Personal Response 2

A Miracle of a Baby Girl:

I do tend to be an optimistic and believe that miracles can happen. Whenever I read a book and something miraculous happens, it never fails to make me smile and think more deeply about the subject further. In the novel, Frank McCourt's father, Malachy Sr. is a heavy drinker. The fact that he has a wife and young boys to take care of does not deter from his drinking habits. It wasn't until the birth of a little girl named Margaret put a temporary stop to his drinking habits. Everyone adored Margaret, especially her father, who would hold her dearly and "walk around the kitchen with her and [talk] with her", saying how beautiful she is and that when he gets a job he will have plenty of money to buy her "dresses of silk and shoes with silver buckles" (30). Whenever Margaret cried he would sing to her and make "sounds like a mother"(30). Even Angela said that Malachy Sr. is "in heaven over that child" and "hasn't touched a drop [of alcohol] since she was born" (30). Her friend Minnie remarked that "it's lovely [...] to see a man so charmed with his little girl [...]" (31). I agree with Minnie, it is quite lovely to see a sight like that. It seems like little Margaret was a little angel that brought a moment of peace in the family. They were still poor, but at least the father was not drinking anymore and the devotion and love he showed to his daughter made the rest of his family smile and laugh. In the condition that the McCourts were always in there was not a lot of smiles and laughter to go around, so it was nice to see a small positive change in Malachy Sr; which in turn, affected the rest of his family. "We all laugh[ed]", McCourt recalled as his father danced with Margaret in his arms and Angela joked that he danced with "two left feet" (30). Alas, the bundle of joy that brought happiness to her mother, her father, and her brothers was short lived. Margaret, who was only a few months old, died suddenly in her sleep. Of course the whole family was devastated, especially Angela and Malachy Sr. Angela went mad with mourning and Malachy Sr. went back to his old habits and he "went mad all over Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue [...] and [was] thrown out of all the bars"(39). Even though he has the rest of his children to take care of, having only little boys brings "no comfort to him", said Minnie, "That little girl brought out something in him. [...]he didn't even drink after she was born and that was a miracle"(39).

I guess most people would think that to quit something like drugs or drinking, it would take something big, like extensive medical therapy, but in cases like Malachy Sr. all it takes is the birth of a little girl to touch his heart and he is a temporary reformed man. It sort of reminds me of my Grandad. He use to be a heavy drinker and it wasn't until the death of my Grandma that he stopped drinking turned more to religion. His wife's death got to his heart and had a huge impact on him and he is more of a mellow guy. Based on observations and readings, drinking excessively and then trying to be sober for a long time must be extremely hard. I never really liked McCourt's father very much. I disproved of how irresponsible he was and that there was not one mature bone in his body. From the beginning of the book, it seemed like the chances of him stepping up and taking responsibility for his family was slim. When I read that the birth of his daughter put a stop to his alcoholism, I was like "Wow! So it is possible."It just comes to show that people who have hard habits to break, all they need is for someone to touch their heart in a special way to completely change them. It is a wonderful miracle and miracles don't happen that often, and that's what makes them special. It worked for my Grandad and it worked for Margaret's father too.