I NDIVIDUAL L EARNING PACKET /T EACHING U NIT

Angela’s Ashes
F R A N K M C C O U R T

PRESTWICK HOUSE
I N C O R P O R A T E D

REORDER NO. TU4749

 Individual Learning Packet

Teaching Unit

Angela’s Ashes
by Frank McCourt

Copyright © 2003 by Prestwick House Inc., P.O. Box 246, Cheswold, DE 19936.
1-800-932-4593. www.prestwickhouse.com Permission to copy this unit for
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ISBN 1-58049-4749
Reorder No.TU4749
 Angela’s Ashes

Terms and Definitions

Autobiography - the relating of a person’s life by that person. Example: The Autobiography of
Benjamin Franklin.

Coming of Age - a novel or other work of literature in which the main character or characters
grow, mature, or understand the world in adult terms. Examples: The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn; The Cay
Comic relief - the intrusion of humor interrupting or immediately following a scene of great
excitement. Example: The drunken porter knocks at the door immediately after the
killing of King Duncan in Macbeth.

Dialect - a particular kind of speech used by members of one specific group because of its
geographical location or class. Example: Jim, in Huckleberry Finn says, “Shet de do.’’
[“Shut the door”.]

Irony - a perception of inconsistency, sometimes humorous, in which the significance and

understanding of a statement or event is changed by its context. Example: The firehouse
burned down.
• Dramatic Irony - the audience or reader knows more about a character’s situation
than the character does and knows that the character’s understanding is incorrect.
Example: In Medea, Creon asks, “What atrocities could she commit in one day?”
The reader, however, knows Medea will destroy her family and Creon’s by day’s end.
• Structural Irony – the use of a naïve hero, whose incorrect perceptions differ from the
reader’s correct ones. Example: Huck Finn.
• Verbal Irony - a discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant; sarcasm.
Example: A large man whose nickname is “Tiny.”

Memoir - an account of one portion of a person’s life, as told by that person; similar to an
autobiography, but covering a smaller time period. Example: Nixon’s Six Crises.

Metaphor - a comparison of two things that are basically dissimilar in which one is described in
terms of the other. Example: The moon, a haunting lantern, shone through the clouds.

Narrator - the one who tells the story. The narrator must not be confused with “author,” the one
who writes the story. If the narrator is a character in the book, the proper term is “first-
person narration.” Example: Moby Dick is narrated by Ishmael, a crewmember. If the
narrator is not a character in the book, the correct term is “third-person narration.”
Example: Sense and Sensibility.

Onomatopoeia - a word whose sound (the way it is pronounced) imitates its meaning. Examples:
“roar,” “murmur,” “tintinnabulation.”
Point of View - the position or vantage point, determined by the author, from which the story
seems to come to the reader. The two most common points of view are First-person and
Third-person. Examples: First-person point of view occurs in The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn; the reader receives all information through Huck’s eyes. An example
of third-person point of view is Dickens’ Hard Times, in which the narrator is not a
character in the book.

Simile - a comparison between two different things using either like or as. Examples: I am as
hungry as a horse. The huge trees broke like twigs during the hurricane.

Symbol - an object, person, or place that has a meaning in itself and that also stands for
something larger than itself, usually an idea or concept; some concrete thing which
represents an abstraction. Example: The sea could be symbolic for “the unknown.” Since
the sea is something that is physical and can be seen by the reader, and also has elements
that cannot be understood, it can be used symbolically to stand for the abstraction of
“mystery,” “obscurity,” or “the unknown.”

Tone - the atmosphere in a literary work or the attitude the author puts in a literary work.
Examples: The gloom and representation of decay is the main tone of Poe’s The Fall of
the House of Usher; the tone of Catch-22 is one of sarcasm and absurdity.
 Angela’s Ashes

Objectives

By the end of this unit, the student will be able to:

1. identify the genre to which the work belongs, the memoir.

2. describe life among the Catholic poor in Limerick, Ireland, during the Great Depression
and World War II.

3. discuss significant conflicts and tensions felt in Depression-era Ireland, including:

• the English vs. the Irish
• the North of Ireland vs. the South of Ireland
• Catholics vs. Protestants
• rich vs. poor

4. discuss the cultural problem of alcoholism and its impact on the writer.

5. analyze McCourt’s relationship with both of his parents and his feelings toward them.

6. infer the writer’s subtle and complex feelings toward the Catholic Church and its positions.

7. discuss the importance of brotherhood and community in McCourt’s childhood.

8. discuss the real-life role of cigarettes as well as their symbolic role in this memoir.

9. analyze the writer’s use of humor and comic relief to temper the tragedy of his story.

10. compare the style of McCourt’s memoir to that of a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age

novel.

11. cite examples of irony in the memoir and explain how McCourt uses this literary device.

12. describe the writer’s style and narrative voice (since the writer is the narrator).

13. examine McCourt’s use of dialect and present tense in his narrative.

14. identify the writer’s tone and explain how tone reflects the writer’s feelings toward his
subject.

