Angela's Ashes Themes

Throughout the memoir, Frank's denied many opportunities even though he's bright and willing to work hard. It seems as if the moneyed elite of Ireland have erected metaphorical security bars which...

Remember that word "abject" that you had to learn for the SAT? We'll use it in a sentence: Frank McCourt grew up in abject poverty. Hopeless, miserable, wretched poverty. Fleas, rats, flies, lice....

Winston Churchill famously said, "If you're going through hell, keep going." And even though Frank's environment might not be Dante's Inferno, it comes pretty close. But Frank never gives up. Not...

History lesson: Let's just say the trouble between the Irish and the English goes a long way back, like all the way back to the 16th century when Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Churc...

According to a 2011 census, "84% of the people of the Irish Republic described themselves as 'Roman Catholic'" (source). That's a whopping chunk of the community and the percentage was likely highe...

Frank's hungry for knowledge. Throughout the memoir, Frank is reading, writing, and learning. His parents instill in Frank a strong belief in the power of knowledge, and his teacher Mr. O'Halloran...

Alcohol use in Angela's Ashes is never good. It's always compulsive and detrimental. But it's also part of the Irish culture in Limerick. In fact, according to many of the characters it's consider...

In Angela's Ashes, McCourt tells us the story of his growing up from age four to nineteen. Unlike many memoirs, he doesn't really tell the story from the perspective of an adult looking back on hi...

From the start of Angela's Ashes Frank mentions how much he wants to be a man. The thing is he's not entirely sure what being a man actually means other than providing for the family, something hi...