‘’Angla’s Ashes’’ by Frank McCourt
Chapter 1
In this chapter you get to know Frank’s family and where they live. Frank’s father, Malachy McCourt, comes from the north of Ireland. He has fought for the old IRA. Because he has committed a crime, he fled to America. He is an alcoholic and spends all of his money on alcohol.
Angela Sheehan, Frank’s mother, comes from Limerick. She is named after the Angelus, because she was born as the bells rang. Angela has a brother, Ab Sheehan. Her father dropped Ab on his head when he was a baby. He is never the same after this accident. But he is loved by everyone. Her father leaves to Australia and never returns. Angela emigrates to America. She meets Malachy on a party, and gets pregnant by him. Her cousins forces Malachy to marry Angela. After they are four months married, Frank is born. A year later Franks gets a brother, Malachy. And a couple of years later, his mother gives birth to Eugene and Oliver, they are twins.
Franks father drinks constantly and loses jobs. He spends his wages at the pub, and as a result the family has no money to buy dinner or clothes.
Frank likes a story about an Irish warrior named Cuchulain (his father told him this story), he says it is his story and no one else has to know it.
After a couple of years Angela gives birth to a daughter, Margaret. After her birth Frank’s father stopped drinking for a while. But Margaret dies, her death is heartbreaking for everyone, especially for Angela. Angela gets depressed and neglects her children. And Frank’s father starts drinking again. Mrs. Leibowitz and Minnie McAdorey, their neighbors try to help the family, but the situation doesn’t improve. So they decide to inform Angela’s cousins. The cousins write to Angela’s mother, they ask her to pay the passage back to Ireland. Frank’s grandmother pays the passage and they are going to Ireland.
Chapter 2
The family goes to Malachy’s parents in Country Antrim, Northern Ireland. But they can’t stay there so they go to Dublin. Frank’s father goes to the office of a man in charge of IRA pension claims, but the man refuses to give him any money. The family has no place to stay, so they sleep ad police barracks. The next day, they are told that the police have raised money for the family.
Frank’s father shows Frank a statue of Cuchulain in Dublin.
The family goes to Angela’s mom and she helps the family to find a room. Angela’s family doesn’t like her husband, because of his weird look and because he comes from the north.
The family has no money so the go to St. Vincent de Paul Society for charity. They do get some money and coupons for supplies.
Oliver becomes ill and dies. The McCourt’s move into another room, because they can’t endure the pain of the memories of playing Oliver in this room. Frank and Malachy start school.
A couple of months later Eugene dies also.
Chapter 3
The family moves again (still in Limerick). When they move into their new place, the McCourts discover that eleven families use the lavatory that’s built next to their house. The family gets less money from public assistance because Oliver and Eugene died.
Frank’s father takes himself off on long walks into the countryside and looks for work. When he does find work, he drinks away his earnings.
One day the first floor of their house has flooded. The family moves into the upstairs room, which they call ‘’Italy’’ because it is dry and warm. It’s Christmas. The family has no money for a decent dinner. So they eat a pig’s head. One night they meat Pa Keating, the husband of Aggie (Frank’s aunt), he gives them coal to cook the dinner.
Angela gives birth to a baby, Michael. Frank’s father says the baby was left by an angel on their seventh stair. Later he talks to this angel about school etc.
Frank wants to become an adult as soon as possible so that he can “understand everything.”
Frank’s father gets a job. But again, he doesn’t take his wages home and loses his job.
Chapter 4
Frank becomes friends with Mikey Molloy, who has crossed-eyes and lives in Frank’s neighborhood. Mikey’s mother is often admitted to the lunatic asylum because his father drinks away all of their money. It’s almost Easter and Frank’s First Communion is about to take place. After his First Communion he throws up in his grandmas’ backyard. Because he vomited the wafer, his grandma says she has ‘’God in her backyard’’. She forces Frank to confess to the church.
Chapter 5
Bill Galvin moves into the house of Frank’s grandmother. Frank delivers him every day lunch at the limekiln for some money. One day he eats from Bill’s lunch, now he has to deliver the lunch without pay (2 weeks). Frank’s parents get false teeth.