15. cite examples of the following additional literary terms:

• simile
• metaphor
• onomatopoeia
16. discuss the meaning of the title of the work.

Note to teachers: Angela’s Ashes contains some brief sexual situations. Reading about the
narrator’s sexual experiences, however, is crucial to understanding his coming-of-age; sex
factors into his evolving thoughts on religion, an important thread of the memoir. The book also
contains some subtly critical commentary on the Catholic Church.

All page references come from the Scribner trade paperback edition of Angela’s Ashes, copyright
1996.
 Angela’s Ashes

Questions for Essay and Discussion

1. What do you think is the significance of the title of the book? Why is the book not titled
Malachy’s Ashes?

2. Before you started the book, what were your expectations about it? Had you heard of the
book before? What did the title lead you to expect from Angela’s Ashes? Did you read the
dedication and acknowledgments? What did you think of the author’s omission of his
parents and particularly his mother from either the dedication or the acknowledgments?

3. Discuss Frank’s relationship with his father. What kind of influence does Mr. McCourt
have over his son? Do you think Frank sympathizes more with his father or his mother?

4. Did you ever think you were reading a novel while you read this autobiography? What
gives the book a novelistic quality?

5. Consider the following quotation from the opening of the book: “When I look back on my
childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the
happy childhood is hardly worth your while.” (Pg. 11) Discuss McCourt’s meaning.

6. Describe the overarching tone of this memoir. Is it bitter and resentful, or is it forgiving?
Did you find the tone surprising? Why or why not?

7. Mr. McCourt’s abandonment of his family happens abruptly. One year, Dad comes home
from England for Christmas, and, after that visit, he never makes an appearance in
McCourt’s narrative. Although Frank is conscious of his father’s absence, he never speaks
of Dad's disappearance as abandonment. What explanation can you give for this?

8. Most of the book–a memoir–is written in the present tense. Why would McCourt choose
the present tense for a book rooted in his memory?

9. If this book were a novel, what do you think the theme would be?

10. What sense is there that Mr. Timoney, locked away in the City Home, is one of the most
sane and rational people in the book? Why?

11. Frank as a small boy strongly believes that stories and songs belong to one person. He says,
“…I wonder what kind of world is it where anyone can sing anyone else’s song.” (Pg. 29)
Why do you think sharing songs and stories is so threatening to Frankie? Why does he
think that, when his father tells him a Cuchulain story, the story is his alone?

12. Discuss the importance of community and the charity of strangers in this book. How does
the kindness of strangers compare with the McCourts’ treatment by their relatives?
13. Describe McCourt’s narrative voice. What techniques and devices does he use to capture
his point of view from his youth?

14. The Italian grocer refers to drinking and alcoholism as the “Irish thing.” (Pg. 32) Does
McCourt’s story support or refute this comment? Why? Cite supporting details from the
book.

15. Mr. and Mrs. McCourt can be very inadequate parents. How do their children use the bonds
of brotherhood to compensate for their parents’ inadequacies?

16. Angela’s Ashes has enjoyed much popularity and has even been made into a movie. What
do you think explains this memoir's popular appeal?

17. Does the film Angela’s Ashes capture the tone of the book? Why or why not? What do you
think the moviemakers portrayed well? What were the movie’s weak points, if there were
any?

18. How does Frank’s maturing sexuality affect his feelings about the Catholic Church, and
why might Frank’s encounter with Frieda be viewed as symbolic?

19. Despite the squalor and deprivation of their lives in Limerick, the McCourt boys manage to
transcend poverty. How do they maintain their sense of joy?

20. How does McCourt reveal the class divide between Catholics and Protestants in Limerick?
Why do you think this divide exists in the Catholic Irish Free State?

21. Why does Dad experience so much prejudice for being from the North of Ireland?

22. McCourt records the astonishment he felt as a young boy when a teacher explains that the
Irish, as well as the English, committed atrocities in battle. What does this surprise reveal
about Frank’s indoctrination?

23. Discuss the importance of wit and humor in Angela’s Ashes. How do humor and McCourt’s
use of comic relief affect the overall tone of the memoir?

24. How do you view Mam, as a strong character, a weak character, or with elements of both
types? How do you think McCourt views his mother? Why?

25. Why does Frankie get drunk when he goes for his first pint after his negative experiences
with an alcoholic father?

26. Discuss the tension between poverty and cigarettes in the book. Do you sympathize with
the adults’ claim that cigarettes are the poor person’s only comfort?

27. How does McCourt use irony to capture his childhood point of view?
28. Frank sees so much death in his young life, from the deaths of his three siblings on, that he
becomes desensitized to it. Why does Patricia Madigan’s death affect him so much? How is
this change a sign of Frank’s maturing?

29. Pride shows its dual nature in McCourt’s writing. Explain pride’s positive and negative
effects in Frank's life.
 Angela’s Ashes

Test

Multiple Choice

1. During what time period does McCourt’s story begin?

A. the Irish Potato Famine

B. the Troubles
C. the Great Depression
D. World War I

2. Which literary device can be a discrepancy between what a young, naïve narrator like
Frankie understands and what the more worldly reader knows?

