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On the first page of Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt says, “ When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” He is saying that his childhood was Irish, Catholic, and miserable and that was worse than any miserable childhood you could have. How did being both Irish and Catholic influence and shape his life? With Irish people, they are typically known to have religion as their top priority, and with Catholics they have certain standards that you must abide by or they will be outcast by your peers and family. This doesn’t help Frank because his friends, family, and school masters were all trying to force him to do things. Some of his friends made him do things he wasn't supposed to, so he got in trouble with his family and school masters and his church. It shaped/influenced his life because he learned what he needed to do and was forced to do them or he was outcast. …show more content…
In what ways was his childhood miserable?
The home he lived in the most (the home with a lavatory for the whole lane) was not a house that should be lived in, the house flooded in the winter and smelled so bad that “you’ll be calling for a gas mask. (McCourt 92)” Every time his “shiftless, loquacious, alcoholic father (McCourt 1)” gets dole money he drinks it off at the pub, so he and his family doesn’t get a lot of food. His mother always (no matter how much money they have) seems to have money for the fags (cigarettes). He has “bullying schoolmasters (McCourt 1)” which will hit him if he gets an answer
wrong. How did being Irish and being Catholic contribute to his misery? In Ireland at this time, a lot of people had consumption and were dying because of it and before they died they would pass it on to other people and they would die. That is what happened with his two brothers, they died and that made his life miserable because he went though his life without two of his brothers. At the Catholic church they have high standards, and they didn’t really care about the poor. If they did you would see them helping them. That made Frank miserable because it made him think that if the church didn’t help him who would. Frank learned through the miserable childhood he experienced that he should rely upon himself if he wanted something better, he learned that things like alcohol and cigarettes in the long scheme of things were really unimportant. If you want something better for yourself you have to set priorities and goals. Frank learned that leaving behind all the miserable and emotional baggage, and going to America was his venture into a better way of life and when asked “Isn’t this a great country altogether? (McCourt 363)” he replied “ ‘Tis.”
She was named after Angelus, which were the bells that rang at midnight to welcome the New Year. Finished ninth grade and was unable to be a charwoman her mother tells her, “You don’t have the knack of it. You’re pure useless. Why don’t you go to America where there’s room for all sorts of uselessness? I’ll give you the fare.” (15) So she later migrates to New York, where she meets Malachy. Angela becomes pregnant and her cousins talk her into marrying Malachy. From the start her life was a living hell. From the beginning Malachy drank whatever money he made not providing for Angela or her soon to be born baby. Frank was her first born, soon after she had Malachy Jr. and then a set of twin boys, before giving birth to Margaret. There was happiness after Margaret. Soon after she died Malachy Sr. went back to drinking and she became depressed leaving the care of the four boys to Frank and his brother Malachy Jr. Soon after they returned to Limerick Ireland to be close to her family... They continued to live in poverty, Malachy continued to drink and she had another baby. Despite her acceptance of a drunk for a husband it was Angela who was the only one to raise the boys to be respectful, thoughtful, kind, and hardworking. But it was also Angela who was also responsible for keeping the family poor and hungry. Soon after returning to Limerick they lost the set of twins. The weather in Ireland was cold, rainy and depressing. She begged for food to feed her family and the Church was no help because she married a man from Northern Ireland. After Malachy leaves her the last time she is unable to pay the rent, so she moves in with Laman Griffen. Frank learns of his mother sleeping with Laman. Frank forgets to empty Laman's pot and Laman tells Frank he can’t use the bicycle. Laman ends up beating on Frank and Frank leaves to live with his Uncle Ab. Upset because his mother didn’t do anything to Laman. This is one of many
“I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!”(199), these were the last words of Chris McCandless in a picture with him smiling and waving good-bye. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer is an extension of an article first published in Outside magazine. In the book, Krakauer further explains the journey of Chris McCandless, while providing his own insight to provide the reader a better understanding of the McCandless reasoning. McCandless lived a nomadic life after he graduated from college, traveling from South Dakota to Mexico. However, his two year journey proved fatal when he took a trip to Alaska, his greatest undertaking. Among his remains several books were discovered, including a copy of Walden by Henry D. Thoreau
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 ...
Frank’s Parents: Frank’s parents take countless hours each day helping Frank and making sure that he has anything he needs. They must learn to adapt to a selfless life of putting Frank’s needs before their own. Although this is often difficult and frustrating, they eventually come together as a family to make the best of their situation.
Growing up in the village of Wade, McLaurin speaks about the setting in which he grew up. Wade was a small community of laborers whom of which worked on either farms of at the saw mill. McLaurin’s family did not farm or work at the saw mill and were known to be one of the more affluent families in the village. But he also talks about the times of to me seems like depression. The reason it seems like depression because his grandmother is sent away to the state mental hospital and his grandfather sometimes drank heavily. All of this happened even though his grandfather’s store seemed to do well in the village. Even when McLaurin’s grandmother got out t of the mental hospital his grandfather lived in part of the store that he owned and Miss Alma, McLaurin’s grandmother, and Olivia, McLaurin’s aunt, lived with McLaurin’s father and mother, at the time pregnant with their first child. McLaurin’s grandfather had no desire to rebuild the dream of a family; the store he owned was his life. He didn’t...
