McCourt Family Depression
The great depression was one of the worst economical crisis in United States, it took
place in 1930 and lasted until middle 1940s, preceding world war 2, it was the deepest,
the longest and most impressive depression of the 20th century, people went crazy
because there were not stable jobs and everyone was almost in bankruptcy. The McCourt
family was living a very hard time in New York city were Malachy and Angela met and
married, Malachy was having a lot of trouble with alcoholism, he was losing a lot of jobs
and their economical part wasn’t good, because he spent their money in pubs and alcohol
instead of spending that money in his children, Angela was in a kind of emotional
depression and their future wasn’t looking well, they had to change their environment so
they decided to go back to Ireland because the situation they were living in United States
was critical, was it their best option?
Going back to Ireland was a good idea, because in United States they were living the
great depression therefore Malachy’s problem made their situation even more critical, he
didn’t had a job and the low amount of money he had, he spent it in alcohol so it wasn’t
fair to Angela and their children, that’s the reason it was a good idea to go back to
Ireland, also because they needed a change of environment, in United States they had a
tense environment, they needed to start a new life, to settle in a different place, and I
think it was a good opportunity for Malachy to make a reflexion and erase all the bad
things he was doing and make them right in Ireland. Taking into account their main
reason to go back to Ireland was the death of their little daughter, it was a boom for their
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...ve in USA to try to start a new life with a different environment,
but sadly Malachys problem continued and it was even worst so their life was miserable
and that’s why Frank described his childhood as miserable, they had to overcome a lot of
problems and it didn’t went as they imagined.
Comparing United States and Ireland situation we can conclude that both country’s were
facing really hard times and it was difficult to identify wether it was a good idea to return
to Ireland, but I found out that it was necessary for the McCourts family to change of
environment and try to remake their life in Limerick Ireland, so I think it was a good
idea, even if it didn’t happened as they wanted, it was really difficult to identify which
option was the best but I think I gave enough arguments to demonstrate that returning
back to Ireland was the best option.
The Annesley family is important in American History because they were newcomers to Ireland who had nothing, who later started to rise with
The first barrier to a better life had to do with surviving poverty or the absence of certain privileges. In Angela’s Ashes, Frank, the protagonist of the book, along with his family had to endure persistent rains, exposure to disease and starvation. Frank and Malachy Jr. had to resort to stealing food several ...
The Irish Travelers began arriving in the United States during the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid 19th century. It is believed they are descendants of landowners and laborers who were displaced by Oliver Cromwell’s military campaign in Ireland in the 1600’s. As they maintain no written records of their history, their true heritage is still of some debate. Arriving in this country they were known as the Irish Horse Traders for their dealings in the horse trading industry. It has been suggested that as far back as their arrival they were engaging in schemes to defraud potential customers.
reader a bad impression of him. As the story moves on, there are. several places where you can see that Frank loves his father, despite his all the hard times he has put him and his family through. Malachy is constantly out of a job, leaving his family to survive. their own through poverty.
The first thing that we will look at is the Irish demographics. The Irish population had fluctuated tremendously over the years. When looking at where they came from, the highest group seems to have been coming from Dublin and Nothern Ireland, along with Kerry County, Ireland as well. Previous to the the 1840's, there were two other waves of Irish immigration in the US. According to the Colombia Guide to Irish American History, the first of the Irish immigrants came in the 1500's due to Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition and the population has continued to grow even since. The third wave began in the 1840's. From census data from US during the Gilded Age, in the 1860's the total number of Irish born immigrants were 22,926. Throughout this time, until around 1910, that number decreased. The number of I...
She was named after Angelus, which were the bells that rang at midnight to welcome the New Year. Finished ninth grade and was unable to be a charwoman her mother tells her, “You don’t have the knack of it. You’re pure useless. Why don’t you go to America where there’s room for all sorts of uselessness? I’ll give you the fare.” (15) So she later migrates to New York, where she meets Malachy. Angela becomes pregnant and her cousins talk her into marrying Malachy. From the start her life was a living hell. From the beginning Malachy drank whatever money he made not providing for Angela or her soon to be born baby. Frank was her first born, soon after she had Malachy Jr. and then a set of twin boys, before giving birth to Margaret. There was happiness after Margaret. Soon after she died Malachy Sr. went back to drinking and she became depressed leaving the care of the four boys to Frank and his brother Malachy Jr. Soon after they returned to Limerick Ireland to be close to her family... They continued to live in poverty, Malachy continued to drink and she had another baby. Despite her acceptance of a drunk for a husband it was Angela who was the only one to raise the boys to be respectful, thoughtful, kind, and hardworking. But it was also Angela who was also responsible for keeping the family poor and hungry. Soon after returning to Limerick they lost the set of twins. The weather in Ireland was cold, rainy and depressing. She begged for food to feed her family and the Church was no help because she married a man from Northern Ireland. After Malachy leaves her the last time she is unable to pay the rent, so she moves in with Laman Griffen. Frank learns of his mother sleeping with Laman. Frank forgets to empty Laman's pot and Laman tells Frank he can’t use the bicycle. Laman ends up beating on Frank and Frank leaves to live with his Uncle Ab. Upset because his mother didn’t do anything to Laman. This is one of many
Such was the environment in which droves of Irish immigrants sought to better their lives and those of their children by fleeing their homeland with its disastrous potato famines, and economic, political and religious repression. There are today descendants of the Goodwin families living in the Pawtucket area. There is certainly every likelihood that living today in Tyrone are many distant cousins.
Many of these Irish immigrants had no skills, no previous experience and no money. They also had only a few clothes and little hope as well as little education. In hopes to finding better times and opportunities, however, instead they encountered times no better than the conditions they left behind in Ireland. The living conditions were not glamorous or even comfortable. Often times t...
"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable child hood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood Is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood", writes Frank McCourt of his early life. Although Frank McCourt's autobiography, Angela's Ashes, paints a picture of both terrible poverty and struggles, this text is appealing and up lifting because of its focus on both humor and hope. McCourt's text shows the determination people living in dreadful conditions must have in order to rise above their situations and make better lives for themselves and their families. The effect of the story, although often distressing and sad, is not depressing. Frank as the young narrator describes his life events without bitterness, anger, or blame. Poverty and hardship are treated simply as if they are a fact of life, and in spite of the hard circumstances, many episodes during the novel are hilarious.
...ine”. She was forced to face vital and inevitable decision but was unable to do so. “This group is the logical outcome of the previous one in that the characters are already so injured by their experience with society that voluntary choice is almost impossible for them. Past traditions or present conventionalities immobilize them” (Walzl 4).
took the job was so that he could make more money to spend on alcohol.
After his years in the university he began experimenting with prostitutes and alcohol, and spent large amounts of money, which he claimed
which he was hardly earning enough to pay ordinary expenses at the end. He does
During the twentieth century, Ireland was suffering through a time of economic hardship. “Economic growth was stagnant, unemployment was at a historic high and exceeded anywhere in the EU, except possibly Spain, and the state was one of the most indebted in the world” . Irish men and women who had received a formal education had immigrated to other nations due to the unavailability of jobs at home. This left Ireland in a state of further economic downfall, and the lack of skilled workers left Ireland stuck. The 1990’s were a turning point for Ireland. A rise in industry within the nation, as well as an increase in exports, led Ireland to become the “shining nation” in Europe. It became internationally linked with one of the biggest power nations, the United States, and international trade became Ireland’s new source for a booming economy. This brought the rise of what was known as the Celtic Tiger in Ireland.