Molly Mcintire: Summary
Molly McIntire was a young girl when the war hit hard on all Americans. Many had felt the need to do what they could to help the war effort. Whether it be a victory garden or doing extra work for the troops overseas, the people in the 1940s did all they could to support World War II. Molly's mother had taken a job to help pay the bills while her husband is serving as a doctor overseas. Just as Mrs. McIntire, women at this time had to become the main money makers and support their family with some income. Molly and her brother Ricky were being taken care of by Mrs. Gilford. Mrs. Gilford was the outspoken voice for the war effort in this family. She was the one who supported the social shift as the war went on. Instead of letting the children
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run through the streets, like many at the time would do, she kept the children in line as Mrs. McItrine worked all day. She was the one that had Molly be a patriotic American eat her turnips whether they be freshly cooked or cold. In the short story about an average American girl's life and this time, the author Valerie Tripp gives insight to a realistic life of what a girl might have gone through during this time. Through low income of money and scrambling to make ends meet, in the book and in our text, the economic change affected everyone in the United States during the 1940’s.
The story of Molly McIntire begins with a battle between her and the turnips.
She was from a small family who would do anything they could to be a part of the war effort. Mrs. Gilford, a woman who seemed to be living with them and helping take care of the children, made the turnips from her “victory Garden” so they could save money and not buy canned goods. Knowing she would get in trouble for not eating the turnips, Molly abandoned her plate till her mother came home and saw what she left behind. Being the supporter of the family, Mrs. McIntire Knew that times were hard, and turnips were not the tastiest thing in the world. So with a little sugar and words of wisdom, Mrs. McIntire turned the turnips into something delicious. With one obstacle passed, Molly had more important things to worry about, her Halloween costume. Not wanting to be wasteful, Mrs. McIntire shot down ideas that would be costly and outrageous, like Molly’s Cinderella costume idea. Instead, molly and her friends made grass skirts and paper flower necklaces and went as hula dancers. But as the night evened, Ricky sprayed all the girls with water, ruining their costumes. Wanting to get even with her brother, Molly and her friends came up with the idea to embarrass his as much as possible. So the three girls gathered all of the young boy’s underwear and dumped them on top of Ricky’s crush, Dolores. While they did this they chanted, “"I see London, I see France, Those are Ricky's underpants!” But it wasn’t too soon, Mrs. McIntire shows up, disappointed, and orders all the children to clean up the messes they’ve
made.
Within the Chapter 25, there is a section on what it was like on the home front in the 1940s. For many men and women, jobs changed and women became the supporting role in many families. In Meet Molly: An American Girl, we learn that while her father is out fighting the war as a doctor, fixing many injuries on European soldiers, Molly’s mother, like many women, worked at the Red Cross. In our text, we learn that ⅓ of all jobs were worked by women in the 1940s. Molly’s mother gave up time with her family to work at the Red Cross. She worked all day and came home late most nights to make ends meet. She was the one in charge of the house while her husband was away, and this empowered many women across the nation. The work that these women were doing was often hard jobs that required a lot of physical labor. Although these job opportunities became more challenging and more demanding of these women, for the first time they felt like they had a chance to prove themselves to the world as equals to men.
As men went off to war and women went to work, the social status for many Americans changed. The middle class struggled more with the loss of the men’s income because many women were paid less than their male counterparts were earning. Mrs. McIntire entrusted the care of her two children to Mrs. Gilford, a homemaker looking for a place to stay dine times were rough in the 1940s for many people. In chapter 25 section 4, we learn that many people left their kids at home with a care-taker because the parents couldn’t take care of them themselves. They were too focused on doing their patriotic duty, going to work, and serving the war. With this lack of attention, the children are often able to get away with anything they pleased. Much like how Ricky teased Molly and her friends after a night of trick-or-treating on Halloween. The only reason he was caught was because the three young girls were dripping wet. But Ricky was let off easy. His mother had been so tired from working the whole day, that she had no energy to put up a fight with her son and just made him apologize. However, to Molly, this was not enough. She wanted to get even with her brother. While no one was looking, she and her friends came up with an idea to get back at Ricky for ruining their night. Although these acts were small ones of childish play, many kids of the 1940s drifted into juvenile delinquency. They became troublesome with the law and the rebuilding period became hard for some families; this is something Mrs. McIntire wanted to avoid if possible with her two children.
