Their Family In A Poor Light example essay topic

ANGELA S ASHES Angela was originally from Limerick in Ireland and went to New York in search of a better life and brighter future than what was available to her back home. While in America she met Malachy McCourt, who was viewed as lower class because he was from Northern Ireland, in a speakeasy. She became pregnant and was forced to marry Malachy due to her cousins prodding for a respectable life for her. Malachy was a drunk and could not find work, which left Angela in a difficult situation. However, her strength and perseverance were key aspects to the family's survival.

She drew inner strength from each hardship she faced and had to overcome, all for the sake of her family. Her main purpose in the book was to maintain and form a family image and provide some form of hope to her children and herself. After Angela had her first child, more children soon followed. In nine and a half years she had seven children. She was a respectable Catholic woman who believed it was her duty not to deny her husband anything or to disrespect him. She reinforced this to her children, even when he was not a very good father and provider.

She tried not to fight with Malachy in front of the children. Although she tried to remain respectable, she had to stoop to disreputable levels in times of hardship. At times she had to show her humbleness and go begging for food or support for her family. Frank felt shame for his family when he observed his mother begging for scraps on the steps of the church. This was considered the ultimate disgrace and portrayed their family in a poor light.

He feels ashamed and says my mother is a beggar now and if anyone from the lane or my school sees her the family will be disgraced entirely. Angela could not rely on Malachy to bring home money from the dole or odd work that he got. He preferred to have a pint rather than support his family. His purpose was to make himself look better than he actually was. He paraded around in a suit and tie and never let anyone see him carrying anything because that was a sign of being poor. At the pubs, he would buy the house a round, spending beyond his means.

Angela, on the other hand, wanted a better life and was willing to do anything to raise her family above the level of starving. She tried to overcome the desperate conditions by going to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society for dockets for necessities that they required like beds and boots for the children. When her family was close to freezing, she swallowed her pride and went to Dock Road to collect scraps of coal that had fallen from the trucks. Angela tried to establish her family as respectable human beings.

She wanted a better existence for her children and figured she would try to portray them in a better light. She tried to get Frank to participate in activities that were of a higher social status. Cyril Benson was a boy in Limerick who everyone looked up to because of his great Irish dancing. Angela thought that Frank could be of the same status and signed him up. Frank used to take the money and go to the cinema instead. After that, Angela aspired for Frank to be an alter boy.

She sent him off with his father to the priest. Frank knew the Latin for the mass and she thought that the church would take this into account when they made their decision. However, there was a class distinction in the church and they did not look twice at the boys from the lane..