Clothes of poverty
Jacques lived under the total control of his grandmother. It was she who decided everything in the house; she bought clothes for all the members of the family as well. As Jacques was a nine-year-old boy, who was supposed to grow up, the clothes for him were bought “to allow for growth”. That’s why Jacques always wore “coats till heels” and as he was growing up really slowly he never happened to wear a coat that fitted him; only when he turned fifteen was he happy to wear clothes that fitted him perfectly.
Results of playing football
Another ironic remark concerning Jacques’s childhood and clothes is the one about his shoes. As a child, Jacques was obsessed with football, and to play a game after school with his friends was a “total event”. But playing football was not beneficial for his shoes and he tried to play as carefully as he could, but he rarely succeeded. And when his shoes required repair, or even had to be replaced with the new ones, Jacques tried as much as he could to hide the true essence of the damage, and the only thing he yearned for was to hide his guilt.
These ironic situations show what deprivations the main character had, and demonstrate what a disastrous effect on life poverty has.
Deaf Ernest
Jacques’ uncle Ernest was deaf. This caused him little trouble on occasion, but in some instances it was a problem. Ernest had a dog, and this dog was seldom washed; the smell it produced was extremely unpleasant. The irony is that, being deaf, Ernest had a sharp sense of smell – he simply enjoyed smelling pea soup and any other dishes, but he never admitted that his dog smelled bad.
