This week we started to read the book, “Angela’s Ashes”, and I have to admit this book is much better than “The Dubliners”. Although “The Dubliners” had a lot of valuable information, it just wasn’t my type of reading. These books have common themes involving Ireland, for instance; alcoholism is a major factor in both books, as well as characters acting in the same manner. Upon reading “Angela’s Ashes”, I feel that poverty is a major factor all over the world. This family in particular is in a very bad situation, and they literally have no money. I feel that Malachy, the father, is useless. He isn’t working, but when he does get a job he uses the majority of his money at the ‘pub’, or doesn’t show up to work, and gets fired. The mother, Angela, doesn’t care for her children properly, and as they continue to have children she gets more and more tired. Even though this family is in a bad circumstance, I still feel the parents could do more for their children. Frank, the oldest child of the family, seems to care for his brothers more than their own mother. As the story continues, they move back to Ireland, because they couldn’t stay where their beloved daughter died. The story goes downhill from here, and their twin boys, Oliver and Eugene die as well. This story is very depressing, but it has made me more appreciative for what I have.
-Ashley B
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Angela’s ashes’ is so much better than reading the Dubliners. I was kind of shocked at how much poverty there really was during that time. So much alcoholism is going on as well, just like we saw in the Dubliners. Angela’s cousins really kind of bugged me, especially when they had found out that Malachy had impregnated her. Even though in class we discussed how this did happen during that time, I was still shocked after reading that she was pregnant. I know that it is very common now for women to get pregnant when they are not married, but when you think of that time, you don’t see or think of that happening. I was very saddened by the fact that three of her babies had died. I was especially sad that Margaret had died. I felt like that baby was saving the couple’s marriage and life. So it was sad to see something that was holding something together fall apart. When the twins died, I was so shocked, but feel maybe some of the reason the second twin died, was because his other half was gone. I think that twins have a special connection that when it’s broken it is devastating and hard to recover from. So even though the doctors said he had died of an illness, I think that a broken heart had something to do with it too.
ReplyDeleteAlex Rhodes
After reading the first few chapters in "Angela's Ashes" I can really see a connection between that and the "Dubliners". In both novels, you can truly get a sense of how depressed Ireland was during that time. Though I appreciate the message the "Dubliners" shared I find "Angela's Ashes" so much more interesting and better. This book really goes in depth and almost puts you there by the way he writes and depicts the time period. By reading this novel you almost get sick by the sadness you feel for the characters. To know that someone really had to go through something that bad and had to suffer like they did is almost unreal. I'm sure everyone has been hungry but no one has really been starving as they were. To go everyday wondering when and where your next meal is going to come from is something that no one should have to go through. Everyone has to go through hard times during some point in their lives but these people had to go through that every day. To them it was just another day. I feel so grateful and blessed that I did not have to live through the time they did. I feel that it really took a different breed of people to make it to past and through such a hard and depressed period.
ReplyDeletePosted By: Kris Braxton
I am excited to be starting Angela's Ashes. So far, I think it's an excellent book. It's very depressing, and the language is so rich and descriptive. Even though it's very saddening, Frank McCourt is telling it how it was, and I appreciate his raw honesty. I also enjoy how it's told from a four year old's perspective; it's such a different view point.It's a much easier read than The Dubliners. In the Dubliners, each short story were so packed with a complex story line, it was hard to dig apart. I find myself shocked at times while reading Angela's Ashes thus far. Malachy seniors' addiction to alcohol is unbelievable almost. It is hard for me to believe a father would spend his money on alcohol to get his "fix" rather than feed his hungry family. The twins are constantly hungry, and Frank and Malachy jr. are forced to grow up and help their younger siblings out. You don't hear about a four year old having to change an infants diaper everyday. I enjoy McCourt's use of humor in this book. I think it is necessary in such a somber plot. The amount of pain four year-old Frank has endured so far, blows me away. Between Angela loosing three babies, including Margaret who seemed to have been making life so much better for the whole family, to constant hunger pains. The way he can joke about changing the "shitty" diapers shows how naive he is, but also tells us how crazy thier lives are. It's a nice change of pace, reading from a child's standpoint. There are some similar themes that run through both The Dubliners and Angela's Ashes. Alcoholism, poverty, and routine are all shown through both books.
ReplyDeleteWeek 5 has started and we have now began Angela’s Ashes. This book is a much easier read then The Dubliners. The narrator Frank tells the story of his parents meeting and his childhood. When reading this story its hard to believe Ireland was that bad! The story itself is good but it’s a little hard to believe everything is true because the things he remembers are from when he was very young. The things Frank says are heartbreaking. He had to do things like taking care of the other children and live in a very a dirty home. H The mother in the story seems lazy and how anyone could ignore and treat children like that is awful. Its sad to read about children in these situations and you always hope they will have a happy ending. The story of Margret is very sad and the fact that the father could have possibly sold the body just for money to buy his alcohol is disturbing. Frank does say there are some happy memories though and he uses a little bit of comedy here and there to lighten the situation.
ReplyDeleteOne thing i do like is that there are a lot of similar themes between The Dubliners and Angela’s Ashe, things like poverty, routine, not having money and alcoholism are very noticeable
We recently just started reading "Angela's Ashes", and i am glad we are done with "The Dubliners" "The Dubliners" had some good stories but overall it was a different style book which was mainly confusing to read and catch certain terms James Joyce used. Even though we have only read the first two chapters, there is similarity between the books. They both talk about alcoholism right from the beginning and is being taken place in Ireland. In "Angela's Ashes", the family that is being talked about doesn't have a lot of money and would be characterized and being poor. Frank talks about his parents lives before they had kids and the father Malachy, escapes to American to avoid being killed. He committed a crime and that was the reason to escape. He continued to drink in the United States along with England and eventually returned to Belfast.
ReplyDeleteFranks mother, Angela, is named after the Angelus. Angela's brother was dropped on his head as a baby because of the bells when they were rung for the New Year. Her father ended up running of to Australia. Malachy doesn't work much and usually spends most of the money at the pub, and doesn't show up to work and gets fired. Angela continues to have more kids when she doesn't take care of them correctly. They moved back to Ireland since it was hard for them to stay where their daughter died. Their sons who were twins also died and unfortunate things continue to happen. Overall, “Angela’s Ashes” is easier to follow and look forward to continue reading.
"Angela's Ashes" is a book that, once read, one will never forget over a lifetime. I have now started my second reading of the book for our writing class and am thrilled with the chance to read it again. The book is extremely depressing and will make you feel grateful for your parents and for today's standards of living. So far, I have reread slightly more than two chapters and cannot believe the agony the children are put through. The children are starved and misguided by their parents but are too young to realize their lives could be any different. Their parents are neglectful and their other blood relatives are very indifferent to their situation, even their own grandmother. The memoir is like a car wreck (you can't stop watching) and one thing after another happens in an unrelenting fashion. Three children die, the father drinks away money for food, and the available charity becomes scarcer and scarcer. Their living situations also astound me; I could never imagine six people sleeping on one bed or living in a cold, damp apartment. After reading, and while writing this from my warm bed, I appreciate my upbringing and my parent's love much more.
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