Angela’s Ashes: Father

Angela’s Ashes Paper

Who was a more influential force in Frank's life: his mother or his father? Be sure to describe the effects of such influence in your response.

The novel Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt is a memoir describing his accounts during his early childhood in Limerick, Ireland, emphasizing his rise from poverty to riches, not by just money, but also family. His family was the sole source for his upbringings. Nevertheless, his mother struggled with her husband’s alcoholism, death of her children, and her sons’ constant needs. Frank’s most influential force in his life was his father Malachy; despite his drinking problem and constant lying, Frank was able to look past his father’s disrespectful actions, and see who he really was and his love towards the McCourt family.

Malachy McCourt a great father, leader and dominant figure in this novel, struggled with the deaths of his children through consumption and constant poverty, causing him to grow into a great depression and a hedonistic state of mind. For example, after the death of his first girl, Margaret, Malachy resorted to his problems by drinking alcohol. He would spend his daily wages to buy himself pleasure, instead of the food and nutrition his family really needed. Despite his actions, Frank looked past these proceedings and remembered his father when he was a child; recalling and seeing his father when he came home from his steady job. He would sit with Frank and his brothers around the fire telling stories to them about his life and hopes and plans for the future of the McCourt family. Frank never downs his father in this story because he does not want to put the focus on just one character’s suffering or sins. In addition, Frank is able to shift his views from not just his father’s sins but also his, his mothers, and the many others around him, saying everyone makes mistakes in his or her life.

Malachy