Franks has to take dance lessons, Angela wants him to dance. But he doesn’t like it and skips the lessons. He spends the money for the lessons on movies and candy. He invents his own dances so his parents will think he goes to the dance lessons. But finally the teacher sends his parents a note asking where he has been.
Frank wants to become an altar boy. But the man of the church says there is no room and slams the door.
Chapter 6
Mr. O’Neill, Frank’s teacher, gives his apple peel to the bow who correctly answers his difficult question. Frank has a boy in his class named Fintan which goes to church every day. One day Fintan shares his apple peel (which he got from Mr. O’Neill) with Frank, Paddy and Quigley (classmates).
Fintan invites Frank and Paddy to his house to eat something. They go with him and eat sandwiches. Fintan is a little bit strange, he goes with Frank and Paddy to the bathroom and says he likes to look at them. Fintan invites the boys to go lunch at his house, but he eats his sandwich by himself and doesn’t give something to Frank and Paddy. The boys are angry at him, and they starve. They do not return to school and steal apples and milk from a farm.
A classmate sees Frank and says his parents are looking for him and want to kill him. Frank doesn’t go home, he goes to the house of Paddy. Paddy is very poor and his house is awful. His father is sick. But he remembers the name McCourt, he danced with Angela when they were younger. So he asks Frank to dance and he does.
The next morning Angela finds Frank. Angela recognizes Paddy’s father and they talk. He asks her to sing for him and she does.
Chapter 7
Michael is 3 years old, Frankie 9 years and Malachy 8 years. Their father still drinks their money away. Frank has a friend, Mickey Spellacy, whose siblings are very sick and dying. Each time a sibling dies he gets a week free from school. Mickey asks Frank and Billy Campbell to pray that Mickey’s sick sister will not die until September, so that Mickey can get a week off from school.
In return, Mickey promises Frank and Billy that they will be invited to his sister’s wake, where there will be food and singing and stories. But Mickey doesn’t keep his promise.
Frank helps Uncle Pat with delivering newspapers. Frank delivers the paper to an old man named Mr. Timoney, and agrees to read to him for money. Mr. Timoney served in the English army in India and married an Indian woman who was accidentally killed by a soldier. But one day Mr. Timoney is taken away because he is old and demented.
Angela gives birth to another boy, Aphonsus Joseph.
Grandpa sends his new grandson a money order for five pounds. But he goes to the pub with the money and drinks all the money away. Angela sends Frank to find his father. While searching the Limerick pubs, Frank steals a drunken man’s fish and chips. Feeling guilty for the theft, he confesses by a priest. Eventually he finds he father but he has that look in his eyes Eugene had when he searched for Oliver. So he tells his mother he couldn’t find his father.
Chapter 8
Frank is confirmed. Afterward, he gets a nosebleed that won’t stop. Franks is very sick and is diagnosed with typhoid fever. He goes to the hospital and is close to death. But days later a doctor farts in front of him, and Frank realizes that he is alive because a doctor won’t fart in front of a dying boy. Frank meets a girl in the hospital, Patricia. She lends him a history book (Shakespeare). But the two are not allowed to talk with each other. A couple of days later Patricia dies, Seamus tells him that. There is a girl in the hospital in a blue dress who brings food to the sick people. She also gives Frank some books. After 6 weeks in the hospital Frank has to learn walk again. And after 3,5 months he returns home. Frank has to repeat the fifth year because he missed so much school. He prays to St. Francis to be moved to the sixth form. The teacher wants Frank to write an essay about what if Jesus had grown up in Limerick. His essay is very good and the teacher allows him to go to the sixth class. It’s Christmas and Frank returns to the hospital for a Christmas dinner.
Some other things that happen: Finn the horse dies, the terrible lavatory, the rats and flies.
Chapters 9 and 10
Families in the lane are getting richer because the fathers are fighting in England. Also Frank’s father leaves to England. Malachy says he will sent money so they can buy food and other stuff. But he doesn’t. They really have no money now.
