Angela's Ashes
Florence Walzl’s critical analysis of James Joyce’s The Dubliners sheds light on common themes in Irish society that is seen in Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. The critical analysis discusses the hardships the youth in Ireland must overcome only to grow older into a society that shames them for everything they do. This is the basis for Frank Mccourt’s memoir Angela’s Ashes which provides first hand examples of how the treatment of the Irish during childhood influences the path of their lives. When a child is raised in a society that is based on shame and disillusionment, they become trapped or irritated of everyone. After a child is raised in such a way that hinders their free will, they will grow to be passive or non-productive adults. Once
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society is raised this way, their whole social group becomes completely static. The roots of many problems in an Irish society begin during one’s childhood. When a child is raised in a society that is based on shame and disillusionment, they become trapped or irritated of everyone.
Frank Mccourt in Angela’s Ashes may not be frustrated, instead, he is trapped by his parents who disillusion him. They hide useful information from him, hoping he will turn out to be a better person. The parents fail to realize that by raising him the same way that they were, will only lead Frank to grow to be just like them, essentially trapping him in this cycle of poverty. Luckily for Frank, he is able to overcome this as he realizes his “mom is in a terrible state at home… she is demented with worry” (McCourt 99). As Frank becomes aware of his mother's welfare, he tries his hardest not to grow to be like his parents, this realization is his only chance of escaping the cycle defined by Walzl. The children would be much better off if the adults told them the truth about different things in life as well. The children would learn from their mistakes, instead, they are punished with no hint as to why. This is obviously very frustrating and can be seen in The Sisters as the boy is criticized and shamed for being friends with the priest. The priest’s death is being discussed and the boy tries to act like he does not care so to avoid confrontation, however, a man who goes by Old Cotter speaks up saying “It’s bad for children, because their minds are so impressionable. When children see things like that, you know, it has an effect” (Joyce 11). This leaves the boy confused and furious at what Old Cotter means. Old cotter believes that children shouldn’t be curious and ask questions because it is better not to know. However, he doesn't say this directly and leaves the boy to wonder what is wrong with his friendship. This is an overlapping issue in both stories that essentially sets the children up for failure. If a child does not know better because they lack the understanding due to parents and other adults holding back information, a child is
forced to learn on their own, yet be punished for it. After a child is raised in such a way that hinders their free will, they will grow to be passive or non-productive adults who rely on their impressions. While Angela’s Ashes does not go deep into the lives of Frank’s parents, there are examples of this passive, paralytic lifestyle that they live. Frank's father, for example, always talks about how it is important to dress nice. He believes that it gives the impression that he is a hard working man. Meanwhile, Malachy is a drunk and practically relies on Frank to do work for him, like gathering coal, because Malachy believes he shouldn't be seen like that. Malachy is also sets bad examples by “telling mom up in Italy she should never beg” (McCourt 104) because he believes it makes the family look bad. This whole idea of his wealthy presentation seems to stem from childhood, where one's actions must abide to other people's standards. More specifically, the theme of punishment in Irish culture without awareness of wrongdoing during childhood is what leads to Malachy’s bad personality, and parenting. Even though Malachy remains presentable, his true personality under the suit he wears is drunken laziness. Malachy is like Gabriel in The Dead. The difference being Gabriel is a successful man. This idea of maintaining ego is what these two rely on, however it is paralytic to their families. As Gabriel prepares to give his speech “the indelicate clacking of the men’s heels and the shuffling of their soles reminded him that their grade of culture differed from his” (Joyce 179). He thinks so poorly of others around him because those who rise up in society imagine they have gone past others paralysis, and can do whatever they please. He remains unhappy because while he has advanced, he can only look down on the people that built him up. The only reason he became successful is because of the people around him, now that he is, Gabriel does not feel a need for them any longer. Once society is filled with those who are passive or egotistic, it becomes completely static. In Angela’s Ashes there are so many people plagued with poverty. Their whole economy is destroyed because nobody wants to do anything to fix it. The adults, specifically the men, in Ireland were paralysed by this egotistical logic that trapps them. Malachy tries to justify why he won't get coal for the family because he believes “It’s different for a man, you have to keep the dignity. Keep up the appearance” (McCourt 95) which promotes the idea of appearance over hard work. However, this paralysis in Irish society spreads farther than just laziness, it goes to other social matters as well. Like how the Irish have been lead by the church in fear of committing sin, yet, nobody chooses to challenge this, thus leaving their society completely static. While on the topic of church, in The Sisters, the young boy is criticized by Old Cotter who displays this static nature. The boy describes the man as a “tiresome old fool!.. [who] used to be rather interesting… but I soon grew tired of him and his endless stories about the distillery” (Joyce 10) which is similar to Malachy’s drunken rants of fighting for Ireland. Both of these men have so much to say but do so little. If everybody is talking, and nobody does anything, nothing gets accomplished, the whole society is remains static. The roots of many problems in the Irish society stem from their childhood. It is important not to hold a child back from learning, and more importantly, not punish them for learning. The Irish feared god so much, it hindered their free will and allowed them to become paralysed by the religion. For example, in the movie Philomena, she has not been taught about sex, and she is punished for finding out on her own what it is. Her child is taken away as “fair punishment” but she feared the nuns, and is faithful to a religion that has done no good for her. It took meeting Martin, the journalist, to convince her to challenge her belief and fear of the church. The only chance for overcoming this static life cycle defined by Walzl is to challenge the system, ask questions, and get answers.
society is raised this way, their whole social group becomes completely static. The roots of many problems in an Irish society begin during one’s childhood. When a child is raised in a society that is based on shame and disillusionment, they become trapped or irritated of everyone.
