Julie+&+Young

Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt Brooklyn and Limerick 1930s

__Character List:__
 * Frank**-protagonist..story of his life
 * Malachy Sr**- Frank’s father..alcoholic
 * Laman Griffin-** Angela's cousin..sleeps with Angela
 * Angela-** Frank’s mother
 * Macnamara sisters-** Angela’s cousins..live in New York
 * Malachy Jr-** Frank’s brother.. one year younger
 * Oliver and Eugene-** younger twin brothers of Frank
 * Michael-** Frank’s younger brother
 * Alphie**- Frank’s youngest brother
 * Mikey Molloy-** Frank’s age..cross eyed school friend tells Frank everything he knows about sex
 * Pa Keating-** Frank’s uncle..gives Frank advice
 * Aunt Aggie**- Frank’s aunt, Angela’s sister
 * Grandma**- Frank’s grandmother..tries to help out
 * Ab Sheehan-** Frank’s uncle..Angela’s brother
 * Mr Timoney-** Frank’s older friend who treats him as an adult
 * Patricia Madigan**- Frank’s friend in the hospital..read poems together
 * Theresa Carmody**- Frank meets her when he gets hurt delivering and they start a relationship.
 * The Hannons-** close family to the McCourts
 * Seamus**- hospital janitor..reads poetry to Frank
 * Peter Molloy-** champion pint drinker of limerick
 * Nora Molloy**- in Angela’s position but frequently visits the insane asylum

