The Mammy :: essays research papers

The Mammy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Irish tale depicts the life of a woman named Agnes Browne. The cards have fallen more than once for her, but with the love of her 7 children and faith, Agnes never losses her strength. The author, Brendan O’Carroll, adds elements of humor, tragedy, and love to this novel, which makes it hard to stop reading. Follow me as I talk about The Mammy and how her culture plays a part in her everyday life in the late 1960’s, in Dublin, Ireland.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book begins with the death of Agnes Browne’s husband Nicholas Browne, whom gets hit by a car. Agnes is now a widow and single parent to 7 children (6 boys and 1 girl), whom all range in ages 14-3. All of her children attend strict Catholic schools. Although her oldest son wants to drop out of school to help his mother support the household, she wants him to stay and continue. Agnes does not want him to end up like his father was, an abusive drunk, who worked as a janitor for more than 15 years. Though Nicholas Browne beat Agnes, he was never to touch the children. She was very protective of her children and everyone in Dublin knew it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now Agnes has to raise the children with the money she gets from the social service office, her stall where she sales her fresh produce everyday, and her Catholic belief. Agnes has a best friend by the name of Marion Monks. The two are very close and do everything together. They go to the local pub all the time and gossip and drink alcohol. The pub they hang out in everyone knew one another and were all very friendly, the neighborhood is very tight. With her very busy life Agnes does find time to daydream about her favorite singer named Cliff Diamond. She loves to listen to his records and relax. Agnes daydreams of him all the time wishing she could have one dance with him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then tragedy hits Agnes once again when Marion dies of cancer. She is saddened by the sudden death of her best friend, but she has such strong strength, she knows Marion is looking down on her. At the end of the book Agnes’ dream comes true when she is surprised with a visit from Cliff Diamond and looks up in the sky to thank her friend Marion for watching over her.