A. foreshadowing
B. irony
C. alliteration
D. satire

3. Why do the McCourts return to Ireland?

A. Mam and Dad hate America and cannot wait to leave.

B. In Ireland, they can find the cure for Margaret’s illness.
C. Mam’s relatives think the family will be better off in Ireland after Margaret’s death.
D. Mam’s mother and sister miss Angela too greatly to have her live across the Atlantic.

4. What is a Woodbine?

A. a flower
B. a car
C. an alcoholic beverage
D. a cigarette

5. When McCourt breaks up the tragedy of his story with moments of laughter, he employs
the literary device called

A. comic relief.
B. onomatopoeia.
C. satire.
D. simile.
6. Which of the following is not a conflict present in this book?

A. Catholic vs. Protestant

B. Christian vs. Jew
C. rich vs. poor
D. parent vs. child

7. What does the Italian grocer mean when he says the “Irish thing”?

A. alcoholism
B. tuberculosis
C. mildew
D. famine

8. Why do the McCourts go to “Italy” for the winter?

A. Dad makes enough money to take them on vacation.

B. Dad gets seasonal work in Italy.
C. The downstairs of their house floods, so they go upstairs where it is warm and dry.
D. Dad supports Mussolini.

9. What sours Frank’s relationship with his mother?

A. Mam’s relationship with Laman Griffin

B. Mam’s job assisting Mr. Sliney
C. Frank’s insulting baby Alphie’s name
D. Malachy’s going away to Dublin

10. What happens to improve the situation of Limerick’s poor?

A. A cure becomes available for tuberculosis.

B. England enters World War II.
C. Limerick’s factories begin hiring women.
D. The Irish government distributes birth control.

11. Why do the McCourts struggle to make ends meet?

A. Dad spends too much of their income on alcohol.

B. Dad's job pays too little to support their large family.
C. Mam and Dad are addicted to cigarettes and buy them even if there is no money for
food.
D. Both A and C
12. What writer captivates Frank in the hospital?

A. Shakespeare
B. Synge
C. Swift
D. Dickens

13. What does Mam do when she is unhappy about her impoverished life?

A. She tries to get a job.

B. She stares into the ashes of the fire.
C. She cleans.
D. She walks the streets of Limerick.

14. Why does the Irish government order Mr. McCaffrey to tear page sixteen from John
O'London’s Weekly?

A. The page contains libelous information about De Valera.

B. Page sixteen reveals government secrets.
C. The page contains information about birth control.
D. The page shows photos of a beauty contest.

15. What keeps teenaged Frank from confession for many months?

A. He thinks he sent Theresa Carmody to hell.

B. He is ashamed to confess he slapped his mother.
C. He spends so much time working that he cannot go to church.
D. He no longer believes in God.

16. A coming-of-age novel, which Angela’s Ashes resembles, is also known as

A. a memoir.
B. a bildungsroman.
C. a doppelganger.
D. juvenilia.

17. The word “’Tis” at the end of the book expresses McCourt’s feeling that

A. America is a great country.

B. Ireland is a great country.
C. His family is better off in Ireland.
D. World War II was a just war.
18. Why do Mam and Frankie feel resentment toward the Catholic Church?

A. The Church caused them to be evicted from their home.

B. The St. Vincent de Paul Society will not give them charity.
C. The priests tell Frank he is the worst sinner in Limerick.
D. The Church has denied Frankie opportunities.

19. What causes Frankie to miss making The Collection?

A. He gets typhoid fever.

B. He has to go to confession because he throws up his First Communion breakfast.
C. Mam needs him to help her with his brothers.
D. Both A and B

20. What does Frank compare his father to?

A. a soldier
B. the Holy Trinity
C. Franklin D. Roosevelt
D. a mountain
Essays
(Answer any two.)

1. Discuss the meaning of the title Angela’s Ashes.

2. Compare Angela’s Ashes with another coming-of-age story you have read. Some examples
of bildungsromans that would provide good comparisons are Black Boy by Richard Wright
and James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

3. McCourt recounts dialect in an unconventional manner, for he makes no use of quotation

marks. In fact, the whole memoir is a bit like a running conversation. Discuss elements of
McCourt’s style, including his use of dialect, that contribute to the book’s conversational
quality. Consider how McCourt’s Irish heritage might be reflected in his style of writing.

4. Discuss the real-life role of cigarettes as well as their symbolic role in this memoir, and
compare McCourt’s treatment of smoking with his treatment of drinking and alcoholism.
Do you think he views either one as the lesser of two evils? Supports your opinion with
citations from the book.

5. Compare and contrast Frank’s relationship with his mother and father. Do you think he
prefers one parent to the other? Why? Mam and Dad are frequently at odds. Do you think
McCourt tries to evoke the reader's sympathy for either parent in their conflicts?

