From the beginning of the novel, Frank McCourt had a miserable childhood. His family lives in poverty and his alcoholic dad wastes the family’s money away. There’s always new additions to the family but they seem to never last long before famine or the cold weather takes them away. However, dealing with this in New York would be more preferable than Ireland since Frank and his brother are constantly made fun of for being Yanks by other students attending Leamy’s National School. The author directs his bitterness towards his difficult life and the people and events within it. Frank grew up with a father who spends more time and money at the pubs rather than at home with his family. From a young age he new life revolves around money; however, his family never seemed to have enough of it since all of it, if lucky only half, goes to the several pints his dad drinks. Frank resented this Irish curse that inhabits almost all of the men in Ireland. The author’s …show more content…
When a new baby would come along, he had the responsibility of taking care of his younger brothers: Malachy, Eugene, and Oliver. However, as winter began to set in Ireland Frank’s little siblings couldn’t withstand the harsh, cold temperatures. Along with the death of his little sister and brothers, Frank’s mother developed depression overtime. She was unable to provide for her family or even talk to them for awhile. There were times when neighbors had to pick up her job and help out with the kids. Frank wanted a life where he could eat and sleep with comfort, “ My mother never makes soup like this and I wonder if there’s any chance Mrs. Leibowitz could ever be my mother… There’s plenty of salt and butter in the potatoes and I wonder if there’s any chance Minnie could be my mother so that I could eat like this all the time” (38-39). McCourt was disappointed with the life he had and the parents that cared for him. He often wished things were different for