To make matters even worse, the house leaks and they have to live in the upper room for the duration of winter, Malachy is still drinking away whatever money he can make, and Angela gives birth to another baby boy named Michael.