... his drunk dad he can't bring himself to do it in that confused state of loyalty, anger, pity and love that children have for their fathers. Frank starts off the film by saying "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Roman Catholicism is present throughout the film, presented in much ... she was pregnant they got married. Work was hard for him to find in America since it was 1930 and the depression was in full swing. Four more kids were born in America. His sons in order of birth; Malachy, th...

• Word Count: 3537
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School

... Although the book tells the experience of an individual, the story itself is universal. Born in Brooklyn in 1930 to recent Irish immigrants Malachy and Angela McCourt, Frank grew up in Limerick after his parents returned to Ireland because of poor prospects in America. Due to the Great Depression, ... Malachy could not find work in America. Things, however, did not get any better back in Ireland for Malachy. A chronically unemployed and nearly unemployable alcoholic, he appears to be the model on which many of our more insulting cliches about drunken Irish manhood are based. Week after ...

• Word Count: 677
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... wasn't selfish in any part of the book. You can feel the intensity the moment Frank lays his eyes on America and how overpowering he feels. 2. Frank and I have one thing in common throughout the book. Both our fathers were never there to support us. Frank's father left, keeping him thinking he was never to return ... one. Angela also tries to gain her freedom from being completely dependent on her husband, who hasn't done anything for her but get her pregnant over and over and over again. Malachy, Frank's brother, receives his own sense of freedom when he goes to the Irish Army to play t...

• Word Count: 2588
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School