Angela's Ashes Group

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glakhdar
glakhdar
Student

Is Frank McCourt's decision to go into exile voluntary or involuntary? How did he depict Ireland in Angela's Ashes?

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Posted by glakhdar on Friday October 23, 2009 at 4:10 AM and tagged with angela's ashes, character, frank mccourt, theme.

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  1. parkerlee
    parkerlee Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    Inasmuch as McCourt depicts America the land of hope and opportunity in 'Tis, he describes Ireland (through his personal circumstances, mind you) as a kind of no man's land of loss and despair in Angela's Ashes. The phantoms of his past, however, follow his trail to New York, where at first he also meets with disappointment and failure before working his way to relative success.

    Despite his candor, McCourt does not seem to be embittered by his traumatic childhood in Ireland and difficult early manhood in the United States but focuses rather on the fact that people can rise above their circumstances through obstinate perserverence and sheer willpower. In retrospect, though, he more realistic than he was in his youth, understanding that disillusionment is the necessary counterbalance to an overly idealized "fairy tale" interpretation of the American dream.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/angelas-ashes/rising-from-ashes
    http://www.enotes.com/angelas-ashes/summary
    http://www.enotes.com/tis-frank-mccourt-salem/tis

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    Posted by parkerlee on Friday October 23, 2009 at 4:51 AM