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Angela's Ashes: Born Into Deep Poverty During The Great Depression

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The following passage is from Angela’s Ashes written by Frank McCourt, who was born into deep poverty during the Great Depression. Read the following passage carefully and examine to what extent the author’s implication of education holds in the society today. “ Mr. O'Halloran can't lie. He's the headmaster. All these years we were told the Irish were always noble and they made brave speeches before the English hanged them. Now Hoppy O'Halloran is saying the Irish did bad things. Next thing he'll be saying the English did good things. He says, You have to study and learn so that you can make up your own mind about history and everything else but you can't make up an empty mind. Stock your mind, stock your mind. It is your house of treasures and no one in the world can interfere with it. If you won the Irish Sweepstakes and bought a house that needed furniture would you fill it with bits and pieces of rubbish? Your mind is your house and you fill it with rubbish from the cinemas it will rot in your head. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.” Education is an essential part of the modern world. In order to advance in society, many people …show more content…

For many poor people the only way they can get out of poverty is through education. The movie “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story,” based on Liz Murray’s experience of growing up with heroin addicted parents. Her parents would used their welfare money to buy heroine which Murray led to dropping out of school. She filled her mind with rubbish until one day her mom died which led Murray to pursue a better life since her mom died without changing her situation. At the age of 17 she was able to finish four years of high school work in two years. Through her pursue of education she was able to obtain a better life and made it to the Ivy League. She is now an international speaker who recently graduated from Harvard

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