Memoirs of Frank McCourt¡¦s Childhood
Memoirs of Frank McCourt��s ChildhoodWhat is the meaning of life? I always asked myself this very same question every day because I often wonder what is the reason for my existence in this world. I have never learned to appreciate all the things I enjoy in life, such as health, friendship, and love. I have always taken them for granted. I have constantly wanted more out of life as though I am not satisfied with what I have. I even wonder why my life is so dull when I haven��t even encountered those who lead an even more horrible life than I do. Frank McCourt, is one of the millions in this world who leads a life that is a total awakening to me. ��When [he] look[s] back on [his] childhood [he] wondered how [he] survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while.��
Born during the Depression era, Frank McCourt, along with his brothers, Malachy, Michael, and Alphonsus, is raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Since birth, Frank and his brothers endure ��poverty, [a] shiftless loquacious alcoholic father, [a] pious dejected mother, pompous priests, bullying schoolmasters and the [despised] English.�� Frank becomes very matured at an early age because he has to take on the responsibilities of his alcoholic father, Malachy, who often drinks his wages or his ��dole�� leaving the family penniless and starving at home. Since his father is unable is maintain a regular basic income, they depend on charity from the government welfare system and the church societies and the amount was barely enough to sustain the family. During desperate times, his mother, Angela, is forced to go begging for food in order to keep her children from starving or to pick up pieces of coal dropped on the ground to prevent the children from freezing to death. During Frank��s early childhood he witnesses the death of three of his siblings, and the utter helplessness of his mother. In spite of their hardship there is a feeling of ��togetherness�� of the entire extended family. Relatives often help out in times of need. They also have a sense of humour to help their survival. In order to escape their misery, the family believe that if they think of Italy, it could make them forget about the cold damp weather of Ireland; thus, the McCourts decide to name the upper floor of their tiny apartment ��Italy,�� and ��Ireland,�� is on the bottom floor because it is always flooded during the winter.
In contrast to his miserable existence in the lanes of Limerick, Frank, in his early teens has his first taste of paradise. He contracts the typhoid fever and stays in the hospital for fourteen weeks. There, he has the attention of the nursing Sisters, a clean bed to himself, regular meals and a proper toilet. During his stay in the hospital, he receives his first introduction...
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