Envious The Characteristics of Frank McCourt

cups they stick out their little fingers to show how refine they are.[...] They have electricity now so they can see things they never saw before ... [...] at dinnertime and teatime the new rich mothers stand at their doors and call to their children, Mikey, Kathleen, Paddy, come in for yeer dinner. Come in for the lovely leg o’lamb and gorgeous green peas and the floury white potatoes” McCourt, 1996: 217 Frank sees his neighbour whose father work in England can have electricity and the great foods in their house such as meat, potatoes, sweets, and cakes. They also act the way rich people act, by sticking out their little fingers when dringking a tea to show how refine they are. At the time like that, Frank’s family do not have anything to be proud, they just have tea and bread. It is because Frank’s father does not go to England but only sit by the fire in the kitchen. Seeing the changes of their neighbours, Frank said to his father: “I say to him, Why can’t you go to England, Dad, so we can have electricity and a wireless and Mam can stand at the door and tell the world what we’re having at dinnertime?” McCourt, 1996: 218 Frank suggests his father to go to England too like his neighbours do. It is because Frank also want to be like his neighbours that have electricity, great food and can show off his new wealthy to others. The statement above show that Frank is an envious person. Frank’s suggestion for his father shows that Frank is envious with the life of their neighbours can get from working in England.

3. Disobeying

Frank is also known as the disobeying person. It can be seen when he worked in Eason. Ltd that distribute English newspapers and The Irish Times , a Protestant paper. He had been warned by the manager, Mr. McCaffrey, not to read them or he could lose his Faith. However, He ignored the prohibition and kept running into those English and Protestant newspapers. to know the information about English. “I keep reading The Irish Times and wondering if its an occasion of sin though I dont care. As long as Theresa Carmody is in heaven not coughing I dont go to confession anymore. I read The Irish Times and The Times of London because that tells me what the King is up to every day and what Elizabeth and Margaret are doing. I read English womens magazines for all the food articles and the answers to womens questions. ” McCourt, 1996: 352 From the quotation above, Frank who is curious about English people does not scare about the dangerous of consequence. Frank is not afraid of losing the Faith or getting the sin that has been warned by his manager of reading those papers The paper I like is the News of the World. Its banned in Ireland but people sneak it in from England for the shocking pictures of girls in swimming suits that are almost not there. Then there are stories of people committing all kinds of sins you wouldnt find in Limerick, getting divorces, committing adultery.McCourt, 1996: 301-302 .The curiousity that Frank has about the life in England also gets him to the newspaper that even is banned in Ireland. Even the papers is illegal to be read by Irish people, he instead joins to the people who ignore the prohibition. He is excited about everything that is never found in Ireland like the pictures of girls in swimming suit and stories about other sins like divorcing and commiting adultery. For knowing the news about all those things, Frank is courageous to disobey the rule in Ireland.

4. Unconfident

Everytime he goes to school, he never go through the proper street. He prefers to take the lanes rather than take the street to reach school because they will meet the boys from Christian Brother’ School and Crescent Collage 48 who are come from the rich class, in contrast, he is just the boy who come from the lane with a mess appearance. “We go to school through lanes and back streets so that we wont meet the respectable boys who go to the Christian BrothersSchool or the rich ones who go to the Jesuit school, Crescent College. The Christian Brothers boys wear tweed jackets, warm woolen sweaters, shirts, ties and shiny new boots. We know theyre the ones who will get jobs in the civil service and help the people who run the world. The Crescent College boys wear blazers and school scarves tossed around their necks and over their shoulders to show theyre cock o the walk. They have long hair which falls across their foreheads and over their eyes so that they can toss their quiffs like Englishmen. ” McCourt: 1996, 272 It is clearly that Frank is not confident to be faced with the boys of Christian Brothers’ School and and Crescent Collage. He is willing to avoid meeting them in the street because he is ashamed of his poor appearance and feel inferior. They are looking superior by their apperance in Frank’s eyes, where their appearance are mostly similar to the Englismen.

B. Post-Colonial Analysis

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt is using the main character’s point of view. The perceptions and action of the main character, Frank McCourt, and 48 Christian Brothers’ School or Irish Christian Brothers is a term of the member of religious brother teacher congregation which is built in Ireland since 1802.