Frank McCourt- author, narrator and protagonist of Angela’s Ashes- tells the story of his life and the hardships he faces in a lower class family. He talks of his mother and her alcoholic husband, Malachy, and his failure to provide for the family. In search of a better life, The McCourts move back to Ireland where another series of misfortunes occurs, and Frank records these and talks of how he grows through them. With an alcoholic father, a depressed mother and dead siblings Frank finds himself alone and through a series of significant decisions Frank eventually manages to leave in search of a better life.
One of the first consequential decisions Frank makes is when he takes interest in story telling. He tells Malachy stories of Irish legends and of people they know, which earns Malachi’s respect, entertainment, and eventually love. In telling stories Frank keeps the mood light in the family’s difficult situation and establishes one of the reasons why story telling is so beneficial to him and his life. Story telling allows Frank to dissociate from the tragedies of his real life and take Malachy with him, which may be the very reason why they both love it so much. When Frank falls ill and finds his love of Shakespeare, his language dramatically improves, which allows for him to not only tell entertaining stories, but to tell them exceptionally. This decision to tell stories, although seemingly small at the time, defines the course of Frank’s life. In fact, without his love of story telling Frank may not have even written Angela’s Ashes in the first place.
The second important decision Frank makes, skipping to a later part of his life, is when he asked for absolution from a priest for all of his sins. In his attempt to find new life away from poverty and neglect, Frank sets his sights on America and in having his sins absolved he is finally allowed to be rid of his old life and move into a new chapter.
This small event acts as a huge turning point in Frank’s life and symbolizes a fresh start away from the pain of his previous days.
The final, most influential decision of Franks life is his move to New York. Frank feels as if his life in Ireland has been exhausted and all of his options there have been explored, and he searches for fulfillment after the death of Theresa, eventually finding it in New York. He decides to move, although having to face the pain of leaving behind his family, he knows it is best for him and eventually will be for his family. He seeks to support himself and his family. He has high expectations for his future and for the future of his family which he intends to fulfill. This seems to be a wise decision because in seeing all the struggle Frank had endured in Ireland it leaves the reader hoping he will find solace at a new home.
It seems that these three decisions all work beneficially for Frank. As we see in real life Franks memoir has struck success and this most likely never would have occurred if he had stayed in Ireland. In exploring story telling and language Frank fine tuned his writing and this allowed him to explain his life humorously as well as seriously. In finally achieving success financially Frank has fulfilled his dream of being able to take care of himself and his family. Luckily for Frank, these three decisions have had prosperous results.
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