Ma.

Alejandra Sandoval P
20101165058
LITERATURE IN ENGLISH I


ANGELAS ASHES WRITTEN ANALYSIS

1. Point out five instances in the life of the writer Frank Mc Court:
Frank McCourt lived in New York with his parents and four younger
siblings: Malachy, born in 1931; twins Oliver and Eugene, born in 1932; and a
younger sister, Margaret, who died just seven weeks after birth, in 1935.

Frank McCourt himself nearly died of typhoid fever when he was 11.

In October 1949, at the age of 19, McCourt left Ireland, using money he had saved
from a post office job.

In 1951, McCourt was drafted during the Korean War and sent to Bavaria for two
years initially training dogs, then as a clerk. Upon his discharge from the US Army,
he returned to New York City, where he held a series of jobs on docks, in
warehouses, and in banks.

Frank Mc Court graduated in 1957 from New York University with a bachelor's
degree in English. He taught at six New York schools, including McKee Vocational
and Technical High School.
2. Explore:
a. Religion (Catholics/ Protestants)
Catholics: It is among the oldest religious institutions in the world and has played a
prominent role in the history of Western civilization. The Catholic hierarchy is headed by
the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one true
Church founded by Jesus Christ. It additionally teaches that its bishops are
the successors of Christ's apostles and that the Pope is the sole successor to Saint
Peter who has apostolic primacy.
This religion is shown in the film through the family of Franks mom and through Irish
traditions. Along the film is seen how the Catholic Church is presents in each stage in the
Franks life. The influence is so huge that Frank sees in saints and priests confidants of his
private life.
Protestants: Encompasses forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with
doctrines and religious, political, and ecclesiological impulses of the Protestant Reformation,
against what they considered the errors of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the film Protestantism is shown through Franks father, I am not sure at all about the
religion of Malachy McCourt, but Angelas mother in a scene from the film makes a
comment about the religion of him. On the other hand, the Protestantism has its origin en
German but has more followers in America, where Frank was born, where wanted to go
back (to live the American Dream). So, is noticeable a clash between two cultures the
American and the Irish, the clash between languages, customs, behaviors, I think such
attitudes towards American culture derived from a strong belief in Ireland to be independent
of the United Kingdom.
b. Politics (Rep. of Ireland/Northern Ireland/ IRA)
Republic of Ireland
Ireland is a constitutional republic with a parliamentary system. Parliamentary system is a
system of democratic governance of a state in which the executive branch derives its
democratic legitimacy from, and is held accountable to, the legislature (parliament) of
government. TheOireachtas is the bicameral national parliament composed of the President
of Ireland and the two Houses of the Oireachtas: Seanad ireann (Senate) and Dil
ireann (House of Representatives). ras an Uachtarin is the official residence of the
President of Ireland, while the houses of the Oireachtas meet at Leinster House (the
national parliament of Ireland) in Dublin.
Northern Ireland
The main political divide in Northern Ireland is between Unionists or Loyalists, who wish to
see Northern Ireland continue as part of the United Kingdom,
and Nationalists or Republicans, who wish to see Northern Ireland join the rest of Ireland,
independent from the United Kingdom. These two opposing views are linked to deeper
cultural divisions. Unionists are predominantly Protestant, descendants of mainly Scottish,
English, Welsh and Huguenot settlers as well as Old GaelicIrishmen who had converted to
one of the Protestant denominations. Nationalists are overwhelmingly Catholic and descend
from the population predating the settlement, with a minority from Scottish Highlanders as
well as some converts from Protestantism.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA)
It was an Irish republican revolutionary military organization. It was descended from the Irish
Volunteers, an organization established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter
Rising in April 1916. In 1919, the Irish Republic that had been proclaimed during the Easter
Rising was formally established by an elected assembly (Dil ireann), and the Irish
Volunteers were recognised by Dil ireann as its legitimate army. Thereafter, the IRA
waged a guerrilla campaign against British rule in Ireland in the 191921 Irish War of
Independence.
In the film Malachy McCourt (Franks dad) claims he belonged to the Irish Republican Army;
however official records or documents were not found of his role in the armed.
3. Discuss:
a. Family ties
Franks family was a strict family but they were a helpful family, except for his father who
was it was a worthless person.
b. Setting (city, neighborhood, house, other)
The film started in New York City's Brooklyn, due to the Great Depression they moved to
Dublin, then to Limerick. The neighborhood where they lived was poor, children went dirty
and neighbors did not have the best dresses. The Mc Court house was located right in the
place where neighbors wastes were thrown, it was unhealthy, the first floor was flooded
and the walls could be broken easily.
c. Social (Hunger, poverty, unemployment, illnesses)
Children cried and stole for food, died for ill messes such as typhoid. That as consequence
of hygiene conditions was not the best in poor homes where families had to live in houses
of low-budget, with furniture used by others, who probably could have suffered any disease.
The situation of employment was not the best. The more common and accessible job was in
mines, working with carbon in exchange for a few coins. However, other with a basic study
a person could play as a mailman.


REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_McCourt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church