Frank Mccourt in Angela’s Ashes may not be frustrated, instead, he is trapped by his parents who disillusion him. They hide useful information from him, hoping he will turn out to be a better person. The parents fail to realize that by raising him the same way that they were, will only lead Frank to grow to be just like them, essentially trapping him in this cycle of poverty. Luckily for Frank, he is able to overcome this as he realizes his “mom is in a terrible state at home… she is demented with worry” (McCourt 99). As Frank becomes aware of his mother's welfare, he tries his hardest not to grow to be like his parents, this realization is his only chance of escaping the cycle defined by Walzl. The children would be much better off if the adults told them the truth about different things in life as well. The children would learn from their mistakes, instead, they are punished with no hint as to why. This is obviously very frustrating and can be seen in The Sisters as the boy is criticized and shamed for being friends with the priest. The priest’s death is being discussed and the boy tries to act like he does not care so to avoid confrontation, however, a man who goes by Old Cotter speaks up saying “It’s bad for children, because their minds are so impressionable. When children see things like that, you know, it has an effect” (Joyce 11). This leaves the boy confused and furious at what Old Cotter means. Old cotter believes that children shouldn’t be curious and ask questions because it is better not to know. However, he doesn't say this directly and leaves the boy to wonder what is wrong with his friendship. This is an overlapping issue in both stories that essentially sets the children up for failure. If a child does not know better because they lack the understanding due to parents and other adults holding back information, a child is
forced to learn on their own, yet be punished for it. After a child is raised in such a way that hinders their free will, they will grow to be passive or non-productive adults who rely on their impressions. While Angela’s Ashes does not go deep into the lives of Frank’s parents, there are examples of this passive, paralytic lifestyle that they live. Frank's father, for example, always talks about how it is important to dress nice. He believes that it gives the impression that he is a hard working man. Meanwhile, Malachy is a drunk and practically relies on Frank to do work for him, like gathering coal, because Malachy believes he shouldn't be seen like that. Malachy is also sets bad examples by “telling mom up in Italy she should never beg” (McCourt 104) because he believes it makes the family look bad. This whole idea of his wealthy presentation seems to stem from childhood, where one's actions must abide to other people's standards. More specifically, the theme of punishment in Irish culture without awareness of wrongdoing during childhood is what leads to Malachy’s bad personality, and parenting. Even though Malachy remains presentable, his true personality under the suit he wears is drunken laziness. Malachy is like Gabriel in The Dead. The difference being Gabriel is a successful man. This idea of maintaining ego is what these two rely on, however it is paralytic to their families. As Gabriel prepares to give his speech “the indelicate clacking of the men’s heels and the shuffling of their soles reminded him that their grade of culture differed from his” (Joyce 179). He thinks so poorly of others around him because those who rise up in society imagine they have gone past others paralysis, and can do whatever they please. He remains unhappy because while he has advanced, he can only look down on the people that built him up. The only reason he became successful is because of the people around him, now that he is, Gabriel does not feel a need for them any longer. Once society is filled with those who are passive or egotistic, it becomes completely static. In Angela’s Ashes there are so many people plagued with poverty. Their whole economy is destroyed because nobody wants to do anything to fix it. The adults, specifically the men, in Ireland were paralysed by this egotistical logic that trapps them. Malachy tries to justify why he won't get coal for the family because he believes “It’s different for a man, you have to keep the dignity. Keep up the appearance” (McCourt 95) which promotes the idea of appearance over hard work. However, this paralysis in Irish society spreads farther than just laziness, it goes to other social matters as well. Like how the Irish have been lead by the church in fear of committing sin, yet, nobody chooses to challenge this, thus leaving their society completely static. While on the topic of church, in The Sisters, the young boy is criticized by Old Cotter who displays this static nature. The boy describes the man as a “tiresome old fool!.. [who] used to be rather interesting… but I soon grew tired of him and his endless stories about the distillery” (Joyce 10) which is similar to Malachy’s drunken rants of fighting for Ireland. Both of these men have so much to say but do so little. If everybody is talking, and nobody does anything, nothing gets accomplished, the whole society is remains static. The roots of many problems in the Irish society stem from their childhood. It is important not to hold a child back from learning, and more importantly, not punish them for learning. The Irish feared god so much, it hindered their free will and allowed them to become paralysed by the religion. For example, in the movie Philomena, she has not been taught about sex, and she is punished for finding out on her own what it is. Her child is taken away as “fair punishment” but she feared the nuns, and is faithful to a religion that has done no good for her. It took meeting Martin, the journalist, to convince her to challenge her belief and fear of the church. The only chance for overcoming this static life cycle defined by Walzl is to challenge the system, ask questions, and get answers.