Hi father was a dockworker and former seaman who struggled to find work, having to line up with other unemployed men hoping to be picked by the gangmaster for a days work - or sometimes even just half a days work. The authors frustration at his fathers lack of ambition comes through clearly, not only a alck of ambition for himself but for his children.
The author himself did not share his outlook on life. From early childhood he had a sharp eye for money making opportrunities ranging from selling driftwood for a penny a bundleto distributing free disinfectant given out by the authorities to poor families.