Comparing 'Glass Castle And Angela's Ashes'

One 's perspective on an event can completely alter their way of life, and their levels of happiness. This in turn, will have a domino effect on their children, causing them to adapt the same way of looking at life. The power that lies within parents hands to shape their children is very important. In “Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls and “Angela 's Ashes” by Frank McCourt, it is evident that the parents way of seeing the reality that is their poverty directly affects their children. In the memoirs, Jeanette and Frankie are both able to conquer previous struggles, but Jeanette is able to do so in a more happy manner since her parents are unable to face the reality of their poverty and therefore transform her life into one long adventure, ingrained

Frankie 's parents can clearly see and accept the horror that is their poverty. This installs a hopelessness within them, seeing that they may never escape this undying poverty, so why bother trying. Both Angela and Malachy immediately turn to smoking and drinking respectively as a result of this desperation as a way to dull the pain that they feel. Not only are they dulling the pain of the obvious poverty that they face, but also the many children that pass away while living in Limerick; “The doctor leaves. My mother turns to the wall and doesn 't make a move or sound. The twins are awake, crying with the hunger, but Dad stands in the middle of the room, staring at the ceiling. His face is white and he beats on his thighs with his fists. He comes to the bed, puts his hand on my head. His hand is shaking. Francis, I 'm going out for cigarettes” (Mccourt 36). Each time a child dies, depression from the McCourt parents builds, which forces Frankie and his siblings to care for themselves more than usual. Another effect of the death of the child is Malachy 's relentless drinking, and Angela 's smoking. However, this has a domino effect on the remaining people in the family since they would spend the few dollars that they managed to scrape up on cigarettes and alcohol; “There may be a lack of tea or bread in the house but Mam and Dad always manage to get the fags, the Wild Woodbines. They have to have the Woodbines in the morning and anytime they drink tea (McCourt 138).” It is obvious that the smoking and drinking are detrimental to the family, but the McCourts trap themselves in an endless loop. Each time something unfortunate occurs, things go from bad to worse when this sadness or hopelessness prompt the parents to spend more money on their habits (addictions), making conditions significantly worse for their children