A Second Important Trait

Page 32.

"The Italian grocery shop is across the street and I see bananas, apples, oranges. I know the twins can eat bananas. Malachy loves bananas and I like them myself. But you need money, Italians are not known for giving away bananas especially to the McCourts who owethem moneey already for groceries.
My mother tells me all the time, Never, never leave that playground except to come home. But what am I to do with the twins bawling with the hunger in the pram? I tell Malachy I'll be back in a minute. I make sure no one is looking, grab a bunch of bananas outside the Italian grocery shop and run down Myrtle Avenue, away from the playground, around the block and back to the other end where there's a hole in the fence. We push the pram to a dark corner and peel the bananas for the twins.There are five bananas in the bunch and we feast on them in the dark corner. The twins slobber and chew and spread banana over their faces, their hair, their clothes. I realize then that questions will be asked. Mam will want to know why the twins are smothered in bananas, where did you get them? I can't tell her about the Italian shop on the corner. I will have to say, A man."

I chose this passage to share with my group because it shows how Frankie cares for his siblings. It shows that he will go to extreme lengths at times to do what is needed to keep them content and as healthy as possible. When Frankie says, "Mam will want to know why the twins are smothered in bananas, where did you get them? I can't tell her about the Italian shop on the corner. I will have to say, A man," this shows that Frankie is preparing himself to lie to his own mother just so that he would be able to protect and help the twins as well as his brother and himself.

• Do you think it was right for Frankie to steal from the Italian grocery shop even though he knew his family owed them money?
• What kind of person does this make Frank?

Brianna H.