Life of frank mccourt in angela's ashes novel

In the story Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, Frank, the protagonist, faces many challenges throughout his life. His decisions factor the outcomes in both good ways and bad ways. One choice he made was when he decided to stand up for his mother against his father. Another was when he decided not to let anyone belittle him because of his social status. Lastly, he also made the choice to go to America to escape class and have a better life. In the end, he was a decent man that worked hard to get where he was.

To start, Frank’s choice to stand up for his mother was a big step. For his entire life, he had a good relationship with his father. He loved going out with him and hearing his stories. After realizing how his mother reacted to his father drinking away all the money, Frank wanted to do something about it because it wasn’t right. After receiving five pounds of money for the new baby, Frank saw his father slip the money into his pocket. His father told him to go home and how he would be home in a few minutes, and immediately Frank revolted saying how it was wrong for him to use the new baby’s money to drink at the pub. Frank was too young to do anything more than yell, so he ended up giving up and going home. Gradually, he started losing hope for his father. When his father finally went away to England to make money, For example, Frank and his mother waited for his train at Christmas time and gave up waiting for him. Frank’s father eventually came but the family kicked him out for good. It was better to let go of a man that thinks himself to be too grand to even care for his family. In the end, Frank became caring about his family, even though he left in the end because he didn’t like how his mother started an affair with her cousin, Laman Griffin.

Moreover, Frank picks up the trait to not stoop to a beggar’s status, even though they are poor and can’t afford anything. When Frank and his little brother, Malachy, have holes in their shoes, their father decides to use rubber from a bike tire to cover the holes instead of buying new ones for them. While wearing those shoes the next day in school, Frank and Malachy got picked on by everyone in school. So before class, Frank decided to throw his shoes out and go on ahead barefoot. After getting beaten and scolded, his teacher returned his shoes to him and told the rest of the class that they had no right to belittle him because he couldn’t afford new shoes. Eventually, Frank realized that he would rather steal than beg. In his uncle’s home after his uncle left the table, Frank stole his chips. Also after Mrs. Brigid Finucane had died, he went into her purse and took all the remaining money from it. In hindsight, this was a bad personality trait that Frank had picked up.

Lastly, Frank was eager to leave Ireland and go to America. In Ireland, everyone judged him on social class and he was often shunned because he was dressed in rags and was dirty. For example, his father took him to learn Latin and the teacher refused. Later on, his mother tried to help him get a job and the door was shut on their faces. To him, America seemed classless where he could fit in and find his place. Eventually, Frank got a job as a postman and wrote letters for Mrs. Brigid Finucane and with that money, he went to America to join the army and became a teacher afterwards. In the end, it was a good choice personally for him because he managed to find a better life for himself.

In conclusion, Frank McCourt learned how hard life was. He had many troubling experiences that many other kids may not have had, though he managed to make it in the end. He was the sole decision maker for his life, and whatever he chose to do with his choices factored all the outcomes. McCourt grew up to be a decent man that cared for others and learned about life through his experience.