Quotes From Angela's Ashes

The difficult circumstances in Ireland during the great depression and WW2 not only affected the lives of adults but also shaped the lives of children. Frank McCourt displays this in his memoir, Angela’s Ashes, where young Frank experiences hardships such as not possessing a stable father figure and living in poverty which cause Frank to grow up ahead of time. Through his memoir Frank McCourt proves that when children are brought up in tough circumstances, they are forced into positions of responsibility at an early age.

Alcoholism and pride prevents Frank's father to provide essential necessities for his family and be a proper father figure to his children. This drives Frank to act as the man of the house on several occasions. To begin with,

For instance, when there is no food and Frank’s mother is sick, Frank has to resort to stealing food in order to feed himself and his family. After stealing bread and lemonade from Kathleen O’Connell’s shop he reflects “I'm worn out trying to make ends meet, keeping the home fires burning, getting lemonade for Mam and bread for my brothers”(240). This shows that even at the age of 11 Frank is able to cope with his circumstances.He is willing to do anything necessary to take care of him and his family even if that means exhausting himself. Continuing, Frank’s need for money also forces him to make adult like decisions.“I write five more letters and she gives me money for stamps. On my way to the post office I think, Why should I squander money on stamps when I have two legs to deliver the letters myself in the dead of night?”(332) Again Frank is ready to do whatever possible to save money and even go the extra mile. He is motivated and quite intelligent for his age to be able find ways to be responsible with his money, in his circumcumstances. Furthermore, due to poverty Frank gets several jobs in an effort to support his family, even when the job is injurious to his health. After Frank’s mom tells him to quit delivering coal because of its harmful effects to Frank’s eyes, Frank replies “I want the job. I want to bring home the shilling. I want to be a man” (261).This quotation just portrays Frank’s determination to help out his family even if it means risking his own health. Frank almost feels that he is obligated and responsible to help improve his family’s conditions at all