6. Frank’s feelings about his religion are subtle and complex. While he criticizes Catholicism
at times and speaks of the Church as slamming doors in his face, he still seems to live with
a fear of the Church. What do you think Frank’s attitude is toward the Church by the end of
the book? Cite specific incidents which shape his opinions.
Angela’s Ashes

Test
Answer Key

1. C
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. A
6. B
7. A
8. C
9. A
10. B
11. D
12. A
13. B
14. C
15. A
16. B
17. A
18. D
19. A
20. B
 Angela’s Ashes

Study Guide
Teacher’s Copy

Chapter 1

Vocabulary
shiftless–lazy; lacking in ambition
loquacious–excessively talkative
pious–devotedly religious
pompous–arrogant, self-important
cacophony–harsh sound
catarrh–chronic inflammation of the nose and air passages
jakes–outhouse, privy
novenas–in the Roman Catholic Church, periods of prayer lasting nine days
speakeasies–during Prohibition, places where alcohol was sold illegally
skivvy–female domestic servant
hangdog–sad, downcast
puce–dark red

1. To what genre does Angela’s Ashes belong?

The book is an autobiography, a memoir of Frank McCourt’s childhood.

2. How does the adult Frank McCourt feel when he looks back on his childhood?

He writes, “…I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the
happy childhood is hardly worth your while.” (Pg. 11) He acknowledges the misery of his
childhood but also seems to say that the unhappiness contributed something important to
his life.

3. What nationality is the McCourt family, and what religion do they practice? What would
Frank McCourt say you could expect from such a heritage?

While Frank and Malachy are born in America, their parents came from Ireland, and they
are Catholics. Frank writes that the Irish Catholic childhood is the most miserable
childhood of all.

4. The Feast of the Circumcision falls on January 1st. What, then, is McCourt saying about
the rain in Limerick, and why does he write at length about the rain and the damp?

McCourt is saying that it always rains in Limerick. McCourt’s emphasis upon the rain
creates a gloomy mood and prepares the reader for the misery of Depression-era Ireland.
The damp worsens the suffering of impoverished people and contributes to the ill health in
the city.

T-1
5. What reason does McCourt give for the piety of Limerick?

He says people go to church to escape from the rain.

6. Describe the introduction McCourt gives his father.

McCourt sums up his father’s life in a few short paragraphs. Readers know Malachy
McCourt meets a pitiful end before they have learned much about him. Malachy’s life is
marked by trouble with the law and alcoholism.

7. Why does Angela Sheehan never meet her father?

Before Angela’s birth, her mother chases Grandpa Sheehan from the house after he gets
drunk and drops his baby son on his head.

8. Why does McCourt write, “My mother’s troubles began the night she was born”? (Pg. 13)

Angela’s birth takes place on New Year’s Eve. The impatient midwife tells Grandma
Sheehan she will have to write the Pope to find out in what year Angela was born.

9. When and where do McCourt’s parents meet? Why have they both left Ireland?

They meet at a party in Brooklyn, New York, at the beginning of the Great Depression.
Malachy left Ireland because he got in trouble with the Old IRA. Angela’s mother told her
she was useless and sent her abroad.

10. Why are Angela’s cousins prejudiced against Malachy? What causes their prejudice?

Malachy comes from the north of Ireland; the cousins say they fear he may have
Protestants in his family. By the time of the Great Depression, the southern portion of
Ireland had become the Catholic Irish Free State, but the Protestant British ruled the
northern part. Political and religious tensions affect the cousins’ treatment of Malachy.

11. After the confrontation with Angela’s relatives, Malachy decides to go to California. What
keeps him from getting there?

He drinks the money he intended to use to escape.

12. Do Malachy and Angela want to marry?

No, Angela’s cousins force them into marriage after Angela becomes pregnant.

13. How does alcohol impact their child’s naming and baptism?

Malachy’s drunkenness causes the baby’s name to be registered incorrectly on his birth
certificate. Alcohol also causes the baby’s chosen godfather to forget to attend the baptism.

T-2
14. The MacNamara sisters force Angela and Malachy to marry. What, however, do they say to
Angela at Frank’s baptism?

They tell Angela that she should have stayed single and put her child up for adoption. They
also warn her to have no more children because Malachy will never have a job.

15. In an autobiography, the book is narrated in the first person, but subtle changes do occur in
the narrator’s perspective. How does the point of view change on page nineteen?

The reader seems to enter the thoughts of three-year-old Frankie McCourt. Earlier parts of
the narrative are told from the point of view of the adult Frank McCourt.

16. McCourt records the misunderstandings and confusion of a child learning about the world
by writing from the perspective of a three-year-old. What does young Frank misunderstand
about blood?

When he sees a dead dog covered in its blood, Frankie equates bleeding with death.

17. Mr. McCourt tells Frankie a story that the boy believes to belong to him. What is the
subject of the story?

Frankie’s story is about Cuchulain, the mythological folk hero from the North of Ireland.

18. Why do the children spend so much time unattended at the playground?

Their mother is worn out from childbirth and caring for so many children. Their father is
always looking for a job.

19. How can the boys tell when their mother is happy because their father has found a job at
last?

Mam sings.

