Final Reflection

After reading McCourt’s memoir, I have been influenced to be thankful for what I have. McCourt’s excellent descriptions made me feel like I was there with him during parts of the book. It was upsetting to hear about his awful childhood and it made me realize how much I take for granted in my life. I was ashamed that movies, candy, radios and other simple things in life were such a treat to him, and I can now realize not everybody has the things I have in my life. I enjoyed this novel, but I found it very challenging. Other than the difficult vocabulary words, I also had trouble understanding the Irish words and phrases and when a character was speaking because of the absence of quotations.  The colloquial style of McCourt’s writing can become confusing. He uses phrases and words that are unfamiliar to those outside of Ireland such as words like “eejit” as idiot or “fags” for cigarettes.  He does not include quotation marks when characters are speaking which makes it difficult to follow along. This occurs especially in conversations because it is hard to tell who is talking. My initial impression of this book was not correct because I did not think it was going to be as difficult or impacting as it was.  This book had less of an inspiring effect on me than that of other memoirs such as Night by Elie Wiesel.  This may be because I have less to relate to the story of a Catholic childhood in Ireland with an alcoholic father than with a holocaust story. It could have been me in the holocaust but my life is nothing like Frank McCourt’s.

Word Count: 281

Title Significance

The reason behind the title of this memoir is a debatable matter. The name of the novel, “Angela’s Ashes” refers to McCourt’s mother, however the “ashes” has several different meanings. It may be associated to the losses of Angela’s children Margaret, Oliver, and Eugene. When they died, Angela was depressed but continued to have more children knowing their fate. These children could have survived if they were living in better conditions. Several times McCourt mentions that his mother is glaring at the ashes of the fire or the ashes falling from her cigarettes. Ashes are associated with death, dust, and cinders. When McCourt’s family are living in their relative, Laman’s home they must act as slaves when they want something: ”Laman says I’m a good boy and the bike is mine anytime I want it as long as the chamber pot is empty and I’m there to run to the shop for his cigarettes, go to the library for whatever else he wants. He says, You have a great way with a chamber pot. He laughs and Mama stares into the dead ashes of the fireplace” (253). This passage describes what McCourt’s family had to put up with, especially at Laman’s. His mother “staring at the dead ashes” symbolizes her displeasure in this novel. Throughout the memoir she puts in her greatest effort to keep her children living and is discouraged with the struggles she has to face.  She is forced to live an awful life because her husband doesn’t bring home an income or help the family deal with the issues he causes. She is always there for her children trying her hardest to give them a better life, but it is never good enough. Ashes have no purpose and are the aftermath of some sort of energy or life.  In a similar way, McCourt’s mother had a life with very little food and few material things. Her only purpose was to survive and keep her children alive.
Word Count: 329

Passage Analysis

“I stand in my backyard for ages in my shirt and bare feet looking up at the moon which is a ghostly galleon riding upon cloudy seas and go back to bed shivering and hoping I’ll wake up in the morning with a terrible  cough and flushed cheeks” (247)
This passage is a recall of McCourt’s nights outside, hoping to get sick and go to the hospital. At this time, McCourt and his siblings are living in their Aunt Aggie’s house because their mother is sick and their father is in England. His Aunt Aggie is an abusive lady who treats the children terribly. McCourt wishes he were back in the hospital, where he stayed when he had typhoid. The Sister’s at the hospital fed him well and McCourt had no worries except to heal. Determined to return to the lovely conditions of the hospital, McCourt risks his health by standing out in the freezing weather of an Irish winter, hoping to get sick. Living with his Aunt Aggie influences him to realize that he’d rather be ill and out of his Aunt’s house then endure the struggles he must face in her house. The importance of this passage is the core essence of this book. McCourt and many others wished to make it out of Ireland and have a future that was better than their previous experiences. Sacrifices would have to be made to make it to that point.

            The metaphor of the moon being a ghostly ship riding upon a cloudy sea is an excerpt from the Highwayman poem that Patricia, another patient at the hospital told him. The moon resembles his loneliness with an uncertain future and a wish to get out. This is because a ship in a cloudy sea is isolated and strives to get to its destination. However, it does not know where or if it will make it out. When McCourt says this he is showing his desperation. Also, he is referring to Patricia, and considering the option of death.

