Resumo de Angela's Ashes

Frank McCourt, the author of his memoir entitled, Angela's Ashes, describes his harsh childhood within the confines of Ireland. In this country, poverty prevails for many of its occupants and the Catholic religion is forced down their throats. On top of this, many of the fathers of such oppressed Irish families drink away the meager wages they earn at pubs. It is difficult to survive in such conditions, but McCourt describes himself as a boy who learned to live with the problems. In fact, he became quite accustomed to them and learned how to work around such obstacles. Many times, this caused Frank to commit sins condemned by the prevailing Catholic Church. It is then up to the reader to decide whether or not McCourt is immoral.As Frank's experiences are described through the eyes of a child, it is easy to understand his motives when he commits sin. For one thing, McCourt explains that his family is caught in the grasp of poverty and despair. His mother and father have hardly enough food to eat, let alone feed their many children with. Frank feels the pains of hunger, which cannot be satiated by tea and small pieces of bread, which is the only available nourishment at his ready. This is why the reader can understand when Frank steals bananas from the market, milk and butter from the rich, and anything else valuable or unguarded. Certainly the act of stealing is a disgrace and a sin, but in the circumstances described by a starving child, we can understand why he took such bold actions.Fran McCourt attends an Irish Catholic school in the county of Limerick, hoping to make something of himself someday. His father and mother encourage him to keep at it so they can see him grow up to be a mail man and make good money. Frank typically obeys them, but cannot stand his teachers at school. Most of the time they are brash and violent, so he sometimes slips away from school with friends. To skip out on school is an immoral action in itself, but, once again, the reader must support Frank's decision. Because he already suffers enough at home and is often ridiculed by his teachers, one can understand why he doesn't attend school on some days. One reason in particular is that he didn't have any food to eat for lunch, so he and a friend escaped from school to find some. They stole apples from orchards and milk straight from the cows while they were absent. This is only understandable because of Frank's innocent and child-like voice that is present as he describes this. Otherwise, these actions would certainly be frowned upon. On many occasions, Frank is actually a centered and moral child despite his difficulties. In the face of hunger, Frank once turned down an apple peel given to him by his teacher. Instead of eating it himself, he offered it to a friend in a somewhat worse situation. Also, while on his postal route as a mail carrier, he would often help the weak and elderly. As he delivered their mail, they would request for him to go to the market to get food and he always obliged. These incidents prove that Frank McCourt isn't as immoral as his actions might lead one believe. He does, in fact, suffer from poverty, but he must do all that he can to keep his family alive, even if it means stealing. His rough childhood is enough punishment for his sins. And, if that isn't severe enough, he regularly repents during confessions at church. It seems he is apologetic about his behavior, but has no regrets. Frank McCourt is just a boy trying to get by in a cruel world of poverty and his minute sins should be over-looked in the face of his circumstances.

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