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Angela's ashes alcoholism
Angela's ashes analysis essay
Angela's ashes analysis essay
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Angela’s Ashes Malachy McCourt is the major antagonist; he is responsible for keeping his family poverty-stricken. The story begins with Malachy leaving Ireland, where he fought in the Irish army to come to New York, to keep from being assassinated. There he meets Angela, who has migrated from Limerick, Ireland, and gets her pregnant. Malachy from the start portrays the antagonist; he tries to leave New York to keep from marrying Angela, but drinks the money away. The cousins coercive Malachy into marrying Angela and he says, “Och, said Malachy, I wasn't planning to get married, you know. There’s no work and I wouldn’t be able to support…” (16) This may be a foreshadowing of his inability to be a husband and father. Throughout the entire book …show more content…
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
The main character and focus on the story is Jeffrey “Maniac” Lionel Magee, an orphan and runaway. He has a rebel sense to him; he does not believe in local myths, nor does he adhere to social norms in Two Mills, especially the racial splitting in the town. This is further seen towards the end of the story where Magee does challenges that the children in the West End suggest, such as knocking on Finsterwald’s door, a feat that no one else has attempted. The characters are well developed, and that the author has made use of seemingly insignificant scenes of the story to further progress them. Mars Bars Thompson especially, has had a major turn of character in the end. Mars was the bully of the East End at the beginning of the book but towards the end, Mars and Maniac had learned to become friendlier and they were able to tolerate each other's presence. Amanda Beale was another important person to Maniac, and who could be considered his first friend in Two Mills. The Beale family seemed to think or care very little about Jeffrey’s race, and gladly accepted him.
The antagonist in the story is Abner Snobes. Abner Snobes is a very angry and inconsiderate man who has hate and detestation for almost anybody who is not “blood-kin”, and he portrays that hatred and contempt throughout the story (qtd. In Volpe 163).
The theme that has been attached to this story is directly relevant to it as depicted by the anonymous letters which the main character is busy writing secretly based on gossip and distributing them to the different houses. Considering that people have an impression of her being a good woman who is quiet and peaceful, it becomes completely unbecoming that she instead engages in very abnormal behavior. What makes it even more terrible is the fact that she uses gossip as the premise for her to propagate her hate messages not only in a single household but across the many different households in the estate where she stays.
Life is a struggle. All through their life meet an obstacle that they struggle to overcome, no matter what walk of life you will face struggle. Some struggles are ongoing and can only be overcome by the perseverance of those willing to fight to better themselves, and those they fight for. We see this in "The Street" by Ann Petry and "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt. Wherein the characters presented struggled to overcome the obstacle of poverty, poor living condition, and malnutrition, and ultimately persevered. When met with an overwhelming obstacle to succeed and overcome it, one must persevere and only then through their actions and strength of character will they overcome the obstacle at hand.
Similar to Michela who has trouble finding Glauco's house even when she has directions (183-185) Angela is unable to find a path that will lead her past Glauco and his dominance. Even after her death Angela Bari's soul 'isn't at peace'; (55). Her body does not 'remain whole until the Day of Judgement';, (57) but similar to her life she is 'brutally torn apart'; (22) at her death. Even her family does not come to Angela's funeral (7) further illustrating the isolation Angela was bound to during her lifetime.