           Word Count: 337 

Connection Entry

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls has many similarities to McCourt’s memoir. The Glass Castle is the story of Jeanette Wall’s childhood in a poor, dysfunctional family. Her drunken father wastes his wages on alcohol and her mother is a hopeless case. This relates to how McCourt’s father is also an alcoholic who selfishly spends the money earned for his family in the pub and cannot manage to hold on to a job.  When they were young, Walls and McCourt’s admired their fathers because they didn’t understand the truth behind their ways. When they were not drunk, they were actually good fathers, despite not having jobs. Walls’ father was extremely intellectual and taught Jeanette many things; she was the only one of her family who admired him. Franks father told him countless stories, and at times McCourt even idolized his father. Yet both Walls and McCourt realize their fathers ways, and even when they despise them for what they made them go through, they still have a certain pity and weakness for them. At age eleven McCourt speaks about the time spent with his father: “I know when Dad does the bad thing. I know when he drinks the dole money and Mama is desperate…but I don’t want to back away from him and run to Mam. How can I do that when I’m up with him early every morning with the whole world asleep?” (208). This represents how despite the knowledge of his father ruining his family and starving them to death, he still has a certain respect and love for him and the time they spend together.  The tone of both of these stories is inspirational but troubling. McCourt’s story is a humorous take on his depressing life, while Walls’ recall is more reserved and factual.  The theme shared by these two memoirs is poverty, perseverance, hunger, and alcoholism.

Word Count: 311

Emotional Reaction

When McCourt’s family lived in New York, they experienced many struggles. Not only were they poor and barely had anything to eat, but they also suffered a major loss. While still in America, McCourt’s little sister Margaret was born. She was clearly the favorite child, being the only girl. McCourt’s parents cherished her and gave her a lot of attention. However, she becomes sick when she is seven weeks old, and dies in the middle of the night. As McCourt holds his mother’s hand to comfort her she says, “Your lovely little sister is dead, Frankie. Dead. And where is your father... Drinking… There isn’t a penny in the house but he finds the money for the drink” (37). After Margaret dies, McCourt's mother is not the same. This section of the novel was really depressing to read, because it is awful to think about losing a child or sibling. Also things must have been really stressful for McCourt. At four years old he had to take on the loss of his baby sister, his mother’s mind being in another place, and his father absent from his life because he is always drinking. He must have felt neglected and unimportant to his family during this time, because as a child he needs attention and love to properly mature.  At this time, McCourt even wishes that he were in a different family. As a neighbor assists the family after Margaret’s death a thought occurred to McCourt: ”My mother never makes soup like this and I wonder if there’s any chance Mrs. Leibowitz could ever be my mother. Freddie could be me and have my mother and my father…Malachy and the twins for brothers. He can’t have Margaret anymore because she’s like the dog in the street that was taken away” (38).
Word Count:299

Anticipatory Entry

My friend Mae recommended Angela’s Ashes to me and warned me that it was a difficult read. I accepted the challenge without any knowledge of the story background. It was disappointing to discover that there is no summary on the back cover, but I decided to take a chance and read it. Something that is very intriguing to me is the surplus of awards and prizes it has won and the great reviews it received. I discovered that this story takes place in Ireland because a review on this memoir includes, “Frank McCourt’s lyrical Irish voice” (Mary Karr).  Due to the praise for this novel, I am anxious to start it. Judging the book by its cover, it appears to be about the author, Frank McCourt’s childhood living in poverty. This is the impression I get because the cover includes a picture of a young boy with dirty clothing and no shoes. The book most likely outlines the struggles of growing up as a pauper of Ireland during McCourt’s time. This is not the ordinary, trite plot line of a hard childhood. There is something eclectic and fascinating about the setting in Ireland because I am not very familiar with this country. Reading deeper into the title, I assume that Angela is one of McCourt’s family members, possibly a sister or mother. Referring to the “ashes” in the title, I can infer that this family member dies. I did not commit to this book before I read the first page. Its a somewhat easy read but includes advanced vocabulary.

WORD COUNT: 259