“We can give these boys a better chance than we ever had.”
Por qué es buena
It turns leaving into a promise to the children, not a wish for himself.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
If we move now, we can give the kids a better chance than we had.
00:00 / 03:27
00:00 / 03:27
Pa and Ma Argue About Leaving Belfast, Explained
Belfast · 2021
Capítulo 5 de 14 · 3'27"
Pa is away in England half the year, and the family is broke. Ma counts the cost of three years of back tax and his horses; Pa insists he "had it covered." Underneath is a bigger fight: whether to stay in Belfast or take the whole family to the other side of the world.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:26–2:12
Pa Wants Out, Ma Won't Leave
46s - 2:37–3:16
❝ Monólogo · 10 frases the reporter's dispatch
He reports the night in the first person, so the chaos feels seen rather than quoted.
40s
Pa and Ma Argue About Leaving Belfast, explained
What happens
Fresh home from his job in England, Pa gives the boys a rule: if anyone asks them to join, deliver or pass a message, they tell their mother. Then Ma confronts him about money — unpaid taxes, bets on horses — and Pa floats a way out: assisted passage to Australia, where tradesmen are wanted.
What's really going on
The argument isn't really about the back tax. It's about who gets to decide the family's future, and what staying in Belfast costs. Ma has held the household together while Pa was away; 'I know nothing else but Belfast' is not stubbornness so much as fear of starting over with nothing. Pa's answer is blunt: 'We're living in a civil war, and I'm not here to protect my family.' The debt, the horses, the missed taxes — all of it sits under a question the Troubles keep forcing on them: is love enough, or do you have to leave to keep your children safe? Both want the same thing and can't agree on how to get it.
Key lines & what they mean
- “We can give these boys a better chance than we ever had.”
- Pa's reason for emigrating: the move is for the children, not for himself. It turns leaving Belfast into a gift to his sons.
- “We're living in a civil war, and I'm not here to protect my family.”
- Pa's guilt and his strongest argument. He works away in England while the Troubles rage, so he cannot shield his family; leaving would at least put them out of danger.
- “This is the time to think about making a new start.”
- Pa's invitation to consider emigrating. 'A new start' means a clean slate: a new country, a new job, no debt and no sectarian violence.
- “You tell your ma, she'll tell me, and I'll sort it.”
- Pa's rule for the boys. If anyone tries to recruit them or use them as messengers, they pass word through their mother and let him handle it; 'sort it' means fix it.
Theme
- Money — Back tax, bets on horses and a ten-pound-a-month debt are the real engine of the scene.
- Family love — Pa frames leaving as giving the boys a better chance, not escaping his wife.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel2/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“We're living in a civil war, and I'm not here to protect my family.”
Por qué es buena
Leaving is framed as duty: the danger is real, but being away from them is worse.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
We are living in a mess, and I'm not here to help my parents.
“This is the time to think about making a new start.”
Por qué es buena
It names the moment and the choice in one breath, inviting rather than ordering.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
This is the time to think about leaving a job that makes you ill.
“You tell your ma, she'll tell me, and I'll sort it.”
Por qué es buena
A family chain of command in one breath: tell your mother, she tells me, and I take care of it.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You tell your sister, she'll tell me, and I'll handle it.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ the reporter's dispatch
As we drove past a side street, three men on the corner dived for cover. -It's not bad, though, is it? -A young man with a revolver asked us for a lift. At 4:00 this morning, RUC turned us back -from the Falls area. -Yeah. Snipers, they said, were still at work, and in the distance, one heard the ominous burst of machine-gun fire. The scene terrified me, but it reminded an American colleague of Harlem, but, he added, it seems easier to get guns here. One more left. Dawn over Belfast today showed a grim scene, buildings scarred by fire, thousands of pounds' worth of damage caused, and, of course, the tragic loss of life. It's been a night of shame for Belfast, one that will live on in the memories of its people...
He reports the night in the first person, so the chaos feels seen rather than quoted.
Siguiente · 06what's yours is mineLa escena: Buddy's School CrushIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- drowning in debt means buried by money trouble
- assisted passage is a subsidised emigrant fare
- get a move on means hurry up
- civil war is fighting inside one country
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy is Ma so angry about the back tax?
She has been paying it off at ten pounds a month for three years while Pa worked away and kept betting on horses. The bill is not just money: it is proof he left her to carry the household alone, and he nearly went to jail over it.
Why does Ma reject Pa's claim that he "had it covered"?
Because his version of handling it was three years of back payments and a near-jail sentence. Every word of the exchange means the opposite of what it sounds like, which is what makes a couple fight so hard to follow.
Does the family actually leave Belfast?
Not in this scene. This is the argument that sets the question up. Pa wants assisted passage to Australia for all of them, while Ma says she knows nothing else but Belfast, and the film keeps weighing that choice against the violence outside.
Why does Pa think leaving would give the boys a better chance?
He pictures a life without the Troubles: work in a Commonwealth country that needs tradesmen, and a fresh start on the other side of the world. It is his answer to a war he cannot protect his children from.