Angela's Ashes Personal Response

"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

Discomforts of adolescence is a major theme in this novel. Frankie is at a very awkward age, and she is struggling with her youth. Her feelings are described as sad, depressed, and lost. McCullers showed the difficulty in growing up as an out-cast. “Frankie had become an un-joined person who hung around in doorways, and she was afraid” (McCullers 3). Frankie feels disconnected

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.

Desperation for love arising from detachment can lead to extreme measures and destructive actions as exhibited by the tumultuous relationships of Miss Emily in William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily” (rpt. in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 9th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2006] 556). Miss Emily is confined from society for the majority of her life by her father, so after he has died, she longs for relations that ironically her longing destroys. The despondency and obsession exuded throughout the story portray the predicament at hand.

The decision that Frankie made had a huge impact on his relationship with God, self and others. First, after helping Maggie die, Frankie felt a disconnection from God. His relationship with God would never be the same again, since he had knowingly committed sin. Secondly, Frankie’s relationship with himself changed as he felt guilty for what he had

The Dark Night of the Soul, an essay, written by Richard E. Miller eerily expresses the importance of literature in a society refraining from writing. In the twenty-first century, the emphasis on reading and writing has declined, whereas, the focus on technology has increased. Miller argues that the world has fallen into darkness without literature because the art of writing yields so much power for healing and mediating. Miller also acknowledges the dangers of literature including: reading can not save humanity from school ground shooters, and writing can lead one to an early demise as illustrated through the story of Chris McCandless. Miller constructs an enduring argument, of the importance of the literature arts, by providing a multitude of examples to defend his and claims throughout the essay.

“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).

One of the notable coping methods that Faulkner analyzes in his novel is that of denial and negotiation. Various characters utilize denial to escape the pain of the death of their mother, and this technique is best exemplified

Memoirs, and writing in general, reveal a truth about the author. Oftentimes, said truth is revealed intentionally. Universal truths such as struggle, endurance, and agony help authors influence their audiences. These truths cause the readers to become cognizant of and appreciate the authors. It is a writer’s duty to write from the heart—to write about the good and bad sides of a story. Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood fails to use universal truths and instead presents a very superficial presentation of its author’s life. J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis display the unconventional upbringing of Vance in order to give the audience a better understanding of the writer. Pure honesty

Frank’s two biggest enemies that he faces throughout his life are the struggles of rising up from poverty and getting out of Ireland. After much work and determination, Frank was able to overcome these problems and become successful in defeating these enemies.

Angela’s Ashes takes place in Ireland during the 1930s, a period of time when the economy in Limerick was declining. The Street takes place in Harlem, New York City during World War II. The settings in both novels take place in the bitter cold during hard times. The settings play a huge role in the theme because it shows how the characters live. Frank McCourt and Lutie Johnson are two characters who deal with poverty throughout their lives. Frank McCourt, the author and main character of Angela’s Ashes, writes about the struggles with poverty he had as a child. Through this time he has to make hard decisions in order to survive. Ann Petry portrays poverty in her writing by using the cold to show the despair of the people walking along the streets of New York. The authors’ way of showing poverty in their novels differs in some ways but is very similar to one another. The author of Angela’s Ashes and the author of The Street convey the theme of poverty through their similar settings and the characters’ need for survival.

Faulkner proves us that it is impossible to sruggle with one's own heart . The moment when Sarty decided to choose morality over the blood pool and warned the de Spain's revealed his true character. Though this meant the death of his

Angela’s Ashes is an autobiographical memoir written by Irish-American author Frank McCourt. McCourt is the oldest of five brothers and one sister. He along with four of his sibling were born in America in Brooklyn, New York and lived there until he was four and then moved back to Ireland because they had a hard time surviving in America. His family and moved back to Ireland in the midst of the Great Depression finding it hard for his father to get a job because of his alcoholism and his Northern manner. Throughout McCourt’s childhood he was caught in the middle of all the hardships his parents endured. Although, his family endured much struggle, that did not stop them from fulfilling his religious duties, such as First Communion. It also did not stop him and his brother, Malachy from going to school to learn more about their religion. In his early teens, he realized that his father had abandoned his mother and his siblings when he said he would go look for a job. At the age of 14, Frank stopped going to school and got odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. He remembers his childhood as the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. He himself decided to move back to America when he was 18 to get away from the poverty in Ireland.

Contemporary Colum McCann made this statement.” It's strange, but as i grow older, I find myself developing more optimism. I keep inching toward the point where I believe that it’s more difficult to have hope than it is to embrace cynicism. In the deep dark there's no point unless we have at least a modicum of hope. We trawl our way through the darkness hoping to find a pinpoint of light…. I think that a good novel can be a door to despair. I also think the real bravery comes with those who are prepared to go through that door and look at the world in grime and torment, and still find something of value, no matter how small…. I like those authors…. Who have the courage of their convictions. There is a light to their work, an open door.”

In Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, we are given a character known as Quentin, one who helps us more fully understand the words of the author when delivering his Nobel Prize acceptance speech "The young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself" (The Faulkner Reader  3).  Quentin engenders so much more than he can or should have to bear, as the opening quote by Faulkner suggests is the fate of all humans, but he does not discover he