It's Not Hard to Make Decisions When You Know What Your Values Are

1640 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Decision making and its consequences

It's Not Hard to Make Decisions When You Know What Your Values Are

Roy Disney explains that "It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." This is an important theme for the characters of Stephen Dedalus from James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and of Frank McCourt from Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. The two things in life that are supposed to supply stability (parents and the church) have failed, which is why Stephen and Frank discover that only through their own self-reliance will they ever be able to experience true freedom from the forces that have bound them.

Stephen's parents let him down by not emotionally supporting him while Frank's parents do not physically support him. Right before Stephen leaves to go to the university, his father shouts out to his siblings, "Is your lazy bitch of a brother gone out yet?" (135). Stephen's father shows a lack of respect for his son by calling him lazy and goes on to imply that he is not very masculine. His father belittles him in front of his family and does not even apologize for his harsh words. Stephen's mother also disappoints him as "he had watched the faith which was fading down in his soul aging and strengthening in her eyes" (126). Stephen sees his mother choosing religion over him. His mother decides to trust the Catholic Church rather than her own son, which shows that her support is not toward Stephen. Through his parents' lack of emotional support, Stephen must look inside himself for strength.

Frank's parents support him emotionally, but they do not adequately provide the support he needs physically. Angela "hopes [Malachy] might bring home something from the farm, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, carrots, but he'll never bring ...

... middle of paper ...

...m from the church, his nation, and even his family. However, Frank soon breaks away from his family and even claims, "If my whole family dropped from the hunger I wouldn't touch this money in the post office" (333). The only ticket out of his miserable life is to save up money and move to America. Frank is finally able to put his own welfare above the expectations of his society. It is through the suppression of his individuality that forces Frank to disconnect himself from the bonds of his society.

Stephen and Frank are able to gain the courage and strength to leave Ireland and their former lives behind them due to the lack of dependability provided by their parents and the Catholic Church. From the adversity that they must overcome in their lives, Stephen and Frank are both able to achieve true freedom from the limitations that have held them down for so long.

Show More
Related

  • Similar Difficulties in "Angela’s Ashes" by Frank McCourt and "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • The Positive and Negaitves of Living in Jamaica

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Jamaica’s a country of great dichotomy. On the one hand you have a tourist industry with great beaches and resorts, but on the other you have such great poverty and the violence that goes along with that.”(Michael Franti) In this paper, I will talk about the geography, the history of Jamaica, the people that live there now and that lived there in the past, the lifestyle of the society, and the society, like the government and economy.

    Read More

  • The J-Curve Phenomenon in Jamaica: Fact or Fiction?

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    The World Bank. The Road to Sustained Growth in Jamaica. Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank, 2004. Print

    Read More

  • Homeless In The Wire Essay

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    The brothers live with their parents but they are not average parents, they are drug addicts. They aren 't only drug addicts but they steal all of Michel’s and Bug’s clothes to sell for more drug money, they also don 't purchase any food. The little money and food that they come across they take and once again, his parents either eat it or use it to buy more drugs for themselves. The brothers are basically living on their own. Their parents do not love them or provide for the brothers nevertheless the brothers are considered a burden to his parents. When Michel and Bug come home they feels scared and as if he should not be there, and that is not how one should feel at home, they should be able to walk in the door to a smiling family that shows him unconditional love and provide for him. Not steal their belongings and use what they can to buy drugs and

    Read More

  • Colonization and the Black Man's Struggle

    5468 Words  | 11 Pages

    Hart, Richard. (1999). Towards Decolonisation: Political, Labour, and Economic Development in Jamaica. Kingston: Canoe Press.

    Read More

  • Searching For Independence In Dubliners

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    James Joyce is the author of Dubliners, a compilation of Irish short stories that reflect on the feelings he associates with the city of Dublin, where he grew up in a large impoverished family. After he graduated from the University College, Dublin, Joyce went to live abroad in Paris, France. This action indicates a sense of entrapment that led to his desire to escape. The situations in his stories differ significantly, but each character within these stories experiences this sense of escape that Joyce had. In “An Encounter”, two boys make their first real move at being independent by skipping school to explore Dublin. In “Eveline”, the main character has a choice between taking care of her unstable father or leaving him to lead a new life with a man she has been seeing. In Joyce’s story, “The Dead,” a young man is thrown into deep human assessment, becomes unsure of who he is, and soon after is frightened of this newly discovered truth. The stories in Dubliners implicate this need for independence through characters in different situations and experiencing the feeling of entrapment.

    Read More

  • Acupuncture Essay

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many centuries, humanity has been on an eternal quest for cures and treatments for many chronic conditions. At the present time, conventional medicine is mostly performed by doctors and other health care professionals, with the extensive use of pharmaceutical drugs, surgery or radiation treatments for disease treatment. Conversely, even though not as popular, complementary and alternative medicine and treatment options are slowly gaining popularity and becoming an addition to traditional medicine.

