Angelas ashes essay Essays

Angelas ashes essay Essays Angelas ashes essay Essay Angelas ashes essay Essay Among those who the family looks to for help in Aunt Aggie, the miserly sister of Franks mother, Angela. Aunt Aggie, like many of the family members and neighbors we meet in the book, becomes a parent-like figure to young Frankie and his even younger siblings, but a habitually cruel and unsympathetic one at that. Upon meeting Aggie we quickly realize that she is resentful of the McClure children, and even more so their father, Malay, for being an irresponsible father and husbands who fails to provide for his family and puts their troubles in her hands. When the Monocots move to Limerick to be close to Emily in Ireland, Aggie barks and complains about how inconvenient it is for her to have her sisters family so close by and always asking for favors (e. G. Sleeping at Grandmas for the night and having some of her porridge). At one point, when Angela becomes very ill, Frankie even says that he is afraid to ask his aunt whether or not his mother would die like his baby sister because she would bite his head off (Page 62). While in these first few chapters Aunt Aggie seems cold hearted, it doesnt take long to realize that in reality, she is jealous of Angels family, even with all their troubles. All she wants is to be blew to call these children her own, though she hardly shows it through her actions towards them. When she sees her husband, pa Keating, holding Frankers baby brother, Eugene, on his lap and playing with him Aggie begins to sob, To see Pa there with a child on his lap an me with no hope of having my own Angela with five born an one just gone an her so useless she couldnt scrub a floor an me with none an I can scrub an clean with the best and make any class of a stew or a fry (Page 73). Though Aggie never gives up her rude and unpleasant disposition, she proves her loyalty to the family by helping them through tough times. Further, while Aunt Aggie obviously never assumes the role as the mother of Frank and his siblings, inhabit maternal qualities and roles. When Eugene and Oliver, Franks younger twin brothers, die of pneumonia she is there to help prepare for the funerals. On a separate occasion, Aunt Aggie takes the McClure children under her roof and cares for them while their mother was being hospitalized for pneumonia. Prior to living with Aunt Aggie, the McClure boys and their mother were so plagued with poverty and hunger that the children had been forced to steal bread, lemonade, marmalade, and fuel from wealthier families just to survive. Aunt Aegiss house was a place where they could always be fed, though they were not indulging in the ham sandwiches and tomatoes, those were only for Aggie and Uncle Pa; instead, Frankie and his younger brothers were given thinly sliced bread and tea. Though Aunt Aggie took her sisters sons under her wing- housing them, feeding them, clothing them- in a desperate time of need, the way she treated these boys was at times traumatic. Aggie often abuses the children both verbally and physically. She losses her temper and ends up screaming at them, tormenting them, calling Frankie Scabby eyes and telling him [Youre] he spitting image of your father, [you have] the odd manner And so on (Page 247). She often beats them, forces them to stand outside naked, cold, and wet, makes them to scrub their bodies until their skin is raw. At one point, Frankie becomes so miserable that he tries to give himself pneumonia so that he can escape Aunt Aggie and live in the hospital. Malay runs away after being beaten for asking for bread, to which Aggie responded Well, I suppose he ran away. Good riddance. If he was hungry hed be here. Let him find comfort in a ditch. (Page 248). In a shocking turn of events, Aunt Aggie begins to show a real soft side award Frankie when he asks to move back in with her so that could better maintain a job as a telegram boy. He says he wants the job so that he can get on his feet and find a decent place for his family to live where he can care for his mother and brothers. Aggie responds by saying Well, thats more than your father would do. (Page 308). Aggie then proceeds to accompany Frank on his walk to the job interview, she buys him new and more presentable clothes that he can wear for the job, and gives him money for a birthday snack. Believe that Aunt Aegiss change of heart comes from the fact that he realized Frankers determination at such a young age to do better than his father; Frank wished to work and provide for his family rather than spend the money selfishly and rely on others to take care of his family for him. Frank Monocots Angels Ashes sheds a light on family values through multiple lenses, however believe the relationship between Aunt Aggie, Frank, and the other Monocots exemplifies the idea that family, at times, is truly all you have to count on, especially in times of hardship. Aunt Aggie, who seemed cold-hearted throughout almost the entire book, was really just tired f being taken advantage of by fault of Malay Sir. Who habitually dragged his family deeper and deeper into poverty, and forced them to live off the resources of Aunt Aggie, along with other family members and neighbors. While her resentment of Malay does not in any way justify the way she treated the children prior to their ability to work and at least partially provide for themselves, her cruel attitude Stems not from hatred Of the children, but jealousy for having a big family, bitterness that she has to take care of children who she cannot call her own, and fear of being taken advantage of.