Compare and contrast Frank's relationship to his mother and father in the novel, Angela's Ases.

Malachy McCourt (Sr.)

In some ways, Frank’s father can be considered the antagonist of Angela’s Ashes, because his actions keep the McCourts destitute. (As antagonist is a character or obstacle in a literary work that opposes the protagonist and causes the major conflict.) While his family suffers from crippling hunger, and his children contract diseases caused by weakness and malnutrition, Malachy drinks excessively and comes home roaring that his sons must be ready to die for Ireland.

Frank’s father drinks himself into a stupor partially to dull the pain of the deaths of his twin sons and baby daughter. But McCourt emphasizes that Malachy’s drinking is more than just a means of coping with bereavement; it is an illness that constantly jeopardizes the survival of his family. Despite the burdens that Malachy’s alcoholism places on Frank’s shoulders, Frank almost always remains loyal to his father. He treasures the times that he and Malachy sit chatting and drinking tea in front of the fire and loves his father’s way with words, his lively imagination, and his flair for storytelling.

When Malachy goes to work in England, he uses his physical distance to justify abandoning his family, leaving them without his emotional or financial support.

Angela McCourt

Despite constant poverty, a criminally irresponsible husband, and the death of three of her children, Angela is a loving mother who retains her sense of humor. Angela must sacrifice her standards of dignity and class in order to provide for her children. Still, she never lowers her expectations for her sons—she raises them to be well-behaved, conscientious, kind, and hardworking men.

Frank often reacts harshly to the measures Angela takes to help her family, condemning her for begging outside a church and later for sleeping with Laman Griffin. However, despite Frank’s hostility to some of her decisions, it is clear that Angela is simply struggling to cope under highly difficult and painful circumstances. McCourt makes it clear that Angela’s first priority is her sons’ welfare.

Readers might find surprising the fact that Frank does not outwardly condemn his father for his selfish actions; Malachy drinks away his wages, his dole, and even the money relatives sent for baby Alphie, but McCourt is not interested in airing grievances about his childhood. Rather, he aims to convey the events of his youth as he experienced them. McCourt describes Malachy as he saw him as a child—a father who came home reeling and rousting the boys out of bed, but who also sat with his sons in front of the fire, telling stories and sharing tea. The portrayal leaves us with an impression of a deep fondness, a great love between father and son.

Frank often reacts harshly to the measures Angela takes to help her family, condemning her for begging outside a church and later for sleeping with Laman Griffin. However, despite Frank’s hostility to some of her decisions, it is clear that Angela is simply struggling to cope under highly difficult and painful circumstances. McCourt makes it clear that Angela’s first priority is her sons’ welfare.