Angela's Ashes Analysis

The winter season has made its way to Ireland. Especially during this the conditions of the downstairs of Frankie's house is damp and cold. Therefore, Frankie and his family are forced to move upstairs to what they referred to as "Italy"(235). Sitting by the fire, Frankie's mom, Angela, experiences symptoms of what she believes to be a cold. Angela becomes sick, and is unable to feed Frankie and his brothers. This is an example of one of the many times Frankie and his family experienced an extreme hunger. Experiencing this himself, McCourt is able to use a variety of literary elements to enrich the context of his writing.

I feel as though Frankie is worried about his mother. Because his is worried about his mother, I believe McCourt included imagery, which contributed to the passage's tone and mood. Frankie describes his mother as she kept them awake with her "twistings and turningsÐ'.... her moaning for water"(235). With him describing it as being "cold"(235) and him mother looking "flushed"(235), I believe the mood is somewhat gloomy. By including imagery McCourt is able to develop the tone and mood of the passage.

Because Frankie is a child, many of his words are simple and straightforward. Most if not all of McCourt's words used in the passage are concrete. They are easy to understand, uncluttered, and clear. Some examples includes him saying, " I ask her if she'd like some teaÐ'..." (235) "We sit quietly by the fireÐ'..."(235) and "She drinks tea and goes to bed."(235) There aren't any unfamiliar words or usages because as a child his vocabulary isn't as great as an adult's. McCourt wrote many of his words based on the thoughts he had when he was a child.

Just as the many other words in the passage, the different parts of speech are fairly simple. This passage includes first person pronouns. Many of these pronouns are included in sentences such as, "I knowÐ'..."(235) "We sit quietlyÐ'..." (235) and "She yells at us all the time".(235) Many of the verbs used are fairly unnoticeable. Although not vivid or complex, the word "creaks"(235) is one of the verbs that catch the reader's attention. None of the adjectives or adverbs used throughout the passage is especially vivid or noticeable. These simple and understandable parts of speech are brought back to the fact of Frankie being a child.

Frankie