Quotes From Angela's Ashes

The collection of memories in their time of the y2k scare, living in Mr. Matsumoto's loft, and the events that transpire following 9/11 in New York City are all self contained in each segment of the story. The events put into perspective how small things are in the grand scheme of things and the significance and weight it holds in each of the characters lives and how it takes effect in these changing times of uncertainty. Admittedly this was a story that was not so compelling due to its structure and time mapping than others I have read in similar structure in the past, but how the characters individually make sense of their existence and adapt to the world was something appealing. The reader does not receive so much of an ending as one would hope in what occurs over the course of the story, but it is true to life nonetheless, as life goes on in real life, so does Nathaniel's, Lucien's and the others who uncertain at first, are making steps towards the future. Even if, “the children of some distant planet study pictures in their text...and then the children turn the page,” and close on the chapter of their century of life, their mark and memory will be known and like a superhero, prevail (Eisenberg

    In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel.

Have you ever been “schooled” before? When you are schooled you learn a lesson often from something you did or forgot to do. Many characters in the novel have been schooled, therefore, the title “Schooled” is appropriate for this novel.

Laughter and tears follow the journey of those who faced immense hardships and prevailed. One such individual is Francis McCourt, who wrote Angela’s Ashes, and gave readers a recollection of stories and lessons learned through his difficult childhood. The story starts in New York City, where his parents, Malachy and Angela, married and started a family with five children: Francis, Malachy, twins Oliver and Eugene, and Margaret. Seven weeks after Margaret is born, she passes away, sending Angela into a crazed hysteria causing her and family to move back to Ireland and resettle in her hometown, Limerick, a town known for hating those that seem different. Tragedy strikes again with Eugene and Oliver passing away, causing Malachy to fall back into his alcoholic and neglectful habits, leaving Angela and Francis to financially support the family even with hostile discrimination. Along with that, two more children are born, Michael and Alphonsus. However, over time Francis manages to save enough money to stabilize his family and to go back to New York City. Francis’s success story is a result of overcoming trials and tribulations, showcasing how society was hypocritical and discriminatory of any person that was not Irish, white, Limerick Catholic during the 1930’s and 1940’s

In “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift discusses how Ireland is in bad shape. He describes the poor conditions of the economy and society of Ireland. To illustrate the poor state of the economy in Ireland he gives examples of the poverty people in Ireland are living. Swift says, “It is a melancholy to those… when they see the streets… crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags…” To further show the unfortunate state of Ireland, Swift demonstrates how the society is in a deprived

It is scary when you don’t know anybody and have to try to make new friends. Many of your young childhood friends will stay with you for a lifetime. Today, I am still friends with many of my oldest friends. They have become like family. I want to say that this novel is a great way for people to see how somebody from a diverse population lives. It is a great book from the view of somebody living a completely different life than I have lived. I think it was very well written and is easy to read. This makes it a great teaching tool for children of younger age groups or college students as well. I read this entire book at one sitting because it kept my interest the entire time. I couldn’t wait to see what

Swift writes the essay during a time when Ireland was flourished and overpopulated with underprivileged people who could not even afford to nourish their children. The kids, for instance , "either turn thieves for want of work,or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain" (Swift 6-8). The author, as

Even with the advantage of knowing English, the famine-era Irish had much going against them in America. They had few marketable skills, little education, and no money. Substantial social disorganization, poverty, crime, disease, alcoholism, and family dissolution – accompanied their resettlement in America (241).

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.”

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

In Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, an internal conflict that Frank faces is that he thinks he has to take care of himself and his siblings. One example of this is the time when Frank had to steal food to feed his family because his mother was sick. He says, “ [...] all I can find is my mother moaning for lemonade. Lemonade. There’s a van pulling away from South’s pub leaving crates of beer and lemonade outside and there isn’t a soul on the street.

(O’Flaherty). The mentality that other people will help support you only aids poverty in this Irish community, and Colm is able to see that. O’Flaherty uses courage as the tool Colm uses to be successful, suggesting that the others in the town are the opposite, they are afraid of failure and therefore stay in the same state, barely being able to get by. In today’s day and age perhaps community support will not make or break many, but in post-World War II Ireland, if Colm were to fail at providing for his family, that would likely end in the family’s death. Ireland’s history of poverty and death from starvation is a long one, which only puts more importance on Colm’s break from the community.

This is seen when the narrator speaks about the story of the field that Eveline, her brothers, and another family’s children used to play on which was bought by a man from Belfast in order to build a house. Another example, is how she and her brothers would play out in a field, and her father would come to “hunt them in out of the field with his blackthorn stick” (34). This also symbolizes the discord of family relations, and the premature annihilation of her childhood innocence by her father and the premature end of innocence that is caused by abusive men to their children in Ireland. Eveline is also denied the basic right to love and affection by her own choice. She finds a man who loves and values her, and is the exact opposite of her abusive father. Frank represents the opportunity for escape and a break in the cycle. She finally has an opportunity for a new life, and she chooses to stay in Ireland to take care of her father and brothers. Eveline’s choice to stay in Ireland, rather than to leave with Frank can be seen as a result of the lack of self-worth and mental constraints set on her by her father, which parallels the fact that Ireland’s paralysis is caused by the abuse of male authority roles. Eveline feels tied to her father, in the same way a hopeless chained animal who knows no better than to wait patiently and endure. The illusion of captivity was so complete that even though she had an opportunity to escape her ‘cage’, she chose to stay in it.

During the postcolonial times the presence of the Roman Catholic Church dominated the Republic of Ireland making Irish Christianity the largest religion. It is through marriage that Eveline is able to fulfill the personal desire enculturated within her through society. O’Brien identifies in Study: An Irish Quarterly Review that Eveline believes that by becoming Frank’s wife, she can “completely valorise her female identity” (207). By becoming a married woman she would gain ‘respect’, as Joyce explains, “then she would be married – she, Eveline. People would treat her with respect then. She would not be treated as her mother had been” (73). It is through Frank that Eveline can find her