WRITTEN – MAY 21ST 2019

María Isabel Fernández Arévalo

Film Analysis “Angela’s Ashes”

1. Frank McCourt describes how his parents met in Brooklyn, New York. After his mother,
Angela, became pregnant with Frank, she married Malachy, his father. Angela struggled
to feed her growing family of sons, while Malachy spent his wages on alcohol. Frank’s
much-loved baby sister, Margaret, died and Angela fell into depression.
The McCourts decided to return to Ireland. More troubles plagued the family in Ireland:
Angela had a miscarriage, Frank’s two younger brothers died, and Malachy continued to
drink away the family’s money.
When the first floor of the house flooded during the winter, Angela and Malachy
announced that the family would leave the cold damp of the first floor, which they call
“Ireland,” and move to the warm, cozy second floor, which they call “Italy.” Although
Malachy’s alcoholism used up all of the money for food, he earned Frank’s love and
affection by entertaining him with stories about Irish heroes and the people who lived on
their lane.
When Frank turned ten, he was confirmed. Right after his confirmation, Frank fell ill with
typhoid fever and had to stay in the hospital for months. There, he got his first introduction
to Shakespeare. Frank found comfort in stories of all kinds, from Shakespeare to movies
to newspapers. By the time he returned to school, his gift for language was obvious. In
particular, Frank’s flair for storytelling got him noticed by his teacher.

2. Malachy McCourt, his father, was from Northern Ireland while Angela Sheehan was from
Southern Ireland known as the Republic of Ireland. The conflict between Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland dates all the way back to the 17th century when Ireland wasn’t
divided. English Protestants colonized primarily in the north after England took control of
the country. A majority of Ireland were devout Catholics and did not want to be ruled by
Protestant Englishmen. In southern Ireland the Catholics fought for their freedom for eight
hundred years while the Irish Protestants in the north feared a country ruled by Catholics.
After many years of warfare between the Catholics and the Protestants, the southern
counties of Ireland became an independent republic while the north remained under British
control. Malachy McCourt was a Catholic from the North and fought for the South during
the war, but southern Irishmen still rejected him for the simple fact that he was from the
North.

3. Death. Throughout the entirety of the movie I could observe how recurrent of a topic death
was. The first scene is the death of little Margaret, which led Angela to a deep depression.
Then, the little twins –Oliver and Eugene– also die, only six months apart from each other.
 Irish Republican Army + Malachy. Malachy was always ready to die for Ireland, he often
told their sons stories about Irish heroes who had fought for their homeland.

Family ties (mother – father – children - other) Frankie endures a comical first
communion, due to his grandmother's religious superstitions.
I could see how much Frankie cared about his mother and remaining siblings, as he started
to work with an old man, helping him to distribute coal in Limerick, to bring money to the
house and be able to buy food; however, Angela rejects it and tells him to go to the movies.

Poverty. Malachy is unemployed, Angela barely gives birth to a child and then she is
pregnant again. A rising family with so many kids bring in many expenses; there is no
source of income in the family. They often face many difficult times: hunger, houses in
unsanitary conditions, flea-ridden mattresses, etc. Malachy is an alcoholic. When he found
a job and got money, he spent it all in alcohol and did not leave anything for his family.
Angela finds herself between a crowd of women desperately begging outside the church
for the priest’s leftovers.

Education system. There are some scenes where Frankie is at school. The education is
very religious and strict. Kids are often found getting physically and psychologically
punished by their teachers for not obeying certain commands.

4. A moment that struck me was when little Frankie started to work so hard to help his mother.
He carried heavy coal bulks, he got severe conjunctivitis, produced by the fumes of the
coal. He faced many hardships. His innocence and childhood were pretty much taken away
from him, having to face the deaths of his little siblings; seeing how his father was so
insolent, spending their food’s money in alcohol. Yet there was some time where he still
saw his father as a very important figure and found him almost hero-like.