Summary Frank McCourt starts out telling the life of his parents as they grew up and got married in New York. The family starts in New York and soon moves to Ireland when frank is still young. The children of the McCourts are not healthy and either die early or are sick throughout their lives The living conditions of the McCourts in Limerick are described as a depressing place to live as it is always wet and dreary around. The houses they live in are not healthy living environments but have to try and live through it because it is all they can afford with Malachy Sr being an alcoholic and spending his pay at the pub every night. Eventually Angela realizes that the family is not being supported and must go on a dole which will be money given to them to support them with things they need and nothing extra. Malachy takes this opportunity to use the dole on his drinking as well as his pay and the family is left with nothing. When the family arrives in Ireland the greetings from most of their family is unwelcoming. Aunt Aggie is married to Pa Keating but the two got into a fight and Aggie has been living with Grandma. After the deaths of children Malachys drinkning problem worsens. Angela decides that they must move into a house on Roden Lane after Eugene’s death because the house reminds her of him too much and they receive furniture from The St. Vincent de Paul Society. After the house has flooded the family moved up to the second floor which they call Italy because it is warm and dry. While Frank goes to school he learns many things from Mikey Molloy and goes to confession for thinking he must be sinning for knowing dirty things and stories. When he goes to confession the preist relieves him of his sins and he feel better. Frank has grown to like his faith but is not as involved as other kids in his class. When he asks to be an altar boy he is turned down. Frank is also told to take Irish dancing lessons during his schooling and instead he goes to movies and uses the money meant for the lessons on snacks and movie tickets. When he comes home from the lessons he should have been at he makes up dances to show his parents. During this time Malachy is still drinking and Angela gives signals to her children to ignore their father. Frank decides to take up an opportunity with a job as a paperboy but he is poorly paid and is working under terrible conditions. In the summer Angela has a baby boy and names him Alphonsus, which Malachy hates. Grandpa has money for the new grandson so Frank and Malachy Jr go with Malachy to collect the money which is spent on alcohol in the pub after Malachy orders the sons to go home. The year Frank is confirmed he gets Typhoid fever. While at the hospital Frank meets the janitor Seamus and a girl Patricia who he befriends but then dies of diphtheria. Frank continues to read books after Patricia dies and it becomes a great skill he aquires when he goes back to school and must be held back for missing so much time but writes an essay to allow him to move up to the next grade with his friends. Angela is now done with having children and Malachy is upset that she is not fulfilling her wifely duties. Angelas threatens to leave Ireland and find work but Malachy leaves instead and never returns any money as other family’s have been receiving. Rank becomes ill with conjunctivitis and Grandma blames it on the reading he has been doing. As Angela then becomes sick the boys start to steal and do whatever they can to help their mother and family survive. Frank starts a soccer team and he becomes a great player when he scores the winning goal at a game. The Red Harts of Limerick have been named after a dress Frank found of his mothers and cut out the fabric in heart shapes. Frank then gets another job helping Mr Hannon deliver coal. Mr Hannon’s legs have been hurting for a while and frank is needed for assistance delivering. Mr Hannon encourages Frank to live the life he wants and to be successful. From then on Frank dreams of America and can not wait to get there and start a life of hid own. Because Malachy has not been sending home his pay, the family is yet again suffering because of him and the house rent is four weeks behind and Angela does not have the money to pay the rent. While Malachy is away Angela begins sleeping with Lama Griffin and Frank is knowledgable about it but does not bring it up. When there is a cycling trip coming up with his friends, Farnk persuades Laman to allow Frank to take his bike but the day before the trip Frank does not empty the chamber pot of Lamans and is not allowed to take the bike and leaves to live with Ab Sheehan. While at Ab Sheehan's house Michael is sent to give Frank food and ask that he comes home. Frank refuses to come home but feels guilty becuase he knows his brother is hurt. Ab has not been giving frank food so he is forced to steal milk and bread from rich houses. he then goes on to be a beggar in his words and is ashamed of himself. the day before his frist day working as a messenger boy, he washes his clothes and before he does to bed they are still not dry so he puts on a dress of his grandmothers to wear to bed. When Pa gets home and sees frank in the dress, frank tells im that things at Ab's house are not good and he is going to save to buy a house for his mom and brothers. Frank goes to wrok on his fourteenth birthday and learns the limitations of his job wil make it harder for him to get a house sooner. The first stop Farnk makes is to Paddy Clohessy's mothers house. whe he arrives he noitices it has changed alot since last he saw with new furniture and paint on the walls. She says Paddy has actually been sending money back home and has been the reason for the big changes at her house. When Frank gets paid his first pound he is happy since it is the first one he has had and spends it on food and movies with Michael. After he spends the money on Michael Frank decides that he is now going to save money each week until he has enough to leave for america when he turns twenty. When school started again, Michael moves into Ab's house with Frank and none long after so does Angela. now that angela is living with him, Frank must give most of his pay to her to suport her but still loves his job. One day on the job he meets Theresay Carmody when he delivers a telegram to her house, she notices that he is wet and he has been injured from falling off his bike so she cleans him up and they have sex on her couch. this turns into a relationship between the two until she dies from being ill. Frank goes back to confession again to confess the terrible thigns he has been doing and the relationship he had with Theresa. The preist once again forgives Frank and tells him to pray for theresa's soul. the next telegram he delivers to Mr Harrington who had been drinking and is depressed by a loss of his wife. Frank begins drinking with Mr Harrington and then he shoves a ham sandwich into his mouth making Frank throw up out the window and escape through the saem window. becuase of this incident Mr Harrington tries to get Frank fired but it does not happen becuase of a letter written by the preist. Franks next delivery involves him writting nasty letters to debtors of Mrs Brigid Finucane and makes them pay. Frank does not know that the people he is writting to are people that he and angela are famioliar with and angela does not approve the behavior at all. it gets to be Franks sixteenth birthday and he goes the the pub for his first pint. when he gets home, drunk, he gets into a fight with Angela about Laman and ends up telling her that he knows and hits her. Frank goes to confession and tells the priest about everything that has troubled him and the priest says that god has forgiven him so he should forgive himself now. Frank then starts a job delivering The Irish Times which is a protestant newspaper and works with Peter and Eamon. One day while delivering they find an article that is banned by the government so they decide to steal a couple of them and sell them illegally and make profit off it. Angela has a new job as well working at a house of an old man Mr Sliney, when Frank goes to meet him he also gets a job there and continues dreaming of America. Malachy Jr who has been working at a Catholic private school has just been fired for looking too happy at work where he was told to be sad. Over threee years Frank continues to work delivering papers and writting letters for Mrs Finucane. he saves enough money to go to America and the night before he leave the family ha s aparty for him. when he sees the coastline of New York and the Statue of Liberty he knows how fortunate he is to be in New York.