20. What happens after Dad’s three weeks of work?

He does not bring any money home because he has spent it on alcohol.

21. How does Mam cope when Dad does not bring his wages home on the fourth Friday of his
job?

First, she searches for him at the bars with her children. Then, after begging for food on
credit from the grocer, she sits at the table, “smoking a cigarette, drinking tea, and
crying.” (Pg. 28)

T-3
22. What does Frankie think when Malachy sings Maisie’s song? Why does he have this
reaction?

Frankie thinks, “…I wonder what kind of world is it where anyone can sing anyone else’s
song.” (Pg. 29)
Answers may vary. Example: Frankie seems to associate songs and stories with an
individual person; sharing the song may seem to him to take away something of what
makes people themselves.

23. How does Mr. McCourt change when Margaret is born?

He stops drinking.

24. Frankie and Malachy become the chief caregivers for their twin brothers after Margaret’s
birth. How does Frank deal with the twins’ hunger?

He steals bananas from the Italian grocer.

25. What does the Italian do when he learns of the theft?

He gives the children a bag of fruit.

26. What does the grocer mean when he says “the problem, the Irish thing”? (Pg. 32)

He associates alcoholism with the Irish and knows the narrator’s father drinks heavily.

27. How does Frankie learn Margaret is sick?

He learns Margaret is sick from Mrs. Leibowitz, who works in a hospital.

28. After Margaret’s death, the generosity of neighbors Minnie MacAdorey and Mrs.
Leibowitz sustains the children. What happens to their parents?

Their miserable mother takes to her bed; the father stays away from home and drowns his
sorrow in drinks.

29. On the night of his father’s return, what does Frankie dream of after swearing to die for
Ireland?

He dreams of Cuchulain, with a big green bird on his shoulder and a banana in his hand.
The bird’s beak drips blood when it sings.

30. What is the only development capable of getting Mam out of bed after Margaret’s death?

Dad gets a job with the WPA.

T-4
31. How does Frankie view his brother Malachy?

Frankie sees Malachy as a charmer. Malachy is pink-cheeked and blue-eyed; his teeth are
pretty and white. Grown-ups like him, and, unlike Frankie, Malachy is never accused of
having the odd manner of his father.

32. When Angela’s cousins discover the state of her family and the squalor in which they are
living, what do they do?

They write a letter to Angela’s mother, asking for the fare to send the McCourt family back
to Ireland.

33. What sense is there that McCourt, writing as an adult, mocks the meddlesome cousins of
his mother?

McCourt juxtaposes the actual letter written by Philomena with the comment that she must
write it “because a teacher in Limerick told her once she had a fine fist.” (Pg. 45) The
letter itself is comically pompous but, at the same time, contains spelling mistakes.

34. How does the reader know that, wretched as the McCourts’ lives seem in Brooklyn, they
are only going to get worse in Ireland?

The introductory paragraphs of this chapter tell the reader that the family’s move to
Ireland is a mistake.

T-5
Chapter 2

Vocabulary
dole–handout of government funds to the unemployed
dotes–terms of endearment for children
perfidy–treachery
fags–cigarettes
docket–certificate giving the holder the right to buy goods
blaguarding–acting like a vagabond
rashers–thin slices of bacon or ham

1. Where do the McCourts go to when they first arrive in Ireland? What kind of welcome do
they receive?

They go to Grandpa McCourt’s house in Toome, County Antrim. The McCourt relatives tell
the new arrivals that things are worse in Ireland than in America and that they cannot stay
with Malachy’s parents. Even though Malachy has been gone from Ireland for years, his
relatives do not seem glad to see him or his new family.

2. The children marvel over many things when they arrive in Ireland. What are some of the
things they have never seen before, and what is the reason for this?

The children are very curious about all of the “strange creatures in the fields,” such as
cows, sheep, and goats, for they have lived their whole lives in the city. (Pg. 47) Coming
from a big American city, they are unfamiliar with chamber pots and outhouses. In
addition, the boys’ comments indicate that they do not know what a priest is. This fact
leads the reader to presume that the children have not been to church much.

3. How does McCourt use onomatopoeia to capture the sensory impressions he had as a
child? Give examples of this literary device.

McCourt notes sounds as they would have seemed to him as a little boy. Onomatopoeia
reflects the childlike quality of these impressions. For example, Frankie notices that “Mam
snores hink, Dad snores honk.” (Pg. 49) He also observes, “The cows mooed, the sheep
maaed, the goat ehehed, the birds twittered in the trees, and the beep beep of a motor car
cut through everything.” (Pg. 48)

4. Where do Mr. McCourt’s parents tell him to go since they have no room for his family?
Why?

They recommend that he go to Dublin in the Irish Free State. They say the IRA will give
Malachy money because he did his “bit” for Ireland. (Pg. 50)

T-6
5. Whom does Dad tell the children about on the bus to Dublin? What purpose does the story
serve?

Dad tells the children a story about Cuchulain on the bus. The mythological story provides
a momentary escape from the difficulties of real life. The story also gives the boys hope.

