does the grandma sheehan regard the pigs head mam secures for the familys dinner

Two weeks before Christmas, Frank and Malachy return from school to find that the first floor of their house has flooded. The family moves into the upstairs room, which they nickname “Italy” because it is warm and dry. Angela goes to the butcher’s to get meat for Christmas, but all she is able to obtain with her grocery dockets is a pig’s head. As they carry home the meat, Frank’s classmates see them and laugh at their poverty. Frank’s father is disgusted that Frank had to carry the head home. He considers carrying things through the streets undignified, and refuses to do it himself.