Angela’s AshesEssay title: Angela’s AshesAlthough 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.
People always say, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, and Frank McCourt is certainly an example of this. Throughout the book, he is constantly denied access to opportunities that will help to better his life because of his indigent appearance. His failed attempt to become an alter boy is one example of this. Yet he keeps fighting and striving to succeed, instead of just giving up. He also had to deal with the fact that his brother, Malachy, who he was closest to, was better looking and received more attention than him. Although this confused Frank as a young child, he coped very well, and was able to believe in himself, even as the less attractive brother. Because he had to deal with all of this, he appreciated his minor achievements, like when his team, “The Red Hearts of Limerick”, beat a team of wealthy boys in a soccer game. Frank scores the winning goal, and thinks this can only mean good things because “God or the blessed Virgin Mary would never send such a blessing to one who’s doomed”(257). This is what helps to build Frank’s self-confidence and enables him to keep his long-term goals in sight, to get to America, where he feels his talents will be rewarded despite his impoverished youth.
Throughout Frank’s childhood, there were very few times when feeding the family was not a challenge. Even when Frank’s father was working, he would very often drink his paycheck instead of bringing it home to his family. Frank remembers a time when his father did bring home his paycheck, and took notice at how proud his mother was when she was finally able to pay the man for her groceries. She was able to “hold her head up again because there’s nothing worse in the world than to owe and be beholden to anyone”(23). This is where Frank learns that the ability to pay brings dignity and self-respect. He draws a connection, that when he has food, his family is prospering. Later on in life, when Frank begins to earn his own wages, he loves the feeling of independence, and dreams of providing for a family of his own. He works for Mr. Hannon, delivering coal, and makes
b a living helping the family buy food and materials for the people of the area. When the family is going through a difficult time, Franklin can only comfort him by remembering the blessings of a job and the good fortune he was given in that job—and by seeing that his family and friends are doing as they could have, without any hardship or loss. I’ve already mentioned his love for Mr. Hannon and trust in Frank as a way to help family members, as well as the fact that he is often happy to be with young kids. Frank is never the kind of hard nut who lives by a job (although he is also very, very happy to take his time and be in touch with his family as a family member).
I think we all want to see all characters have that big of an impact, but it is such a difficult thing to bring the characters together that we need to give all the characters so much hope. Frank and all of his family is in our lives. And, in Frank’s case, I believe the important thing to remember is that his story was told to everyone because, so it happened and it will happen again that way.
[I wrote an earlier post that I think this is going to get a lot of attention this semester, and I’ll mention some thoughts on it once I start writing this post] My main worry is how that will impact the narrative. Since the series had already been told many times, I felt so overwhelmed by it that I was reluctant to talk my way out of it. One aspect of my concern was that so many characters don’t interact as well as Frank did with the other characters. I felt like we were left with this “we’re so different, it’s just so easy for us to get along” mentality, which I think is where I tend to feel that in this series we are really a big team, at least for one. I do still worry about characters’ interactions and that as the series progresses, we become as unique as we like to be with each other. I remember that Frank wasn’t the most interesting character. He didn’t have any good relationships with other characters as all of the other characters did, or at least his main character, as the series progresses. I think many of the more interesting character interactions will come from Frank talking to my family and listening to my family’s stories. I think those conversations are more important for understanding why Frank was such a huge character. I’ll talk with you about what will become of him soon.
As to Frank specifically, he was always the protagonist of the series. I also think he can be an interesting character, especially if he was the one who actually cared about Frank, which I don’t think was ever a good thing. Frank is so caring and thoughtful about the world of other people. In the episode “A Brief Tale and a Dream”, we have Frank and his family talking about Frank’s past and hopes and dreams. With every story, we move on to some other area in which we begin to connect. Frank’s past is going through a lot of trials and tribulations. Frank is going through pain and tragedy and, I don’t think, ever being completely alone in all these trials and tribulations. You’re supposed to be with Frank and tell all your stories, but without the right kind of