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Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle

Worksheet Two

  1. School (page 20-24)

Look at the following statements about Paddy’s school life. Are they true or false?

  1. The teachers are very strict at school.
  2. The children do not always understand what is being taught to them.
  3. It is important to act brave in front of your friends.
  4. Irish independence is very important.
  1. His relationship with his father (pages 24 – 40)

Read this extract – it is mainly a conversation between Paddy and his father. Comment on the following statements.

  1. Paddy is a very inquisitive child.
  2. Paddy’s father is very impatient in this scene.
  3. Paddy wants to be close to his father.
  4. Paddy is a sensitive child.
  1. Santa (pages 30-33)
  1. Paddy says: “I didn’t believe in him.” - how can we see that this is not entirely true?
  2. “If you held an envelope over the steam coming out of a kettle you could open it…” What does this tell us about Paddy?

D. Liam and Aidan (pages 34-37)

Fill out the grid below with quotations – find as many as you can for each idea.

Comment / Quotation
Paddy likes playing at Liam’s house.
There is a lot of gossip in this community.
Children often repeat what their parents say to them EVEN though they do not really understand it.
Mr O’Connell is different from other parents.
The children often dare eat other to do sill things.
Paddy’s parents have a different approach to bringing up their children.
Paddy is critical of his father’s behaviour.
  1. Paddy’s family – draw his family tree. Use page 37-8 to help you.
  1. Mr O’Connell (page 38-41)

Note down all the rumours about Mr O’Connell and his girlfriend.

On page 41 we can see again how cruel Kevin is to Liam and Aidan – what does he do?

  1. Pages 41-42 – an important scene

Read this scene carefully and note down:

i)what it tells us about Paddy’s feelings

ii)his parents’ relationship

iii)the techniques used by Roddy Doyle to show the reader it is a child’s viewpoint

Creative Activity

Rewrite pages 41-42 but this time so that we learn what the parents are arguing about. You could present it in one of the following ways:

  1. A dialogue between Paddy’s parents. Include stage directions as if it was a scene from a play.
  2. Write the scene using a third person narrator.
  3. Write the scene in the first person as if you are either Paddy’s mother or his father.