IRA#6

Angela's Ashes


Chapter 8-10


Francis is preparing for his confirmation. Before confirmation there is temptation to follow Henry Dooley who everyone calls Quasimodo who does sinful pleasures, and the moms are locking up their kids making sure that they do  become him. Then days after confirmation, Francis starts to bleed about everywhere. After going to the doctor, he is diagnosed with typhoid and quickly taken to the Fever Hospital. The main character meets a girl named Patricia Madigan, who is a diphtheria patient. He and Patricia are not allowed to communicate in fear that he may get even more ill, and because he should be praying to God thanking him for helping him get through. Despite the Sister Rita's warnings, the two kids have the orderly Seamus sneak books back and forth as she instills his mind with new types of literature such as The Highway Man. Patricia tells Frances the story of the highwayman, the redcoats, and the woman. The bad thing is that right when he is going to figure the ending of the poem, the nun catches them and Francis is relocated. I find this very sad. He finds a friend that introduces him to the wonderful world of literature, and now he has to go. He is taken downstairs in the hospital where the famine patients in the late 1880's suffered malnutrition and died. You wouldn't think that a bunch of nuns would put you in a place that has so many memories of sickness and death as punishment. The worst thing is that the main character is actually have nightmare of illusions of people lying on the beds and dying. I definitely wouldn't want to be in that room because I would be scared to death where I would join the
couple dozen or more ghosts that haunt that very room Francis is staying in. The nuns explain that the literature that he has been given is pagan. I don't know how that poem written about two lovers who take their own life would be considered pagan, but all right. The  theme of sadness continues as Frankie finds out that Patricia dies the next morning. After being the hospital from several weeks to a month, he returns home. He tries to get back into school, but finds out that after being gone for a long period of time, he must be held back. He and Malachy will be in the same classroom despite the fact that Frank has already been confirmed. Think about it! How would you feel if you had to be held back to the same class as your younger brother who is like two years younger than you. The teasing really worries Frank, and he hopes that since St. Francis of Assisi made him healthy again, maybe he can help him with one more thing. The main character is the oldest and is asked to write a paper to talk about what he learned last year when preparing for Confirmation. He write such a well written paper that he gets booted back to his original classroom. You see miracles do happen! Frank is starting to realize that there are three sides to his father and it is more like the Holy Trinity. He reads paper in the morning, works in the afternoon, and then later spends the money on booze. The conditions of their home are not very promising. They are told by an official that they must move. Money is the huge problem around here as we have all known. There are jobs opening up in England in factories making artillery and bombs. Many Irishmen want to leave their families and get jobs, but I find this iron because in these chapters they talk about the horror that the English put the Irish through. Malachy Sr. agrees with Angela that he go to England and get in a job in the factory sending them a little money every now and then. Uh Yeah Right? He has never given any of the money he earned to his family and now he's going to start. I believe this is foreshadows that the money is not going to come as soon as it should leaving the families desperate. The men leave their families with a promise that they will send money, and they will not get mixed up with other women. After a few weeks, the women and children wait for the telegram boy asking him if their husband sent them anything. When there is no word, everyone starts to become a little scared. Francis gets sick again and stays in the hospital. Angela suffers from depression and some sort of disease, while the boys are stealing bread and food so they can eat. After being discovered by a guard, the mom is taken to the hospital and the boys are taken to live at their aunt's. I would say by reading this that their aunt is the meanest person alive. She is like an exact replica of the grandma. The only time the boys are happy is when their uncle Sheehan takes care of them because he is nice to them and makes them laugh. Their father finally comes home, but warns them that he can't be here forever.