Despite the adversity that plagued the children of South Boston throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Southie native Michael Patrick MacDonald often remarked that he grew up in “the best place in the world,” suggesting that while adversity can be crippling, it does not guarantee a bad life. Throughout his childhood, MacDonald and his family suffered from extreme poverty, experienced the effects of drugs on the family structure, and felt the poor educational effects in a struggling neighborhood. Through his memoir, All Souls, readers gain an in-depth perspective of Michael Patrick MacDonald’s life, especially his childhood. Because readers are able to see MacDonald as both a child and an adult, it is possible to see how the circumstances of his childhood
Angela’s Ashes - Frank McCourt's Love/Hate Relationship with his Father. Angela’s Ashes is a memoir of Frank McCourt’s childhood and the difficulties he faced whilst growing up. His family were very poor and moved from America to Limerick to try and live an easier life. Frank’s father was constantly out of a job and never had enough money to support his family and friends.
"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable child hood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood Is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood", writes Frank McCourt of his early life. Although Frank McCourt's autobiography, Angela's Ashes, paints a picture of both terrible poverty and struggles, this text is appealing and up lifting because of its focus on both humor and hope. McCourt's text shows the determination people living in dreadful conditions must have in order to rise above their situations and make better lives for themselves and their families. The effect of the story, although often distressing and sad, is not depressing. Frank as the young narrator describes his life events without bitterness, anger, or blame. Poverty and hardship are treated simply as if they are a fact of life, and in spite of the hard circumstances, many episodes during the novel are hilarious.
In Angela’s Ashes, the father Malachy is inflicted with the disease of alcoholism, and his need for the drink leads him to use his paycheck to buy alcohol instead of using it for the basic needs of his family. Countless times, Malachy’s alcoholism harms or gets in the way of his family. Not only this, but Malachy is blind to what his behavior is doing to his family. Because he does not use his money on food for his family, they are forced to beg and accept help from friends and strangers—and yet he is too proud to admit this. Repeated instances such as when he asked the RIAA person for enough money just for one pint—when the money was supposed to be for a cab to get he and his son back to the station without having to walk. Or even when his first child was born and he was too drunk for the hospital staff to interpret what he was saying he wanted to name his son. There are too many of the same repeated episodes—he gets a job, brings home money at first, then just stops altogether and uses it at the pub, he gets fired from his job, and his family is worse off now, they are forced to move or live off the kindness of others. It’s the same cycle over and over again. Lives are lost along the way—the innocents, the children. And still Malachy depends on the drink. He is a constant disappointment—and spirals the family deeper and deeper into poverty over the years, mainly because of his addiction.
The Theme of Religion in Angela’s Ashes Throughout the novel, religion is presented as being of extreme importance in Irish society, influencing the beliefs and actions of the characters. I will attempt to highlight the several factors which I believe make up the presentation of religion in “Angela’s Ashes”. From the beginning of the book, religion is said to make up a large part of the unhappy childhood Frank suffered. The following quote shows the extent of Frank’s sentiments: “Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood, is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood” The quote above portrays the crescendo of negative emotion, describing the worse possible scenario of a childhood, adding finally “Catholic” to signify the most terrible part of the childhood Frank suffered.
McCandless is seen in different ways because of his decision to leave his family. One of many that voiced their opinion of McCandless...
At one part of the book Brendan has now observed firsthand the natural trust and brotherhood of lower-class city boys, regardless of where their home is. Brendan says that “other fellows might give me a rub about Ireland or about the bombing campaign, but I was nearer to them than they would ever let Ken be” (Behan 227), this is because Ken was not lower-class, and did not have the same life experiences as the other inmates. Brendan also reaffirms this when he says “I had the same rearing as most of them, Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and London. All our mothers had all done the pawn- pledging on Monday, r...
... the officials. The reverend helps Frank, by giving him money as well as shoes, because he was bare foot. Good Samaritans also help Frank by providing him with sumptuous clothing and bus fares to get hi m to his next destination. These smaller resolutions allowed Frank to accomplish is larger resolution to find his sister.
It is a common view that times for the Irish majority in the 1930's and 40's were very hard. Especially for the Irish Catholic families with the stereotypical drunken father, emotionally wrecked mother, kids running round her with her sore back from the next child ready too be born. In Angela's Ashes, Mc Court examines his childhood experiences, the tragedies, hardships, learning, all involved with growing up.One of the most interesting aspects of the writing in Angela's Ashes is how the text is written, from Mc Courts interpretation of the situation at his age he was at the time, the spelling and grammar also indicates that the child is writing, not the adult. This contributes immensely to the emotions and enjoyment evoked from reading the book. It also better describes how a child actually sees the things going around them, and what they may be thinking. Personally, sometimes is made me think for a while about how I interpreted things I saw when I was that age, and the fun I had being a 'kid' with my sister.McCourt describes his brothers and sister, even the ones that died and how much he enjoyed growing up with them, how they cared and loved for each other.
Religion in James Joyce's Dubliners Religion was an integral part of Ireland during the modernist period, tightly woven into the social fabric of its citizens. The Catholic Church was a longstanding tradition of Ireland. In the modernist spirit of breaking away from forces that inhibited growth, the church stood as one of the principal barriers. This is because the Catholic faith acted as the governing force of its people, as portrayed in James Joyce’s Dubliners. In a period when Ireland was trying to legitimize their political system, religious affiliations further disillusioned the political process. The governing body of a people needs to provide a behavioral framework, through its constitution, and a legal process to make delegations on issues of equity and fairness. When religion dominates the government that is in tact, it subjects its citizens to their religious doctrines. In terms of Catholicism in Ireland, this meant that social progress and cultural revolutions were in terms of what the church would allow. The modernist realized that this is what paralyzed the Irish society of the times. In the stories of Dubliners the legal system is replaced by the institute of religion, and it is the presence and social context of the Catholic Church which prevents the Irish community from advancement. ...