Book Report Angelas Ashes Essay

Although life presents you with many obstacles, if you continue to persevere, eventually you will achieve success. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt, is a good example of this. Frank is constantly limited by his poverty. We watch him stick with his goals and eventually accomplish them in the end. He also watches his mother continually try to stretch the family budget in order to get meager amounts of food. Death is also very prevalent in this book as Frank and his family have to adjust to the death of loved ones.

The short story, “Ashes,” by Susan Beth Pfeffer is about a girl, Ashes, who has divorced parents. She is torn between her parents when she is given the opportunity to help her dad, but the twist is she has to steal from her mom to do this. A lesson that is learned from “Ashes” is that someone who normally teaches you to do good may also teach you to do something bad.

“The bunk house was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing their burlap ticking. Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for the personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk.”

“People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early childhood, but nothing can compare with the Irish version”(11).

50% of children experience the divorce of their parents according to www.marriage-success-secrets.com. In Ashes, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Ashleigh’s parents have been divorced for the last two years. She loves both of them but has a special soft spot for her dad. Ashleigh’s mom is a practical person and her dad is described as a dreamer. After a dinner with her father, Ashleigh receives a request. He wants her to to take her mom’s emergency money to pay off a deal he made. Ashleigh makes the decision to not give her dad the money because she questions the process and outcome, her father has a history of making irresponsible decisions, and the clouds symbolize her feelings towards her dad’s plan.

     The title of this book is Angela’s Ashes. The title doesn’t make a lot of sense because the story about Angela’s cremation and her lost ashes is found in part two of the book. However, ashes do appear in the book in relation to Angela. An example of this would be the ashes from Angela’s Woodbine cigarettes. And another example would be Angela sitting next to the ashes from the fireplace during hard times.

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all…the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father [and] the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire” (McCourt 1). This is how Frank McCourt introduces his memoir, Angela’s Ashes. He tells the story of his growing up in a poverty stricken world, brought on to them by the alcoholism of his father. Being the recollections of a person’s memoires it is sometimes difficult to believe in all the poverty, abuse and family which Franck claims existed and were caused by alcoholism. Alcoholism is the root of all problems in the book as it leads to poverty, abuse and family tensions. By comparing Frank’s testimony of how alcohol ruined his childhood to other real world scenarios it will be possible to determine if Frank’s case is the norm for alcohol taking this kind of effect or is his story just an extreme case of alcohol abuse.

In the second part, “High SchooI,” Anne starts becoming more politically active. She develops a new understanding of race in the south, something that is kicked into high gear with the murder of Emmett Till, supposedly for whistling at a white woman. His death becomes a defining moment for Moody. Her mother tells her that an evil spirit killed Till, but Moody realizes just how far white people in Mississippi will go to protect their way of life, and how powerless black people are. In Chapter 6 of “A Different Mirror” by Ronald Takaki, the account of the Irish migration to the United States is discussed. The beginning of the chapter tells of the horrid conditions that the people of Ireland faced when it became colonized by the British. Takaki describes how the people of Ireland were so poor that they lived in mud huts that were one room and wore rags for clothing. These hardships were the cause for many Irish to look for new opportunities in America.

As stated before, alcoholism was a defining factor of the Limerick culture which means many people, men, participated in drinking. This meaning, Frank’s family was not the only family plagued by the troubles that came with drinking all the money away. For example, “Mikey’s father, Peter is a great champion. He wins bets in the pubs... the lunatic asylum demented with worry over her hungry famishing family.”

One may relate to this because if someone lost there little sibling or baby cousin the way Johnnie did, then they might feel it is there fault too because its not an easy way to lose someone so young. One last reason is Johnnie Mae is the oldest out of all the cousins. One person may relate to this because you know if someone is the oldest in a family that person takes most of the responsibility in a bad situation because they are told to know better than that. One may also see that it was Johnnie’s idea to go on a hike next to the river with all his young cousins. On the other hand, one can see that It is not johnnie Mae’s fault for a few reasons.

The family was impoverished, moved to multiple cities and houses, and never had any of the luxuries we take for granted like electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. Rex and Rose Mary chose to live that way, but it made them happy. Instead of being upset and distraught that they were poor, Jeanette, Brian, Lori, and later Maureen made the decision to be happy with what they did have. The family could have very easily been miserable about the life they had, but they chose to put a positive spin on their situation. Rose Mary Walls offered her children some good advice when she said “Life is full of drama and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more” (Glass Castle, 129). Life has ups and downs, so when life is going good, it is best to enjoy that period of time as much as you

In the late 1930’s to the early 1940’s, children all across Ireland lived their early years with horrific tragedies and this was no different from the childhood of the author of Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt. In the book, McCourt recalls as what he describes as his “Miserable Irish Catholic childhood” (Chapter 1, Page 1), from the point of view of himself being that Irish child again. In the Eighth chapter of the book McCourt’s memory of his experience during an illness had his childhood self say “It’s lovely to know the world can’t interfere with the inside of your head”. This quote leads to one of the main ideas of the book, the idea that even after going through a frightful childhood like that of McCourt's, he is able to keep a sane mind.

In the 1930s, the world was one overtook by The Great Depression, impoverished conditions and addiction within the town of Limerick. In saying this, many perceive this time to be one that depicted a “harshness of life.” The novel Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt threads themes of optimism, pride and aspiration illustrated by the McCourt family, whose tribulations defy this idea. Despite the impoverished conditions the family endured, they displayed certain themes of optimism allowing them to overcome these harsh circumstances. This optimistic tribute of the human spirit is portrayed by helping others in their time of need, making the best out of their situation and thinking of their future.

Alcoholism is a topic that is touched upon Frank McCourt during the events of Angela's Ashes, pointing out the the joys that it brought him, but also the hardships that his mam and siblings had faced, eventually leading to the families separation.

Another situation in the story that splits adulthood and childhood into two separate worlds is when the Burnell children want to show their friends the new doll house, but they are told by their mother that they can set up the doll house in the courtyard but not allow their friends to come inside for tea or wander throughout the house. Usually children are open hearted and when they have a friend over they want to show them around their house, offer them a snack make them feel at home. But in this story the mother of the Burnell children wants the children to stay outside and not expect to be fed or be allowed in the house. The reason that the mother doesn't want children to come inside is because they may mess up the house or break something, and if she gives one child tea, she has to give others as well which may turn out a bit expensive.