Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

“It was a sign of growing up, when the dark made no more difference to you than the day.” ― Roddy Doyle (page 278) This quote is from Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha is about a 10-year-old boy named Patrick Clarke, but everyone calls him Paddy. This books ' setting is in 1968 's Dublin, Ireland. At the beginning of the book, Paddy is a cruel boy; he enjoys the Three Stooges, Geronimo, Father Damien and the Lepers, and also his favorite soccer player George Best. Paddy has challenges in life just like every other 10-year-old boy he has problems at home, but when he 's with his friends it 's a different story. Paddy hangs around with his friends in his neighborhood and they just love to get into trouble, and Paddy believes that school is important and he is really smart. These things are what make Paddy Clarke 's life unique and special from other kids '. Paddy has some issues at home with his parents and his siblings. Paddy has a younger brother and two younger sisters. Paddy and his brother Sinbad don 't have the best relationship considering Paddy 's vindictiveness for his brother. "I just wanted to hurt him. His eyes were closed now ad well but the tears were getting out. I held his nose. He gasped and Kevin shoved the capsule half-way into his mouth. Then Liam lit it with the match." (9) This demonstrates Paddy 's cruelty towards his younger brother who he called Sinbad even though his name was Francis. Paddy thought that hitting people and cruelty was okay, until he saw his father hit his mother. Once that happened, he got the feeling that acting as malicious as he was, it wasn 't a good thing and he should stop. Paddy thinks that when his parents fight, it is his entire fault and he thinks that he can fix it. Paddy will stay up at night hoping that his parents will start to fight so that he can go help and fix the situation. Furthermore, Paddy and his dad have a good relationship; it may not be amazing but it is better than the