__Themes:__ the unfortunate things in life, alcoholism affecting the family, the results of people's actions

__motifs__: guilt, passed on family history, poverty, alcoholism, family ties, relationships, faith, hope

__AP Question:__ Behavior or habits of friends and family can affect people around them. Think of and explain how people may be influenced by others' habits, would it be easier or more difficult to resist the temptations of the habit to become a better or worse person.

A Tales of Two Cities, Charles Dickens London, Paris and outskirts Charles Darnay- Protagonist, French nobleman by birth, husband of Lucie Manette, accused of treason Dr. Alexandre Manette - French Physician, imprisoned for 18 years at Bastille, rescued by her daughter Lucie Manette Darnay- Daughter of Dr. Manette, wife of Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton- A barrister or lawyer, resembles Darnay Monsieur Ernest Defarge- Wine seller in Paris, past servant of Dr. Manette, leader of revolutionaries Madame Therese Defarge- Wife of Ernest, a cruel and vengeful woman Mr. Jarvis Lorry- Official of Tellson’s Bank, friends of Manette family Jeremy Cruncher- Odd-job man, sits outside the bank in the day and body snatcher at night Miss Pross- Lucie’s English nurse Marquis St. Evremonde- Darnay’s uncle C. J. Stryver- Successful lawyer, employs Carton, defends Darnay John Barsad- Miss Pross’s brother, Police spy in England, Prison Spy in France, Roger Cly- Police spy in England, testifies against Darnay Gabelle- Steward of Evremonde family

The story begins in 1755. Mr. Jarvis Lorry accompanies Lucie Manette to Paris. Mr. Lorry notifies Lucie that her father, Dr. Manette, is still alive in a prison called the Bastille. Lucie is shocked to hear this news and when they reach Paris, they go to the house of Monsieur Defarge. Defarge is a wine seller who served Dr. Manette and has taken care of him since his release. Dr. Manette spends majority of his time making shoes which was a habit he learned in prison. They take him back to London and plan to nurture him back to health. Then the story flashes forward to 1780. Charles Darnay is a Frenchman who is accused of being a traitor and spy against England. Lucie and her father are witnesses for the prosecution. They have met Darnay while traveling from Calais to Dover. There are many eye witness that have testified that Darnay is a spy. However, Sydney Carton points out that Darnay and himself resemble each other. The jury agrees and believes there is a mistake of identity and Darnay is set free. As, years go on, both Darnay and Carton both start to have feelings for Lucie Manette. Lucie Manette chooses to marry Darnay because Carton is a lawyer who wastes his life on drinking and idling. Darnay on the other hand is a French aristocrat who renounced his roots and lives in London. Marquis St. Evremonde is Darnay’s uncle who is very cruel to others. He has killed a child on the streets and refused the aid of widow. That night he is murdered. The French Revolution has reach its turning point with the storming of the Bastille. Darnay and Lucie are happily married with a child during this time. However, Darnay hears that Gabelle has been captured and Darnay attempts to return to Paris to rescue his servant. Yet, Darnay gets caught, forcing Lucie, the daughter, and Dr. Manette to rescue Darnay. Dr. Manette convinces the people that Darnay is innocent. Darnay is releases but later put back to prison because of Madame Defarge. Madame Defarge has a grudge against Darnay’s uncle because of the things he did to her family. Darnay is sentenced to death and Lucie and her daughter are endangered because of the connection. When it seems like there is no hope, Sydney Carton decides to sacrifice his life in order to save Darnay. With the help of Mr. Lorry, they drug Darnay to get him out of the prison so Carton could take his place. Darnay’s family flee back to London and Carton gives up his life because he has to fulfill a promise with Lucie. Carton has done a noble deed and he believes they will always have him in their hearts.

Themes There is possibility in resurrection on a personal level and society level. A sacrifice is essential for happiness Unnecessary bloodshed was displayed in the French revolution There will always be a class struggle between the rich and the poor Vengeance is unavoidable

Motif/Symbols Doubles Imprisonment Irony Knitting The Broken Whine Cask