“I stand in my backyard for ages in my shirt and bare feet
looking up at the moon which is a ghostly galleon riding upon cloudy seas and
go back to bed shivering and hoping I’ll wake up in the morning with a
terrible cough and flushed cheeks”
(247)
This passage is a recall of McCourt’s nights outside, hoping to get sick and go to the hospital. At this time, McCourt and his siblings are living in their Aunt Aggie’s house because their mother is sick and their father is in England. His Aunt Aggie is an abusive lady who treats the children terribly. McCourt wishes he were back in the hospital, where he stayed when he had typhoid. The Sister’s at the hospital fed him well and McCourt had no worries except to heal. Determined to return to the lovely conditions of the hospital, McCourt risks his health by standing out in the freezing weather of an Irish winter, hoping to get sick. Living with his Aunt Aggie influences him to realize that he’d rather be ill and out of his Aunt’s house then endure the struggles he must face in her house. The importance of this passage is the core essence of this book. McCourt and many others wished to make it out of Ireland and have a future that was better than their previous experiences. Sacrifices would have to be made to make it to that point.
This passage is a recall of McCourt’s nights outside, hoping to get sick and go to the hospital. At this time, McCourt and his siblings are living in their Aunt Aggie’s house because their mother is sick and their father is in England. His Aunt Aggie is an abusive lady who treats the children terribly. McCourt wishes he were back in the hospital, where he stayed when he had typhoid. The Sister’s at the hospital fed him well and McCourt had no worries except to heal. Determined to return to the lovely conditions of the hospital, McCourt risks his health by standing out in the freezing weather of an Irish winter, hoping to get sick. Living with his Aunt Aggie influences him to realize that he’d rather be ill and out of his Aunt’s house then endure the struggles he must face in her house. The importance of this passage is the core essence of this book. McCourt and many others wished to make it out of Ireland and have a future that was better than their previous experiences. Sacrifices would have to be made to make it to that point.
The
metaphor of the moon being a ghostly ship riding upon a cloudy sea is an
excerpt from the Highwayman poem that
Patricia, another patient at the hospital told him. The moon resembles his
loneliness with an uncertain future and a wish to get out. This is because a
ship in a cloudy sea is isolated and strives to get to its destination.
However, it does not know where or if it will make it out. When McCourt says
this he is showing his desperation. Also, he is referring to Patricia, and
considering the option of death.
Word Count: 337
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