6. How does Dad’s storytelling contrast with Mam’s attitude?

While Dad is able to find relief in the Cuchulain stories, Mam is too weighed down by the
worries of real life to feel cheered by the myths.

7. Why does little Malachy think the McCourts are in New York City when they arrive in
Dublin?

The boy associates the sights and bustle of Dublin with his old home in Brooklyn.

8. How does Frankie know his mother is cheered a bit on their arrival in Dublin?

She calls the children’s father their Pop.

9. Whom do Frankie and Mr. McCourt encounter on the street on their way to the IRA office?
How does the reader then know that false hope has been raised for help from the IRA?

They meet a man with a patch over his eye. The man says he gets a “pension that wouldn’t
feed a canary” and the Irish “were better off under the English.” (Pg. 52)

10. Why does the IRA man Mr. Heggarty refuse to give Mr. McCourt money for the bus fare?

Mr. McCourt asks for the price of a pint.

11. Who takes the McCourts in on their first night in Dublin?

A policeman allows them to sleep on the floor of the police barracks.

12. Where does Mr. McCourt ask to go on the way to meet the train to Limerick? Why?

He asks to go to the G.P.O., the General Post Office. He wants to see the statue of
Cuchulain put up to honor the revolutionaries of the 1916 Easter Rebellion.

13. Why do the McCourts go to Limerick next?

Mam’s family lives there.

T-7
14. What seems contradictory about conditions in Limerick? How is the environment at odds
with the condition of the populace?

Limerick has a seemingly contradictory combination of verdant natural beauty, and

miserable poverty, and ill health. The twins get excited by the park full of flowers, and
McCourt notes the “grass so green it dazzled you.” (Pg. 56) Yet, the boys who carry the
McCourts’ trunk have “snotty noses” and shaved heads to keep the lice away; they also
wear no shoes. (Pg. 56) Grandma mentions the problem of consumption almost as soon as
the McCourt family arrives.

15. Do Angela’s relatives give her family a warmer reception than Malachy’s family did?

No, Angela’s mother and sister are particularly harsh and unaffectionate.

16. Locate Grandma’s comment to Mam about cigarettes on page fifty-six. Explain Grandma’s
warning.

Grandma says, “Them fags will be the death of you. There’s enough consumption in
Limerick without people smokin’ fags on top of it an’ ‘tis a rich man’s foolishness.” (Pg.
56) Grandma knows that smoking weakens the lungs and makes the smoker susceptible to
illness. She also believes cigarettes to be a luxury–a luxury inappropriate for the poor who
cannot feed their families.

17. Where does the man on the bicycle tell Frankie and his father that fleas come from?

The man suggests that the English brought fleas to Ireland to drive the Irish mad.

18. What happens to Mam several nights after the flea incident?

She has a miscarriage.

19. What types of prejudice does the McCourt family encounter when they try to find a means
to support themselves?

Dad has trouble finding a job because Limerick employers do not want to hire a man with
a North of Ireland accent. Mam encounters resentment when she applies for charity
because she has an American coat and children with American accents. Thinking life is
surely better in America, the Irish resent the “…Yanks coming over and taking bread out of
their mouths.” (Pg. 63)

20. What is it Mam’s habit to do when she is worried?

She looks into the ashes of the fire.

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21. What is the St. Vincent de Paul Society? List some adjectives to describe the Society and
its attitude toward the people who come to it for charity.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society is a Catholic charitable organization that assists the poor.
Some adjectives to describe the Society and its attitude toward the people it serves are
condescending, severe, sympathetic, and pious.

22. How does the St. Vincent de Paul Society feel about smoking? What does Nora Malloy
have to say to this?

The Society says money spent on cigarettes takes food from the mouths of children. Nora
Malloy says cigarettes are the only comfort of the poor.

23. What is a souper?

A souper is a Catholic who became a Protestant during the Great Famine in order to eat in
the Protestant soup kitchens.

24. How does Nora help the McCourts?

She goes to McGrath’s grocery with them because she knows Mrs. McGrath cheats charity
recipients on their food dockets.

25. Why does Frankie not mind when Dad tells the Cuchulain story to his brother Oliver?

Oliver is very ill.

26. Why will Mr. McCourt not pick coal up off the road even though his son is sick?

Mr. McCourt clings to his pride. He says they are not beggars.

27. What is Mam’s response when Dad says he prayed to St. Jude that she would get coal?

“I got the coal. I got the onion, no help from St. Jude.” (Pg. 70)

28. What makes Uncle Pa Keating one of the most positive figures in this book?

Uncle Pa Keating possesses the sustaining ability to keep his sense of humor even in the
face of grim tragedy. There is so much sorrow in the lives of the Limerick poor, and a sense
of humor is sometimes the only thing that can relieve the misery. In addition, Pa Keating
has a charitable spirit and empathy for other people.

29. What does the reader learn about Aunt Aggie’s bitterness when the McCourt children go to
stay with her after Oliver is taken to the hospital?

