Compare And Contrast Angela's Ashes And The Street

Another theme, personal identity, is seen throughout all of the characters in the book. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of

"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." Thus begins the highly celebrated memoir by the name of Angela's Ashes, written by Frank McCourt. In this book Frank McCourt writes about his childhood, how his parents meet in New York and then decide to return to Ireland. He describes what it is like to be at the bottom of that city's tough social hierarchy, giving vivid descriptions of how class imposes severe limitations and restrictions. It is this topic, this theme, to which I will

Finally, both novels display the effects of living in these situations as well as the similar methods in which people cope with the hardships in life. Alcoholism affects characters in both novels, specifically Frank McCourt’s father, Malachy, and Dickens’ tragic hero, Sydney Carton. In Angela’s Ashes, one of the constant sources of their misfortunes is Malachy McCourt. Though he cares for his family, as evident in his strong relationship with his sons and love for their mother, he continuously drinks away the family’s money for food and other basic necessities for life, spending long nights at pubs and coming home in the early morning. One night, Angela is fed up and orders Frank to go find his father at the pub and tell everyone, “your father is drinking the money for the baby… there isn’t a scrap of food in this house, not a lump of coal to start the fire, not a drop of milk for the baby’s bottle” (McCourt 183-184). At this point, Malachy’s drinking is worsening and causing a great strain on the family, money-wise as well as emotionally. Malachy is unable to change for his family as the alcohol has already taken over his life and he relies on it to cope, for example when his infant daughter passes away. In A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton is also reliant on alcohol and spends a lot of time drunk, though he does not have a family or anyone to take care of. He drinks because he feels as though his life is already wasted and he loathes himself for it. One night, he

Equally important in the story is the use of characterization to show the reader exactly who the protagonist in the story is and what kind of life she is living, we first read of her sisters and how they act in contrast to the protagonist: “I [the narrator] wasn't even pretty or nice like my older sisters and I just couldn't do the girl things they could

One such literary element used to present the story’s theme is the setting. First she was “sitting at her computer, wrapping up one more day’s work on her fifth novel” (Octavia, 2003). Then she felt stiff and stopped working at five in the morning. Suddenly, she asks her self where she was. and in a surprising way she started telling herself that she could not be in heaven. Martha’s descriptions of an “endless grayness” creates a mood of gloominess. In addition, describing that there was nothing there but herself and God, made the reader felt depressive. Discovering where the story took place helps the reader understand more in depth the story.

In Unfriended, the author starts to present the theme to the reader, when the main character is in a tough situation. “That whole oh I care so much stuff. Just to make everyone like her. She is just trying to fit in with “the girls” when its not working because she is one of us. Who does she think she is?” (Vail 43).

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 events happening in the story can really happen, and this allows open-minded readers to put themselves in the story line and feel what O’Connor makes the characters feel. A great example of creating fear and sympathy in the audience is when O’Connor writes, “There were two more pistol reports and the grandmother raised her head like a parched old turkey hen crying for water and called, ‘Bailey Boy, Bailey Boy!’ as if her heart would break” (O’Connor 454). In this line, readers feel hearts almost break in sympathy for the grandmother as if they have lost their own son, but soon fear creeps up because everyone has been murdered except the grandmother, leaving her alone with evil. Through characterization, O’Connor creates an emotional and relatable connection between the story and the readers, which is a great element that defines good writers from great writers. Reading is just a way for people to escape the everyday redundancies of life, even if it is met with fear and sympathy.

Theme is the subject of talk, a topic, or morals that the author is trying to get across to the readers. When reading an excerpt, the theme is not directly stated in the text, so you must dig deeper into the context to understand the morals the author is trying to portray. In both Angela's Ashes and The Street, we can detect a similar theme of struggling to get through life’s obstacles. When reading the two different stories, we can further pick out the theme by using character, events, and the setting.

“In awhile there are voices downstairs and there is talk of tea, sherry, lemonade, buns, and isn’t that child the loveliest little fella in the world, little Alphie, foreign name but still an’ all still an’ all not a sound outta him the whole time he’s that good-natured God bless him sure he’ll live forever with the sweetness that’s in him the little dope spittin’ image of his mother his father his grandma his little brothers dead an’ gone”(182).

Throughout the passage, Katherine Anne Porter creates a story using figurative language, imagery, and dialogue to develop some of the characters emotions that are portrayed. All of these emotions the characters are feeling helps the reader understand more of the story and can aid in the knowledge of what is taking place.

There are many books, written by numerous authors, containing similar themes and elements. Two such stories fitting that description are Angela’s Ashes and The Street. The former takes place in Ireland and is written by Frank McCourt; the latter is set in New York and is written by Ann Petry. The characters seem like they would not have much, if anything, in common. Frank McCourt’s main character is a child, born into a large, impoverished family; Petry’s is a single mother trying to get by. Additionally, their geographical locations and the cultures in each place vary greatly. However, their stories are similar in the fact that both characters have relating struggles. The primary theme of each of their stories is close to identical. Both

The first way the author conveys the theme is through the characters actions. The main character is really stubborn and really wants the main umbrella. She stands out in the rain to try to prove that her mother is coming to get her any minute. The main character won’t go inside of her teacher’s house to stay warm. She also makes dinner if their mom doesn’t come home, so they can eat dinner on time.

Throughout the story, different themes coalesce to unify the text and help

The author uses characterization mostly through Katniss because the story is written through her eyes. The author includes some of her past situations to show that she has developed experience from difficulty’s presented to her. Theme is developed by the situations and outcomes presented to Katniss. The theme is: Katniss must survive and keep the people she loves safe. There has been many times where Katniss needed to think things through in order to make the right decision to stay alive. One example of this could be when Katniss was told some secretive information from the capitol, she didn't know who to tell or if she should tell anyone. In this situation some people need to know but others didn’t so she had to think carefully about who to