Angela's ashes door Frank McCourt

1.0 BACKGROUND Information about the writer: He was born in Brooklyn, and (Frank) moved to Ireland when he was four with his parents and brothers. As tough as life had been for the McCourt's in New York, it doesn't compare to the hardships they encounter in their native country. Frank's father, Malachy, rarely has a job and when he does, spends his wages in the pubs, leaving Frank's mother, Angela, to beg from churches and charity organizations. Despite the tragedy of his drinking, Frank's dad is as charming as a "shiftless l aquacious alcoholic" could be, and he shares a special bond with Frank, revealed through moments of heartrending tenderness. Near death from typhoid fever, Frank spends several months in quarantine in the hospital where he has steady meals, clean sheets, and best of all, books. It is here that he is first introduced to Shakespeare. I don't know what it means and I don't care because it's Shakespeare and it's like having jewels in my mouth when I say the words” He said. 2.O CONTENTS OF THE NOVEL Title explanation: In my opinion the title of this book “Angela’s ashes” has a relation with everybody in the commune of Angela (the other of the author) is dying. So she only haves ash left. Angela didn’t have enough money to feed her children and she couldn’t survive a lot of things which happened in the book like starvation etc.
Theme explanation: The theme in Angela’s Ashes is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. Catholicism plays a big part in the book, because the whole family and all of Limeric are very religious with Catholicism. Motives, yes or no? No there aren’t any motives, but you can say that the life of Frank is going on bad the whole story so that’s a motive, the life of the main character goes on bad whole of the story. Main Character: Frank McCourt: He’s the oldest child of Angela and Malachy. He’s born in America in August. He is a boy with lot of brothers and one sister. He must do everything at home, because his father is always drunk and does nothing. He is very bright child at school. He wants to go to America when he is old enough and when he has enough money. At the end of the story when he is 19 years old he has enough money to go to America. How are the characters described by the writer? I think he describes them in their actions, I specially thin of the father then who buy’s alcohol in the pubs of the money he makes when he has a job. And of course the writer is the main character. Where and when is the story set? When: In this book is the lapse of time from 1930 when Frank was born until 1949 when he’s going to America when he has enough money. When he was going to America he was 19 years old. And in the 19 years there’s lots of things happened and he tells what was happening and about the way how things happened. Where: The first piece of the story did take place in New York. I know that, because he told that they lived in New York. The rest takes place in Limerick, a town in Ireland. I know that, because he tells about the bad circumstances in Limerick. And about their journey to and through Ireland. But at the end of the story he goes again to America where he lives his life. Plot discribtion: Frank McCourt was born in America, but when he was four years old he goes with his parents and his brothers to Ireland, to Limirick. But Frank grows up and has a dream of returning to America. Because he wants a better life than his life in Limirick. The people in Limirick are so poor and he thinks when he goes to America everything is going to be better than the life he lives right now here in Limirick. And in Limirick it’s raining all day… He doesn’t want that any more he wants a ‘normal’ life and that is according him in America. There are so much people who die in Limirick because they are to poor to buy the things that you need to survive. When he and Angela get into a fight when he comes home drunk, and he hits his mother, Frank decides to leave for America. He doesn’t want to turn into his father. And that for he wants too to America and at the end of the story his dreams are coming true when he had enough money to buy a ticket to America and so he left.
3.0 STRUCTURE Are there chapters in the book? Yes the story has some chapters but the chapters don’t have a name. Is the story told in chronological order? Yes it is told chronological, and you couldn’t say he uses flash-backs and neither he flashes forward. Has the story an open or closed ending? I think the story is closed, but the ending is open because you still got some questions about what is going to happen to the main character. The story is told by: A narrator who is one of the characters. 4.0 GENRE What sort of story is it actually? This story is an autobiography of Frank McCourt, who is the writer and which tells about his own life in America and Ireland where he got his dream to return to America. Is it a Novel, Novelette or short story? It is a novel, at least that’s what was told me on a website about the book which I visited. 5.0 USE OF ENGLISCH what sort of language does the writer use? I think he uses realistic English.
6.0 PERSONAL OPINION Why did the writer in my opinion tell the story? I think he told the story to create suspense and to make game of the reader’s emotions and feelings, that’s because the book has some emotional aspects. What did I like best and didn’t I like a all: Whell to be honest I didn’t like the book at all, I actually don’t like reading at all when there’s told which book I have to read. So for the next Question I read the book against my will. What about the language of the book: I thought it wasn’t to difficult but there where some pieces of the story ehich where a little difficult.