She wants children of her own but cannot get pregnant.

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30. What does it seem likely Oliver dies of?

Oliver probably dies of illness complicated by hunger and malnutrition.

31. How does Dad deal with Oliver’s death?

He drinks all the dole money.

32. Why does the family move from the house on Windmill Street?

Mam “…can’t sleep with the memory of Oliver in that room.” (Pg. 78)

33. Where do Malachy and Frank start school?

They go to Leamy’s National School.

34. What do the other students ask the boys when they learn the McCourts have come from
America? Where do the Irish people in this book seem to be getting their ideas about
Americans?

The other students ask if the brothers are gangsters or cowboys. Many of the Irish people
in this book seem to get their information about Americans from movies and yellow
journalism.

35. The masters at Leamy’s School have some harsh methods. Explain.

The masters believe in corporal punishment and will hit their students for the smallest
infraction.

36. Why does Eugene spend so much time looking out the window?

He is looking for Oliver because he does not understand that his twin died.

37. Of what does Eugene die?

He dies of pneumonia, and his parents did not even realize he was ill.

38. Although he is just a young child, why does Frankie get upset with his father on the
afternoon before Eugene’s funeral?

Mr. McCourt goes drinking in the pub and sets his pint on Eugene’s coffin.

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39. An amazing fact of this narrative is that humor works its way into the tragedy of McCourt’s
childhood at all. Yet, the memoir is frequently interspersed with wit and gratitude for small
things. What is the literary term for humor that lightens tragedy? Find an example of this
device on page 89, when the family travels to Eugene’s funeral.

The literary term is comic relief. Answers may vary. Example: “Malachy said, The horse
did his doodoo on the street and there was a smell, and Mam and Dad had to smile.”

40. What is young Frank’s idea of heaven?

Frankie thinks of heaven as a place “up in the sky…where they have plenty of fish and
chips and toffee and no aunts to bother you, where all the fathers bring home the money
from the Labour Exchange and you don’t have to be running around to pubs to find them.”
(Pg. 90)

Chapter 3

Vocabulary
lorries–trucks

1. The McCourts move once more after Eugene’s death. They are just getting settled in their
new house when they get some unpleasant news about it. What is this news?

Their house is next door to the lavatory shared by all eleven families in the lane. Mam
thought the lavatory was for their family alone and worries about the spread of disease.

2. Why had Frankie been so pleased with the new house before learning the unpleasant news?

Frankie was delighted that the house had two floors. He says, “You feel very rich when you
can go up and down the stairs all day as much as you please.” (Pg. 92)

3. Who is on the McCourts’ one picture? Why is this person significant to Dad?

Pope Leo the Thirteenth is on the picture. Dad says this Pope was a “great friend of the
workingman.” (Pg. 93)

4. Mam says that what she missed most in America was the River Shannon. How does Dad
feel about the river?

He wants to be far away from it. He says it kills and “send[s] poison to us in mist and fog.”
(Pg. 95)

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5. What is ironic about Dad’s attitude toward work and begging?

He speaks of keeping his dignity and would never dream of asking the farmers who employ
him for some leftover produce; however, he drinks the money he makes on the farm, which
forces his wife to beg for charity.

6. What happens to the McCourts’ house in the winter rains?

The downstairs floods.

7. The family shows a remarkable ability to cast misfortunes in a positive light. How do they
choose to think of their move upstairs for the winter?

They decide to call the upstairs Italy, as though it were a warm place to which they have
gone on holiday.

8. What can Mam get with the docket for the family’s Christmas dinner?

The butcher will allow her a pig’s head.

9. How does Pa Keating help Malachy and Frank on Christmas day?

Shocked to learn the McCourts do not have enough coal to cook their dinner, Pa Keating
takes the boys to a pub and asks the owner to give them some coal.

10. Where does Dad tell his sons their new brother Michael came from?

He tells the boys the Angel on the Seventh Step brought the baby.

11. How does Dad relieve the sick baby’s cold?

Dad puts his mouth to the baby’s nose and sucks the “bad stuff” from his head. (Pg. 103)

12. When the St. Vincent de Paul men come to visit, what do they term the upstairs of the
McCourts’ house? Why?

The men call it Calcutta, a testimony to the squalor and poverty they see there.

13. With what does Dad fix his sons’ shoes?

He mends the soles with a bicycle tire.

14. To whom does Frank try to confide his troubles and worries?

Frankie talks to the Angel on the Seventh Step.

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15. What literary device does McCourt employ in the paragraph on women’s and men’s roles
on page 107? Explain.

McCourt uses irony. He starts the paragraph by saying that the women do not sit in chairs
“because all they do is stay at home, take care of the children, clean the house and cook a
bit and the men need the chairs.” (Pg. 107) This comment implies that the men are doing
difficult work. The reality of the situation is that most of the men are on the dole and do
very little.

16. Where does Dad find his first job in Limerick? How long does he keep the job?

His first job in Limerick is at the cement factory. He only keeps the job for a week.

