Angela's Ashes is a gripping memoir by Frank McCourt, a book that details his early childhood in Brooklyn, New York. However, it tends to focus more on his life in Limerick, Ireland, through various anecdotes regarding the author's young life. McCourt presents the novel as a sort of coming-of-age story about his childhood. As McCourt himself recounts: “When I think back to my childhood, I wonder how I survived. It was, of course, a miserable childhood. . . . Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood and worse still is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood” (McCourt 11). In Angela's Ashes, the Catholic Church plays a major role for Frank in influencing his actions, his fears, and his way of life. As becomes clear from the reader's perspective, Frank's actions were heavily influenced by the Catholic Church. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay As a young man (pre-communion), Frankie found that his influences fell within the framework of what he had been taught, particularly through confirmation. As ready as he may have been, he had last-minute nerves before and after communion. As mentioned in Duffy's article on Frank McCourt and religiosity, "this book's hilarious and irreverent chapter on Mr. McCourt's preparation and eventual ill-fated reception for the first communion described for the whole story what it was It was like sitting down in front of an old Irishman. “master,” named Mr. Benson in this case, and you have very pre-Vatican II lessons drilled (literally) into your pre-adolescent brain” (Duffy 1). In America, the scope of the Church had great differences, with the separation of church and state enshrined in the constitution. For longtime residents of Ireland, the idea that Catholicism was not obligatory appalled them. “There is a picture on the wall nearby of a man with long brown hair and sad eyes. He shows his chest where there is a large heart with flames coming out of it. Mom, tell us, this is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and I want to know why this man's heart is on fire and why doesn't he throw water on it? (McCourt 57). This statement surprised grandmother: “Don’t these children know anything about their religion? Mom tells him it's different in America. Grandma says the Sacred Heart is everywhere and there is no excuse for this kind of ignorance” (McCourt 57). Religion, as Frank had been taught, seemed authoritarian and rigid, full of “thou shalt nots.” As we read, we get the impression that the learner in Frank views traditional religion as humiliating and burdensome. He had been taught the strict Catholicism of the wrist-wielding ruler: “You must not ask questions. There are too many people wandering the world and asking questions and that's what gets us into the state we're in and if I find a boy in this class asking questions I won't be responsible for what happens” (McCourt 118). of the Church permeated the actions of these boys and influenced their fears in daily life. Especially for Frank, he frequented the confessional, so much so and for such minor offenses and afflictions that the father made fun of him. One such occasion preceded Frank's thoughts: "Every time I pass by the cemetery, I feel sin growing inside me like an abscess and if I don't confess soon, I will be nothing more than an abscess circulating in my heart." bike with people who will point at me. and saying to himself: there he is, Frankie McCourt, the dirty thing that sent Theresa Carmody to hell.. 2017.