478-480, the first category of adjustment is problem solving. Problem solving is what people think as coping. Frank’s problem solving is to find a good job so that
he can bring money for the family. He works very hard and takes the responsibility as the family man to bring the money home. He wants to change his life condition
and his family’s life too. He saves his money from working so that he can go to America to pursue his dream to have a better life.
1. The Causes of Frank Struggle for Life
There are three things that cause Frank to struggle for life. He has to struggle for life because of his father’s drinking habit that makes the family
starved. The next problem is the family economic condition where Frank has to face that they never have enough money to buy food, coal and even unable to buy
clothes to wear because his father never has a steady job. The last problem is the unjust treatments of the society toward Frank’s family because of the fact that
Frank’s father is a Northern man not a Limerick man. All of these problems make Frank have to struggle for life and it also motivates him to grow up soon so that he
can help his family to fulfil their daily needs and to have a better life.
a. His Father Drinking Habit
Frank’s father has a bad drinking habit, which he is never able to stop. Even he, then, becomes an alcohol addict. Collins Cobuild Dictionary 19 defines addict
as someone who takes harmful drugs and cannot stop taking them. His father’s addiction to alcohol or any Irish pints becomes worse after the family moves to
Limerick. Webster’s New Explorer Dictionary 7 defines addiction as a compulsive need for and use of a habit- forming substance as heroin, nicotine or
alcohol characterized by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.
Frank’s father often spends his money only to fulfil his addiction desire of alcohol and leaves his family starved at home without any money or food to eat. Because
of his drinking problem, his father often gets involved in trouble that only brings sadness and shameful feelings to the family. Starting from Frank’s baptismal day
where he comes to church under drunken condition even until Frank grows old and able to find a job to help the family still his father is never able to free himself from
his drinking habit. On the day of Frank’s baptism, his father comes to the church under drunken
condition and even gets involved in a quarrel with the priest. There was a delay the day of Frank baptism when the chosen godfather,
John McErlaine, got drunk at the speakeasy and forgot his responsibility. Philomena told her husband that the child’s soul is in danger. Tommy put
his head down and grumbled. All right. I’ll be the godfather but I’m not goin’ to responsible if he grows up like his father causin’ trouble and goin’
trough life with the odd manner. Malachy fresh from the speakeasy himself felt insulted and wanted to argue with the priest 9.
It can be seen that his father’s behaviour on Frank’s baptism day is shameful thing for Angela and it shows that he also behaves impolitely toward the priest.
Because of his drinking problem, Frank’s father even often quarrels with his own wife Angela. It happens because he often abandons the family and spends
all his wages on drinking. He often goes home with the smell of whiskey and disturbs the neighbours with his songs.
Mam faced him. These children are hungry. Where’s the dole money? We’ll get fish and chips so they’ll have something in their bellies when they
sleep. She tried to stick her hands into his pocket but he pushed her away. Have reshpeck, he said. Reshpeck in front of the children 81.
This bad behaviour, causes his family not well fed. Even under drunken condition he still asks his wife to respect him.
Furthermore, his father’s drinking habit makes him unable to have a steady job and as a consequence he cannot fulfil his family’s daily needs. Though he has a
job, it will only last for three weeks because usually he uses all his money in the third week to drink and as a result he loses his job on the next Saturday.
I’m seven, eight, nine going to ten and still dad has no work. If he gets a job at the Limerick Cement Company or Rank’s Flour Mills he loses it in the
third week. He loses it because he goes to the pubs on the third Friday of the job, drinks all his wages and misses the half-day of work on Saturday
morning 161.
The most disgraceful thing that his father does to the family is when he takes all the money sent by Frank’s grandfather fo r the newborn baby named
Alphie. Dad says he’ll cash it at the post office. She tells Malachy Jr. and me to go
with him. He cashes it and tells us, All right, boys, go home and tell your mother I’ll be home in a few minutes.
Malachy says, Dad, you’re not to go to the pub. Mam said you’re to bring home the money. You’re not to drink the pint.
Now, now, son. Go home to your mother. He walks away from us and into South’s pub 207.
Based on his father’s behaviour, it can be seen that he cannot overcome his drinking habit and never considers his family poor condition. Even he does not
realize that he becomes a bad example for his children though he never torments them physically. All of these cause Frank to find jobs to earn some money for the
family. Frank motivates himself since he knows that his family need food and he cannot wait to see his father ruin the family just because of his drinking habit.
Kalish 29-30 explains that motivated behaviour is a behaviour set into motion by a need. A need indicates that some satisfaction is lacking and implies that the
organism is activated to reduce dissatisfaction. Thus, a need for food signifies that a person feels a lack of food, and it sets into motion hunger- motivated behaviour.
Motivation is strong enough to activate goal-seeking behaviour, which begins with agitated feelings and ended with behaviour that satisfied the needs. Frank and his
family have to face the truth that his father cannot overcome the drinking habit that lead them into poverty and starvation. This causes Frank to be able to satisfy
himself and his family to get food to eat. Thus he needs to find jobs to buy some food that he and his family need.
b. The Family’s Economic Condition
