Drinking In Angela's Ashes

“People everywhere brag and whisper about the woes of their end years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; and the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire (McCourt 11). Angela’s Ashes showed the reader how much alcohol can influence the lives of a family and what it can do to help ruin the lives of everyone it influences. Alcohol plays a big role with the Irish and many of them will do anything just to be able to drink. For Irish, the tradition of drinking is the reason that many Irish families are living in poverty and the tradition is also the reason that Malachy’s family is starving and unable to live in a stable environment. For many Irish families, drinking is a way

One in eleven children say that alcohol has a negative impact on their lives (Alcohol Action). “Children have common symptoms such as low self-esteem, loneliness, guilt, and feelings of chronic depression. COAs have problems in school and the disruptive life will prevent them from studying. COAs also often have high levels of tension and stress. They feel responsible for the problems of their alcoholic parents and this will result in them feeling excessively self-conscious (Parsons). In the memoir, Frank recalls the times where his father would wake them up to promise to die for Ireland at very early times in the morning. He says, “it means he had a good day, that he is now falling down drunk and ready to get us out of bed, line us up and make us promise to die for Ireland, unless Mam tells him to leave us alone or she’ll brain him with the poker” (McCourt 95). Alcoholism will disrupt the lives of the alcoholic and every part of his or her family and it especially has many severe effects on the children of the

He does not keep a job and he always spends the dole money instead of buying food or clothes for his children. In the book Frank states, “He makes his way downstairs with the candle, sleeps on a chair, misses work in the morning, loses the job at the cement factory, and we’re back on the dole again” (McCourt 112). He also spends all money that his family receives for help at the pub when he should be feeding his starving children. In the book, Malachy moves to England to work in factories so he can send money back to his children. But instead, he sleeps on park benches and drinks all the money away. Also, Malachy only sent one telegram to his family from England after he heard Angela was very sick. In the memoir Frank states, “the next Saturday there's no telegram, nor the Saturday after nor any Saturday forever (McCourt 249). Malachy was a good parent and he was there to help his children, but his habit of drinking caused many issues for him and made it so he lost a lot of respect from his children. Lastly, he fit the stereotype like many of the other Irish, but he tried to stop when his daughter was born. He did not have success once she died, he drank more and this proved to be the downfall for Malachy in the