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Symbols & Motifs
The Docks
The docks, also called “the piers,” is a symbol of the life of manual occupations. McCourt worked at various docks before becoming a teacher, and briefly thought about remaining there. When his boss dies, he considers applying for his job, thinking his college degree would give him an advantage. He’s afraid he wouldn’t be a good teacher, and working in the docks appears to be a safer career choice, especially if he can get into the office. However, a woman in the office tells him a high school dropout could do the job and he’d be wasting his education. He’d have more respect as a teacher, she says.
McCourt’s first teaching job is at a vocational school, and it becomes apparent that many of his students’ fathers work in the docks. It’s occasionally referred to as a limited and unsatisfying job, something to be avoided. The fact that McCourt once worked there is something that connects him to his students and gives them some hope of moving up socially and economically. As one father tells his son, “If this Irishman can get to be a teacher, so can you, Ronnie, so can you. So forget the docks. You might make money but what good is that when you can’t straighten your back?” (65).
Drinking Alcohol
Drinking alcohol (usually beer—“a pint,” as McCourt calls it) is often associated with fear. It’s not a large part of the book, but when McCourt is the one doing the drinking, it’s usually a symbol of his insecurity. For example, he drinks as a college student after a poor interview for his teaching certification. In fact, he gets drunk, ending up with a hangover the next morning, which makes him late for his student teaching demonstration. He also drinks at Trinity College as a PhD student when he feels uneasy, as a way of trying to feel more comfortable with others. He describes himself as being afraid and shy for much of his life, and drinking is one way he deals with it. When his drinking is part of a scene in the book, it’s a good indication that McCourt is feeling nervous, embodying the emotional turmoil he feels within.
Literary Circles or Salons
This is a motif that supports the theme of the writing life. McCourt mentions it several times in the book in the context of longing for some mythical group of geniuses who spend their time engaging in sophisticated conversation and writing, whether in New York or at Trinity College. For much of his life, it represents the true, authentic writing life to him. In fact, he joins one in a way when he and his wife are invited to dinner at the Dahlbergs’ home. Edward Dahlberg is a writer of some repute and the gathering initially has the atmosphere of a literary salon, though McCourt doesn’t use that exact term. However, it turns out to be a disaster, with Dahlberg being a petty, arrogant man who insults McCourt for his literary taste. This disillusionment only reinforces McCourt’s later realization—which is something he tells his students in turn—that one’s experience in any context can constitute the writing life. It’s about being observant and focused, rather than being part of any special group, or in any particular setting.
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