Frank gets an infection in his eyes and goes to the hospital again. There he sees Mr. Timoney.
When he is allowed to turn back home, he finds out that his father is still drinking all of the money away. Angela decides to go to the Dispensary.
Angela gets sick and wants lemonade. The family has no money for lemonade so Frank steels it. He also steels some other things. Angela needs to go to the hospital and the brother stay with Aggie. Malachy returns home and also their mother. But the next day Malachy goes back to England and promises to send money. He sent only one wage.
Chapter 11
Frank starts a soccer team. For their uniforms he cuts hearts out of his mother’s dress. While he was looking for the dress, he finds some old papers in the trunk. He finds out that he was born after his parents were six months married. He wonders if he was a miraculous birth. He asks Mikey if this could be true. Mikey tells him he is a bastard and is doomed. He also tells him how babies are conceived.
Frank helps his neighbor Mr. Hannon with delivering coal. His eyes are still irritated. One day Mr. Hannon’s legs are too bad to work and he stops. So Franks stops too.
Chapter 12
Frank’s father returns from England, it’s Christmas. And again, he returns to England. There is no money and the family can’t pay the rent. They have to burn one of the walls because they don’t have cohle. Frank cuts into the beam that supports the roof, Angela said him to don’t touch it. The roof collapses and the McCourts are evicted. The family go to live with Laman, Angela’s cousin.
Frank is allowed to get some books for Laman and himself.
Frank’s grandmother dies and his brother Malachy joins the Army School of Music.
Chapter 13
Angela is sleeping with Laman. The day before Frank’s cycling trip he forgets to empty Laman’s pot. They argue and Frank can’t borrow his cycle anymore. Laman beats Frank and Frank leaves the house and stays with uncle Ab.
Chapter 14
Uncle Ab doesn’t give Frank food. So Frank steals it. In the library he reads a sex manual. The librarian finds this out and orders hem to leave. Frank is ashamed he masturbates.
Frank prepares himself for the first day of work. He washes his clothes. Because he has no other clothes and it is cold he puts on an dress of his grandmother’s.
Chapter 15
Aunt Aggie buys Frank new clothes and gives him money. He starts working at the post office. At his first day he delivers a telegram to Paddy’s house. They have money now and their house is nice. Paddy’s father started working in England (after he felt better eating a sheep’s tongue). Paddy’s mother offers Frank some food. Frankie wants to save his wage so that he can go to America.
While he is delivering telegrams he also helps people. He also has sex with Theresa, who is very sick and dies. He thinks he has sent her to hell.
Chapter 16
Angela and Frank’s brother are living in Ab’s house too.
One day Frank delivers a telegram to Mr. Harrington. His wife just passed away. He forces Frank to drink sherry. When he went to get some more alcohol, Frank decides to baptize Mrs. Harrington. Mr. Harrington returns and find out what he did. Frank vomits out the window on Mrs. Harrington’s rosebushes. After this he got fired and rehired.
Frank writes bullying letters to debtors of Mrs. Finucane. He gets a lot of money with this.
He also takes exam to get a permanent job at the post office.
Chapter 17
Frank is 16 years now and goes to the pub with Pa Keating for his first pint. After this he goes home and fights with his mom, he also slaps her. The next day he confesses.
Frank starts working at Easons (protestant newspaper). Also Angela and Malachy have a job. Malachy works in England and Angela works for Sliney.
Chapter 18
Frank turned 19 years old. Frank has enough money to go to America now. He gets a lot of money of the bullying letters. When Mrs. Finucane dies he steals money from her. He throws her ledger into the Shannon so that debtors won’t have to pay back the money they owe.
The family organizes a party for Frank.
Frank leaves Ireland, and goes to America. On board on his ship he wishes he stayed in Ireland, become a post officer and provided for his mother and brothers.
He starts talking to a priest. The ship stops in Poughkeepsie. Everyone on the ship is invited to a party. Frank goes and ends up having sex.
REACTIES
1 seconde geleden