Though this book gave great insight on an average life for a normal girl in the 1940’s, some details were left out. In the text, the book talks about how life was for the poor and how they moved north looking for work in many factories. This migration was huge for the economy because it allowed more factories to open up and more employment. Asian Americans at the time had it worst of all. In our text, we read that so many Japanese-Americans were relocated and lost everything they had while being relocated. They were moved to camps. These camps were to keep the possibility of the Japanese-Americans relaying any information of American intelligence back to Japan. O Molly in the book, life might of seemed as hard as it will ever get for her. However, in this book, we see the life of a middle-class girl who doesn’t have to worry about racial discriminations. All she has to worry about is doing her civil duty and doing what she could to help the war effort. This book helped me see what it was like through the eyes of a middle-class white girl. Out text mentions the poor and the racial discriminated. While here, there is a peek of what most of America went through during the 1940s.
run through the streets, like many at the time would do, she kept the children in line as Mrs. McItrine worked all day. She was the one that had Molly be a patriotic American eat her turnips whether they be freshly cooked or cold. In the short story about an average American girl's life and this time, the author Valerie Tripp gives insight to a realistic life of what a girl might have gone through during this time. Through low income of money and scrambling to make ends meet, in the book and in our text, the economic change affected everyone in the United States during the 1940’s.
The story of Molly McIntire begins with a battle between her and the turnips.
She was from a small family who would do anything they could to be a part of the war effort. Mrs. Gilford, a woman who seemed to be living with them and helping take care of the children, made the turnips from her “victory Garden” so they could save money and not buy canned goods. Knowing she would get in trouble for not eating the turnips, Molly abandoned her plate till her mother came home and saw what she left behind. Being the supporter of the family, Mrs. McIntire Knew that times were hard, and turnips were not the tastiest thing in the world. So with a little sugar and words of wisdom, Mrs. McIntire turned the turnips into something delicious. With one obstacle passed, Molly had more important things to worry about, her Halloween costume. Not wanting to be wasteful, Mrs. McIntire shot down ideas that would be costly and outrageous, like Molly’s Cinderella costume idea. Instead, molly and her friends made grass skirts and paper flower necklaces and went as hula dancers. But as the night evened, Ricky sprayed all the girls with water, ruining their costumes. Wanting to get even with her brother, Molly and her friends came up with the idea to embarrass his as much as possible. So the three girls gathered all of the young boy’s underwear and dumped them on top of Ricky’s crush, Dolores. While they did this they chanted, “"I see London, I see France, Those are Ricky's underpants!” But it wasn’t too soon, Mrs. McIntire shows up, disappointed, and orders all the children to clean up the messes they’ve
made.
Within the Chapter 25, there is a section on what it was like on the home front in the 1940s. For many men and women, jobs changed and women became the supporting role in many families. In Meet Molly: An American Girl, we learn that while her father is out fighting the war as a doctor, fixing many injuries on European soldiers, Molly’s mother, like many women, worked at the Red Cross. In our text, we learn that ⅓ of all jobs were worked by women in the 1940s. Molly’s mother gave up time with her family to work at the Red Cross. She worked all day and came home late most nights to make ends meet. She was the one in charge of the house while her husband was away, and this empowered many women across the nation. The work that these women were doing was often hard jobs that required a lot of physical labor. Although these job opportunities became more challenging and more demanding of these women, for the first time they felt like they had a chance to prove themselves to the world as equals to men.
As men went off to war and women went to work, the social status for many Americans changed. The middle class struggled more with the loss of the men’s income because many women were paid less than their male counterparts were earning. Mrs. McIntire entrusted the care of her two children to Mrs. Gilford, a homemaker looking for a place to stay dine times were rough in the 1940s for many people. In chapter 25 section 4, we learn that many people left their kids at home with a care-taker because the parents couldn’t take care of them themselves. They were too focused on doing their patriotic duty, going to work, and serving the war. With this lack of attention, the children are often able to get away with anything they pleased. Much like how Ricky teased Molly and her friends after a night of trick-or-treating on Halloween. The only reason he was caught was because the three young girls were dripping wet. But Ricky was let off easy. His mother had been so tired from working the whole day, that she had no energy to put up a fight with her son and just made him apologize. However, to Molly, this was not enough. She wanted to get even with her brother. While no one was looking, she and her friends came up with an idea to get back at Ricky for ruining their night. Although these acts were small ones of childish play, many kids of the 1940s drifted into juvenile delinquency. They became troublesome with the law and the rebuilding period became hard for some families; this is something Mrs. McIntire wanted to avoid if possible with her two children.
Though this book gave great insight on an average life for a normal girl in the 1940’s, some details were left out. In the text, the book talks about how life was for the poor and how they moved north looking for work in many factories. This migration was huge for the economy because it allowed more factories to open up and more employment. Asian Americans at the time had it worst of all. In our text, we read that so many Japanese-Americans were relocated and lost everything they had while being relocated. They were moved to camps. These camps were to keep the possibility of the Japanese-Americans relaying any information of American intelligence back to Japan. O Molly in the book, life might of seemed as hard as it will ever get for her. However, in this book, we see the life of a middle-class girl who doesn’t have to worry about racial discriminations. All she has to worry about is doing her civil duty and doing what she could to help the war effort. This book helped me see what it was like through the eyes of a middle-class white girl. Out text mentions the poor and the racial discriminated. While here, there is a peek of what most of America went through during the 1940s.