The first character the book introduces to the reader to is Rorschach, Walter Joseph Kovacs, one of the main characters. Rorschach reveals his past and why he wears a mask on page eleven. Walter’s past is revealed in chapter six when he is examined by a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist gives Walter ink blots and his first vision is of his mother and a man. Also on chapter six, the reader, see that his mother was a prostitute who worked out of her home. Her reasons for practicing prostitution appear when she interacts with Walter. On page four of chapter six, Walter walked into his mother’s bedroom while she was entertaining a man. As soon as his mother realizes he is watching she hits him across the face. "You little shit! You know what you cost me, you ugly little shit. I shoulda listened to everybody else! I shoulda had the abortion." (Pg.4, chap.6, panel 6-7) Walter’s mother did’nt hesitate to physically or verbally abuse him. Her first reaction was to punch him in the face. This reflects the issue of a chain of a abuse. Walter’s mother was probably abused in more ways than one by her parents. Through her behavior of name calling and the rage she portrays it is most likely she was subjected to the same as a child. She basically told Walter that she didn’t want him and regretted having him. She neglects Walter of attention and love, just as she was by her parents. Both Walter and his mother are dealing with issues of neglect and a craving for attention. As a prostitute, we see on page three in chapter six Walter’s mother substitutes sex for love, attention, beauty, and care. She begs her male friend to stay, "Oh baby, please, listen. he’s kinda backwards. Please don’t get mad." She begs the man to stay because having sex makes her feel beautiful because the men want her and touch her. In chapter 6 on page three she says, "Oh you’re hurting me." She says this to her male customer, she did not make him ...
The mother of Frank McCourt, Angela, is an antagonist. She blamed Malachy Sr. for all of their problems calling him “useless,” “sitting on your arse by the fire is no place for a man”(218). Angela constantly ridiculing Malachy Sr. could be the cause of his alcohol addiction. Angela never made him feel like a man throughout the book she was always putting him down, the assumption of alcohol was the only thing he was really happy about. Angelas constant nagging drove him away leaving his family without much. Also, Angela constantly abandons her children. Her sexual desires caused her to continue having children despite the hunger and poverty they were already facing. Every time one of her children died she abandoned the rest of them, not taking care of them. The children had to survive on their own during her time of grieving. After Frank’s fight with Laman, Angela never once made sure Frank was okay. Instead she goes to Laman,
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 antagonist is “The Misfit”. He is never identified by his real name. He is an escaped convict who is curious, unsure, and believes he is not a bad person. By his actions, the reader can assume that he does not enjoy killing the family, but feels more obligated to do so.
In both Ann Petry’s “Like a Winding Sheet” and Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” the protagonist is also the antagonist. In the story, Like a Winding Sheet its Mae’s husband, Johnson, and in the story Desiree’s Baby it’s Desiree’s husband, Armand. In the beginning of both stories their husband seem to be loving, caring husbands who would never hurt their family. Then, the stories turn in a twist when the husband became insolent and angry toward their wives, but they were feeling furious towards themselves. Johnson was repeatedly getting abused from the outside world and in his mind and he starts to espouse a dismissive image that turned to anger against his wife and eventually he kills her. Armand was angry at his wife because his son turned out
d. Brently Mallard: Mrs.Mallard's husband. He was supposed to be dead. · Setting: The story takes place in Louise's house. · Theme: I think we can't live in oppression because that doesn't let us be free. We can find themes like the oppression by men, and women rights.
Working Thesis: There is no central heroic figure in the novel. McMurphy is a catalyst for bringing about inner change in the
Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon is main antagonist in The House of Seven Gables. An antagonist is character or characters that oppose protagonist who usually creates the problem. He was known by the major population as a man of noble character. However his relatives, Clifford, Hepizbah, and Phoebe Pncheon know him as a brutal, selfish, and greedy man. His “exceedingly pleasant countenance” (pg.86, Hawthorne) does not fool them instead they were filled with fear. They knew that their Uncle Judge...
There are many major themes of the book, but revenge is the most imminent theme, the factor that leads the protagonists to their dismal fate. Bronte proves there is no peace in eternal vengeance, and in the end self-injury involved in serving revenge’s purposes will be more damaging than the original wrong.
All four of the major characters in the play, the Tyrone family, have their individual issues of alcoholism, illness and addiction that affect the family as a whole. Overall, it is Mary and her issues that bring the family together while tearing it apart at the same time, making her the central character. This also makes the chiefly to blame for the family woes. At one point in the play, Mary defends her actions by claiming that nothing can change the course of things that are meant to happen in life, that a person has no control over their fate. That is untrue.