'Tis+by+Frank+McCourt

So far, in the book, the only characters that are relevant are the Priest, McCourt,Mrs. Austin and the Bartender. The Priest and McCourt met on the boat to America They stayed in the hotel in Albany together and the Priest got Frank a job at the hotel as the person who cleans up. Frank is the main character in the book. He came to Albany from Ireland on a boat. He is a drinker and came to America with no money and no idea of how to start a new life in America. He friended a priest on the boat over to America who helped him start his life. The bartender gave Frank useful information. He told him to read up and drinking at bars. He also recommended a book for Frank to start reading and get some knowledge. Mrs. Austin let him stay in her house and rent out some rooms.
 * Character description:**

In our first meeting, we read 1/5 of our book (pg. 75). Our group didn't have snacks, but that also turned into a good thing. We talked about our book more and got more in depth with the questions. So far, we have met a few characters (above) which all take different roles in the story and we discussed them in our meeting. We haven't met that many important characters yet, but we will meet more in the future. One of our main discussions we had was why the book was called 'Tis, but we couldn't come up with an answer but we hope to in the future. We guessed a little but eventually decided to wait and see. We all can't wait to meet new characters and find out what happens. Maybe we will find out why the book is called 'Tis in our next 1/5 of the book.
 * First Meeting:**

1.) How would the story have been different if he hadn't been traveling with the priest?
 * Open-Ended Questions:**

2.) How would his life had been different if he didn't drink?

3.) What would have been different if he hadn't left Ireland?

4.) If he didn't work at the hotel, where would he be?

5.) How has he changed throughout the book? Is he adjusting to life in New York?

Frank totally forgot about the priest in the second fifth of the book and he feels over confidant, because he thinks he can that he rules everything. We thought that probably without him being recruited into the army he’d be on the streets with no money and would eventually die. We find this book with a bit of adult language. This book is based on a biography of a man. It has to be an adult book. This book is actually interesting. We read from pages 76 to 146!
 * Week 2 - October 2nd**
 * Discussion Topic:**

In the second meeting, we read the second fifth of the book, and this time our group had snacks. We ate, and then discussed the book a little. We talked about the open-ended questions, and found that Frank is more independent without the priest, and the army helped Frank become more independent. We think Frank is a little overconfident in his uniform. We also think Frank should be fighting for the American army, because he lives in America. If Frank hadn't joined the Army, he probably would still be working in the hotel, and would never be able to start his own life.
 * Second Meeting:**

> - > week 3: discussion summary- For the third week, we read our third fifth of our book. 1.) How do you think Frank's life is going at this point in the book without the priest all over him? 2.) What college is it that Frank goes to? 3.) What is useful for him at his NYU college? 4.) Who's getting engaged yet Frank is in love with? 5.) What does Frank want to do for his life?
 * Open-Ended Questions:**
 * 1) How do you think Frank has changed from the first fifth of the book to the second on his on without the priest?
 * 2) How do you think the army changed Frank?
 * 3) Do you think Frank feels overconfident in his uniform? Explain.
 * 4) Do you think Frank should be fighting in the Ireland army?
 * 5) What do you think would have happened to Frank if he never joined the army?

In the beginning of the book, the mood was sad because Frank was treated poorly. He still is treated badly after the third fifth of the book, but a lot less. In the beginning of the book, he is told to get out of a bar until he reads a certain book. Things turned around when he went into the army because people started treating him with respect. Right now, the mood is currently happy because Frank because is in college without a high school degree and he is going out with a girl he really likes. **
 * Discussion Topic:

week 4: Discussion Topic: The discussion topic this week is Themes and Images. A theme in our book is following your dreams. Frank exceeded his goal to become a school teacher. He left the college that he graduated from. He is a school teacher Frank teachers English now and wants to do this to get money but doesn’t really know if he enjoys it! He has really accomplished his goals and realizes that he more potential than anyone. He started off on the street to entering college and graduating a become a teacher!

Questions: 1. Has Frank gotten any benefits out of his experience in the army? 2. Has he learned to like America and New York? 3. How has Frank's emotions changed since the beginning of the book? 4. Do you think that without the Priest earlier in his life, Frank would've been able to get on his feet? 5. Will Frank's relationship last with his fiance?

open ended questions.- 1.) Do you think Frank benefited from being in the military? 2.) Did Frank eventually completely adjust to life in New York? 3.) How did his mothers and fathers death change his life? 4.) Do you think life will be better for the next generation? 5.) Why did Frank McCourt become a teacher? What was his motivation?

Review of the Book: All of us agree that the book, although it taught a lot about history, was very boring. We would not recommend it to anyone in particular. We do believe that this book could be used as a book for the curriculum because it is heavy in history and is actually very educational in a way. Our group overall though, did not exactly like the book very much but one of our group members had read the previous book in the series and enjoyed it very much and we hear that the next book in the series is very good as well so we would recommend those books but not T'is in particular.