    Read More

  • Analysis: The Other Side Of The Bridge

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    For example, his mother. In the text, it says, “This time, struggling with the shaking of her voice, she said, ‘Darling, you do not know what it has been like, all these years.’ By which he understood, finally, that he was not important to her. Not that important” (66). Ian always assumed that his mother’s personality was nothing more, and when she announces that she will be leaving with another man, Ian feels betrayed by her. He does not accept her for putting her own happiness before family, an action he expects any good mother should. Ian also knows that his father wants Ian to stay with him in Struan, even if he says he wants Ian to do what he wants and does not want to tie him down. He thinks to himself, “He looked exhausted. Was he ever going to get over it? And if he didn’t, how could Ian leave him? The thought swamped him with guilt, and the guilt made him angry. You shouldn’t have to feel pop guilty about living your own life. You shouldn’t have to be responsible for your parents’ happiness. It wasn’t fair” (110). Although Ian knows his father is trying his best, he still feels burdened by the pressure his father needs to endure and blames his mother for leaving him. Ian tries his best to do his part and help out at the clinic, but he feels like his own happiness is obstructed by the need to help his

    Read More

  • Dysfunctional Family: The Hoover Family

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    He starts to really care for Dwayne because they both have depression in common. At one point in the movie, Frank and Dwayne were having a conversation and Dwayne mentioned he wished he could sleep till he was 18 so he could skip all the bad parts of high school. Frank then quotes a French writer, “When it gets down to the end of your life and you look back at all those years that you suffered, you will realize those were the best years of your life because they made you into the strong person you are now”. Frank and Dwayne then continued to talk about the struggles of life. Is seems to me the way Frank can reflection on his own depression can really help others. It shows that he understands what he did and that he will handle it differently next time. There were no blatant biological and psychological stressors that influenced Frank’s depression. There was no indication of past family medical problems that would have made him susceptible but according to Beck’s therapy Frank probably inherited a genetic disposition that made him susceptible to depression. If Frank wasn’t predisposed, he could have handled all of the bad events without getting mad and impulsive. He could have had a positive outlook instead of going into deep depression and trying to kill himself. The social-cultural/environmental stressors were the primary influences that cause his depression. He believed he was a full grown adult and was supposed to have his life together but it was the complete opposite. He had a romantic failure, a career disappointment, he lost his job, his homosexuality stigma, and then he lost his apartment. For most of the movie he was handling his depression really well, but it wasn’t until he ran into is ex-student/lover that his improved mood started to spiral back downward into a depressed mood. This showed he still has

    Read More

  • Jamaica: Land of Inspiration

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jamaica is full of diversity. From religion, to ancestry, and even geography, Jamaica is always evolving. From the towering mountains all the way to the warm and sandy beaches, Jamaica is a sight to see. However, Jamaica was not always a happy and carefree place. The Jamaican people have suffered from war, disease, and slavery. Jamaica is a small and beautiful country that thrives with culture and should be studied by everyone around the world.

    Read More

  • Constraint

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    Society has always had an influence on the way people think and act. Many beliefs and actions viewed as unique are many times shunned upon by members of society. This constraint on being an individual is explored in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Joyce’s “The Boarding House.” Both authors show how society’s constraints put stress on individuals’ lives. In some cases this stress is good for the characters, but for some characters society’s constraints are too much.

    Read More

  • Religion and Stephen in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Stephen grows, he slowly but inexorably distances himself from religion. His life becomes one concerned with pleasing his friends and family. However, as he matures he begins to feel lost and hopeless, stating, "He saw clearly too his own futile isolation. He had not gone one step nearer the lives he had sought to approach nor bridged the restless shame and rancor that divided him from mother and brother and sister." It is this very sense of isolation and loneliness that leads to Stephen's encounter with the prostitute, where, "He wanted to sin with another of his kind, to force another being to sin with him and to exult with her in sin.

    Read More

  • Feminism And The Suffrage Movement

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... assuming responsibility to actively give up the privileges bequeathed by these systems,…U.S. feminists embark upon dismantling” (Elkholy, 2012) these institutions. The only confusion left is in the fight “against systems of domination and exploitation” (Elkholy, 2012). Those suffering from ‘mostly’ examined racism would say they are fighting against these systems. However, as stated before, these ‘feminists’ almost never listen to the needs and concerns of those they are trying to assist and, therefore, cannot adequately help. The best thing to do in these situations is to ask oneself: ‘Did I listen to their stories and concerns?’ and ‘Who will benefit?’. In reality, these are questions all feminists should ask themselves while helping a group with different concerns than their own. The paths traveled may be different but our end goal, general equality, is the same.

    Read More

  • Intertexual Essay

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    One cannot escape change it’s inevitable. Change happens all the time; it is a part life. Yet, even though we adjust all the time, we never realized how much our own family modified us. They alter us more than we do ourselves. They change everything in their path; even how we assess the society that surrounds us. Take Anne Frank’s family, Otto, Edith, and Margo Frank, for instance. They were of the Jewish religion, and When Adolf Hitler came into power they were treated harshly, and were abrasively discriminated along with other Jews and undesirables. Although all of the things that were happening around them the Frank family didn’t loath their society, actually all they felt was dismay because they sensed that all this was...

    Read More

  • Stephen's Journey to Maturation in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stephen's Journey to Maturation in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

    Read More

More about It's Not Hard to Make Decisions When You Know What Your Values Are

Open Document