When I was a senior in high school, one of our reading requirements was Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. When our teacher told us that we would be reading an autobiography, there was a collective groan throughout the classroom. As I began reading the book I expected to be extremely bored, but I was surprised because of the entertainment that the book contained. Our teacher admonished us of the hardships that young Frank endured, and she suggested that we look at the book with humor in mind. Once you get past all of the terrible things that McCourt had to go through, there were hilarious situations and happenings in his youth. Such as the time Frank skipped school and then had to stay away from home for days because he was scared of his mother being mad at him.
When I first picked up Teacher Man, I experienced a sense of anticipation. After reading Angela's Ashes I wanted to find out what happened to this poor Irish boy, and I was overjoyed when I found out Teacher Man was going to be on the syllabus for English 10002. McCourt's style is very original because the whole book is like a conversation that McCourt is having with the reader, or that the reader is reading exactly what McCourt is thinking at the time. He uses no quotations and he skips large periods of time. The lack of quotations is may make it hard to read, but since I read Angela's Ashes I was prepared for that. The large gaps in time do tend to annoy me since we have no way of knowing what happened during the years that McCourt chooses to skip.
Frank's wife Alberta is one subject that I wish McCourt would have expanded upon. There really isn't very much at all about her in Teacher Man. It just seems to me that when someone is married their spouse plays a big role in who they are, what their goals are, and the source of their ambitions. Maybe McCourt didn't want a lawsuit, or maybe he only married Alberta because he didn't think he could get anyone else to marry him. My opinion leans toward the latter. I noticed in both Angela's Ashes and Teacher Man that McCourt doesn't have a very high self-image. He often degrades himself or talks about how he is of the lower station, he even went to far as to refer to himself as a "miserable specimen" (p.
To me, the challenging part of the book was reading a book on a topic that I do not know much about. I am starting to become familiar with the legal system, however I am nowhere near that of a lawyer. This is why I stumbled at times on some of the legal lingo that the book contained. In addition to that, I did find myself with a better understanding of our legal system. I felt like I was along for the ride on the whole legal process. Also, I would like to note that I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on the autopsy because I thought it was very interesting how they performed those procedures in that time period. I loved the detail that the author went into when describing how it all took place.
The first barrier to a better life had to do with surviving poverty or the absence of certain privileges. In Angela’s Ashes, Frank, the protagonist of the book, along with his family had to endure persistent rains, exposure to disease and starvation. Frank and Malachy Jr. had to resort to stealing food several ...
...ions that I thought I would do if I were put in his position. I could not relate relate to everything like his mother leaving, drug problems, pregnant girlfriends, and living in some much poverty. Despite all that I feel like I understood why he did the things he did and the choices he made. It was a great way to learn of how someone else grew up and struggled through life to accomplish something most people take for granted everyday.
A great example is, “The Outcast Of Poker Flat,” by Bret Harte. This story is about about four troublemakers that are banished from Poker flat, John Oakhurst a gambler, uncle Billy a thief, and the duchess and mother shipton who are both prostitutes. They go up to the mountains and they meet a sweet couple about to get married at Poker Flat, Tom and Piney. They all get stuck in a cabin with little food, som they all have to ration it to survive. Uncle Billy eventually wakes up early and takes the mules and takes off so now the outcast can't travel anywhere and it shows a lot about uncle billy's character. Knowing that they're all going to die ms shipton gives her food to piney because she thinks that piney is such a great person and she should live longer than her. The end of the story you can tell that even the worst people can have good hearts, and they all die. This story always wanted the reader to keep reading and it also kept them
First and formost, Frank McCourt's, "Angela's Ashes" ,shows the development of poverty and perseverance through the mian characters struggles of starvation. For example, the main character shows perseverance through him needing to become the "caretaker" of the family from such a young age. "Grandma
What impressed me most about the book was the incredible detail he used to describe people, places, events, and things. As I said, some people may find all this detail to be tedious. I however think that it was important to have such details to paint an accurate picture of ancient Rome.
The ending of the novel was inspiring. The author suggests the reader to look into great novels, and even supplies a list of novels a personally suggests. He ended with a very ...
I always looked at death as such a sad thing that is eventually going to occur to everyone. However, after reading this book, it made me realize death can actually be a beautiful thing. Death allows a person to go to a next life, one where they will be loved and others will be there for them. It was interesting to be able to read about stories that these hospice care workers witnessed themselves. I have experienced a few deaths within my life and I never coped with them very well. After reading this book, I honestly believe I will be able to look at the positive side of death and be able to deal with my emotions better. I can also help others surrounding me deal with a death that they are experiencing. This book was filled with information that I loved learning. For example, I never knew that a dying person can choose a time to die. The thought of this never occurred to me before. I always thought that when it was someone’s time to go, they had no choice. But, a dying person can “put off” passing on until they see a certain person or event that has great significance in their life. Nevertheless, there are still people who will wait to die until they’re all alone in the room. This book makes you think of real life situations and think what you would do in them. Taken as a whole, it was a very in depth book that changes the way you would naturally perceive
did it give the reader something exciting to read, but it also was able to put an interesting perspective on life itself.
...to enjoy in this comic style book. The passage of time is not necessarily well defined in this book, it seems to go really fast and then really slow. For me that aspect is somewhat annoying. The less traditional reader will enjoy the comic book style used here where the pictures are in many instances more important than the actual words which appear in thought bubbles on the page. The plot is not necessarily extremely obvious, but I find that, at least in my opinion, most comic books don’t really have much of a plot. I think the authors did a good job of staying true to the style of writing intended for this publication and the dialogue seemed completely in line with the cartoon characters. I am not a fan of comics, this book didn’t really change that for me, but I think that it is an overall good piece of literature for those who enjoy this style of writing.
One story that I significantly enjoyed reading was about Kent, an individual that suffers/has/is labeled as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). ADHD is more prevalent than ever in the schools and is a hot topic with educators and parents. I can even relate to it on a personal level because one of the boys I nanny for is now in the first grade, and
During his time at the University of Florida, Tim Tebow was known as one of the greatest college football players ever. He won two National Championships and a Heisman trophy, which is the award given to the best player in college football. During this time period in college footbal,l players such as Reggie Bush and others were involved with investigations regarding illegal benefits being given to players by agents and boosters. Needless to say, Tim was never associated or involved in these investigations or crimes.
If I were to write a book in the next thirty years and someone happened to flip to page 135 they would find that I would still be talking about my college life since that part of my life would have the most events and the most adventurous times of my life.The page would be discussing the day I proudly joined a sorority and all the emotions I went through that day. The next paragraph would be a sample of what they would find.
Like I’ve said before I really enjoyed reading this book and normally I don’t prefer book that are assigned. I enjoyed how Mr. Carnegie was very honest about life and how he approached different situations in life. I also l liked how he used his mistakes as a life lesson. I would defiantly recommend this book to other people and I would defiantly reread it.
I feel this book was a great read, and that the story can apply to anyone’s life no matter what the age. It can relate to parents, as Paul Auster recants the life of his father Samuel Auster. It can apply to younger people, as Paul told of his childhood and the things he learned from his father. It will also apply to elderly people’s lives because of how the story portrayed the importance of memory, and enjoying life to the fullest. I think the book is also very easy to understand by the way the author used examples of stories such as Pinocchio and the story of Jonah to teach his lessons.