The Man Who Went Too Far Religion

A querying of normative gender behaviour and sexuality pervades the 19th century gothic fiction text. What does this reveal about the cultural context within the tale exists?

Frank needs something to protect. Cee, his dearly loved sister, take up this role for most of the novel. Concurrently, Frank satisfies his troubled need to care for someone and loves his sister. Willingly, Frank admits, “I’ve had only two regular women. I liked the small breakable thing inside each one. Wherever their personality, smarts, or looks, something soft lay in each…A little V…that I could break with a forefinger if I wanted to. But never did” (67-68), Frank expresses his obsession with weakness. Frank denotes this weakness as a small child to whom he is the parent. He handles it cautiously, cares for it, and provides a home for it. He needs it to feel needed, which happens to be a reoccurring theme throughout the novel. “When…I caught my reflection in a store window, I thought it was somebody else. Some dirty pitiful-looking guy…Right then, I decided to clean up” (69). In this moment, Frank’s search of his relationship with Lily begins from a forceful self-hatred that has presented itself since his deployment to Korea. After his relationship with Lily fades and

According to Freud’s Pleasure Principle: people seek pleasure in order to satisfy their psychological and biological needs(world of psychology). Frank’s need for pleasure lead him to using his stolen money to buy expensive items such as: exotic cars, fancy clothing, cultured food and larger houses. All this was used to help attract women to satisfy his sexual needs. Frank’s biological urges and

A setting in an unnatural or exotic place as well as multitudes of supernatural occurrences are characteristics that define a piece of literature as gothic. Gothicism, as a part of the Romantic Movement in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, was commonly used during this time period as a way to entertain audiences in an unfamiliar way that would keep them engaged. Gothic pieces are written to be “thrill-provoking manipulations of our unconscious” (Randel 185). The setting is a very important aspect of gothic literature, with “the rationale for setting its horrors in particular places ... ‘what happens depends a lot on where it happens’” (185). The places that dark situations occur tend to add to the suspense and the gruesomeness.

Frank was in the war and got shot in his leg which makes him incapable to walk. The Georgia Flu, caused all the power to be out in the world, making life for Frank a struggle. Frank and his brother Jeevan have stayed in his apartment the whole time and never left because it will be very hard for Frank to live out in the new world and incapable to get him out of the apartment with no electricity. This is when Frank made a moral decision about committing suicide to give Jeevan a better life. “I think there’s just survival out there, Jeevan. I think you should go out there and try to

1. How does Frank provide for his family while Angela is sick in bed? Are his actions justified?

Since Frank spent part of his childhood in America, he learned how the society and working class functioned. Frank looks at America as a classless society where his goals will be realized and his talents would be rewarded, despite his lower-class upbringing. Frank’s first experience with this is presented when Angela goes to the market with no money and the clerk states “… you always pay your bill sooner or later and you can have anything you like in the store” (McCourt 28). I believe that this instance opened Frank’s eyes to how many more opportunities he would have in America than in Ireland. Frank understands at an early age that he will never be able to return to America unless he saves money and escapes the slums because only “rich” people are able to save money. This is proven when Frank says “I'd like to be a Jesuit some day but there's no hope of that when you grow up in a lane. Jesuits are very particular. They don't like poor people. They like people with motor cars who stick out their little fingers when they pick up their teacups” (McCourt 245). Even though Frank is a strong believer that sinning sends you to Hell, he is willing to write life-threatening letters for Mrs. Finucane to her customers who owe her money. Frank is so determined to escape Ireland and to escape the bottomless pit of Ireland’s society class that he would even go against everything he believes

For instance, in the epilogue of the book, David begins to explain the results of Frank's death, he says, "It was decided… to explain Uncle Frank's death as an accident, to say that he had been helping my father build shelves…" (166). After Frank's suicide, the family choose to create a story of Frank's death that would still keep Frank's name and honor. This shows that the family is loyal to Frank by keeping his name clean. Adding on, during Frank's funeral, David tells us, "Similarly, it was decided not to reveal any of Frank's crimes…it was possible for Frank Hayden to be buried without scandal and to be eulogized in the usual blandly reverent way---decorated soldier… , dutiful son, loving husband…" (166). After all of what Frank did, the family decided not to make his crimes public. Wes and his family has the chance to uncover Frank's secrets and in a way 'betray' their family member. Yet, they decided to keep all of his crimes unrevealed to save and keep Frank's reputation as good as it is

In the quote, "My mother is sick above in the bed, my brothers are starving and we'll all be dead for the bread." This quote shows the characters struggle and how the family is going through a difficult time, dealing with the issue of poverty. This also shows how Frank was forced to steal food items for his family, in order for them to survive. This quote shows Frank’s ownership and reasonability, he takes into account for his family. By stealing the food for his family, his is risking his own life. This goes on to show the high stakes of survival for his family. Moreover, this theme is shown when Frank states, “Mam sits by the fire, shivering, and we know something is wrong.” Furthermore, the theme of “perseverance” is shown by dialogue in the quote, “They’d gobble everything and then go on about my sins and the hanging.” This quote begins “Angela’s Ashes”, showing readers that there is a problem in the story amongst the characters and the setting. Overall, making the main conflict influences the actions of the main characters throughout the story.

Each death is described thoroughly, which is disturbing as the amount of detail added makes the death somewhat humorous to the reader. When Frank describes his first victim the reader is on franks side as Blyth is presented to a horrible character. However that changes when he describes Paul’s death making the reader against franks. This carries on with Esmeralda who is another innocent victim. Despite the negative changes of what the reader views of frank some may enjoy the way he disposes his

The third and final element of gothic literature that can be found in “The Tell-Tale Heart” is that of the presence of madness and the thin boundary line that

When his father takes him to be an altar boy, he is turned away due to the poverty of his family. This is disturbing to young Frank, and begins thoughts of discontent in his mind. Also, when he goes to look into enrolling in secondary school with his mother at his side, the Christian Brother there slams the door in his face due to his street appearance. Regardless of his high intelligence, he is denied a higher education by the Church based on his economic status. The night before his 16th birthday Frank drinks his first pint and strikes his mother; on attempting to confess to a Jesuit priest, the door is again closed to him: “He says, Go away. You’re drunk. Child like you drunk as a lord ringing for a priest at this hour. Go away or I’ll call the guards…. You’re drunk and you’re not in a proper spirit of repentance (340).” Frank is panicked about the condition of his eternal soul but is forced to remain in a state of sin because of the lack of compassion by this priest. The transformation is complete: Frank is no longer the innocent little child who runs to the Church to unburden his soul, but instead he is a cynical adolescent who has lost his faith in God.

He is quiet and his face is full of numb shock. He does not seem to trust anyone now and is smothered with feelings of helplessness and inadequacy. When Cora and her lawyer join him, Frank is further alienated. Cora walks circles around Frank as she scolds him as a liar and a “so-called man.”

The gothic literary movement is a part of the larger Romantic Movement. Gothic literature shares many of the traits of romanticism, such as the emphasis on emotions and the imagination. Gothic literature goes beyond the melancholy evident in most romantic works, however, and enters into the areas of horror and decay, becoming preoccupied with death. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is a powerful example of gothic fiction, whereas James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans serves as the romantic predecessor, illustrating the differences and the similarities between romantic and gothic literature.

He was compelled to make their wrong right and did so by taking the case to trial. He viewed this as a way to turn his life and career around by doing what was right, but he discovers quickly that Ed Concannon was always one step ahead and through many corrosive acts almost derails Frank’s case.