How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Dad carried the twins, Mam carried a bag in one hand and held Malachy's hand with the other. When she stopped every few minutes to catch her breath, Grandma said, Are you still smokin' them fags? Them fags will be the death of you. There's enough consumption in Limerick without people smokin' fags on top of it an' 'tis a rich man's foolishness. (2.92)
The effects of smoking weren't as widely known back then as they are now and many people died of lung cancer and emphysema. We don't usually side with Grandma Sheehan, but she does speak some sense. Besides, how are Angela and Malachy Sr. able to afford cigarettes when they can't even feed their children? That's another power of addiction—your substance of choice trumps everything.
Quote #5
Mikey's father, Peter is a great champion. He wins bets in the pubs by drinking more pints than anyone. All he has to do is go out to the jakes, stick his finger down his throat and bring it all up so that he can start another round. Peter is such a champion he can stand in the jakes and throw up without using his finger. […] He wins all that money but doesn't bring it home. Sometimes he's like my father and drinks the dole itself and that's why Nora Molloy is often carted off to the lunatic asylum demented with worry over her hungry famishing family. (4.8)
Another example of what alcoholism does to a family. Nora, like Angela, goes crazy (literally) trying to find the means necessary to feed her family. Peter, on the other hand, continues drinking, and is completely oblivious to the damage he's causing.
Quote #6
There may be a lack of tea or bread in the house but Mam and Dad always manage to get the fags, the Wild Woodbines. They have to have the Woodbines in the morning and anytime they drink tea. They tell us every day we should never smoke, it's bad for your lungs, it's bad for your chest, it stunts your growth, and they sit by the fire puffing away. (5.55)
Most heavy smokers know they're committing slow suicide. Angela and Malachy Sr. can't stop and they don't deny it. They didn't know about the link to lung cancer, but they knew the cigarettes made them short of breath and rotted their teeth. Get these people on the patch.