How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Delia says something has to be done about Angela and those children for they are a disgrace, so they are, enough to make you ashamed to be related. A letter has to be written to Angela's mother. (1.307)
Point blank: appearances matter. The McNamara sisters aren't concerned about the welfare of the kids or Angela. They're just concerned about how the McCourts' poverty affects them and their social status. Where's the charity and compassion? That comes from the neighbors, who are almost as poor as the McCourts.
Quote #2
The woman behind the counter is pleasant to Mam in her American coat till Mam shows the St. Vincent de Paul docket. The woman says, I don't know what you're doing here at this hour of the day. I never serve charity cases before six in the evening. But this is your first time and I'll make an exception. (2.179)
The woman behind the counter assumes from Angela's coat that she's a paying customer. In McCourt's Ireland what you wear determines not only how people treat you but also how far you get in life. The family's ragged clothing immediately signals "low class."
Quote #3
He puts on his tie and his cap and goes to the Labour Exchange to sign for the dole. He will never leave the house without collar and tie. A man without a collar and tie is a man with no respect for himself. You never know when the clerk at the Labour Exchange might tell you there's a job going at Rank's Flour Mills or the Limerick Cement Company, and even if it's a laboring job what will they think if you appear without collar and tie? (3. 20)
Pride. Self-Respect. Dignity. This is another passage where McCourt shows the importance of clothing conveying social class. Malachy Sr. believes that with the right clothing he's more likely to get offered a job. As a Northerner, he has to be especially careful about this.