17. How do Malachy and Frank show Dad their unhappiness that he spent the wages of his new
job at the pub?

They refuse the Friday Penny he offers them.

Chapter 4

Vocabulary
ineffable–indescribable
grousing–complaining
venial–pardonable

1. How does McCourt capture the literal-mindedness of children when Frankie learns he must
prepare for his First Communion?

Frankie has been told that “it’s a glorious thing to die for the Faith” or for Ireland. (Pg.
113) He thinks of all his dead siblings and concludes that he will not live long because he
is expected to die early.

2. What is Mikey Molloy’s “affliction”? (Pg. 114) Why does Frankie look up to Mikey?

Mikey Molloy’s affliction is having fits, probably epilepsy. Frankie looks up to Mikey
because Mikey has knowledge, reads books, and knows about mysterious, forbidden topics
like girls’ bodies. Mikey is also said to have visions during his fits.

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3. Why does Nora Molloy regularly go to the insane asylum? What sense is there that it is a
relief for her to go there?

Nora Molloy has wild baking episodes brought on by worry about her inability to provide
for her children; her husband sometimes drinks the dole money as Mr. McCourt does.
Being at the asylum temporarily releases Nora from her responsibilities. Frankie notes,
“It’s well known that all the lunatics in the asylum have to be dragged in but she’s the only
one that has to be dragged out….” (Pg. 115)

4. What is The Collection?

The Collection is the boys’ term for the rounds they make in their new suits the afternoon
after their First Communion. People give candy and money to children on The Collection.

5. Does Mr. Benson, the schoolmaster, encourage curiosity among his students? How does he
expect his pupils to learn?

No, Mr. Benson actually discourages questions. He teaches his pupils to learn by rote and
asks them to repeat many of his sentences back to him.

6. Ho gets the raisin from Frankie’s bun?

Frankie gives his raisin to Paddy Clohessy because he feels pity for a boy who is even
poorer than he is. Paddy has no shoes and dresses in rags; he shivers against the cold in
their school.

7. What does the master use to teach the boys how to receive Holy Communion?

The master teaches them with squares of the newspaper.

8. What does the master tell the boys to impress upon them the importance of their First
Communion?

He tells the boys their First Communion is the “holiest moment” of their lives. (Pg. 122)

9. What makes Frankie start to worry about his First Communion?

He listens to a Cuchulain story with the word “piss” in it, and he feels ashamed to confess
it.

10. How is Frankie’s worry relieved?

He tells his worries to the Angel on the Seventh Step. He says he heard the angel tell him
not to fear.

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11. How does Dad comfort Frankie?

Dad tells Frankie that listening to the story was not a sin, and he does not have to confess
it to the priest.

12. Although the child Frankie does not seem to recognize it at the time, what does McCourt
imply to be the priest’s reaction when Frankie confesses his big sin at his First Confession?

The priest laughs.

13. What does the priest tell Frankie about books?

He says that “books can be dangerous for children” and advises Frankie to study the lives
of the saints. (Pg. 127)

14. Why does Frankie almost miss his First Communion?

He oversleeps.

15. What is ironic about Grandma’s telling Frankie on page 128 that “a little spit won’t kill
you”?

Consumption, or tuberculosis, is widespread in Limerick, and saliva spreads the disease.

16. Why does Grandma take Frankie back to church after his First Communion?

Frankie throws up his First Communion breakfast, and now Grandma says she has “God
in her backyard.” (Pg. 129)

17. How does the priest react to Frankie’s confession?

He laughs, just as the First Confession priest did.

18. What does their laughter say about the priests?

Laughter is a testimony not only to these priests’ sense of humor, but also to their
compassion for the confessors.

19. How does Frankie get in the Lyric Cinema since he never makes The Collection rounds?

Mikey Molloy pretends to have a fit to create a distraction so Frankie can slip in.

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Chapter 5

Vocabulary
guile–dishonest cunning
gansey–jersey
brawn–loaf or sausage made from parts of the pig, especially the head
saffron–orange-yellow
tripe–stomach tissue of the ox
poll–head
sodality–Roman Catholic devotional association of lay people
footpads–robbers of pedestrians

1. What is both humorous and poignant about Frankie’s description of the adult practice of
“not talking to each other”? (Pg. 132-133)

While the children know the signs that indicate adults are not talking, their innocent
inability to understand makes the adults’ seriousness seem ridiculous. Frankie says, “Mam
will yell at us for talking to them [cousins Gerry and Peggy] but we don’t know how not to
talk to our cousins.” (Pg. 132)

2. How do Mam and her friend Bridey Hannon spend their time together?

They sit by the fire, gossip, drink tea, and smoke cigarettes.

3. What does the poem Mam recites say about her life? Why does she laugh all the way
through it?

Mam has not been happy in her marriage to her Northerner, Malachy McCourt. She laughs
as she recites the poem because she is being ironic. She does not share the joyful
sentiments of the poem.

4. What does Dad do with the money he earns from letter writing?

He sends Frank to buy cigarettes.

5. Why is Grandma upset when she meets her new boarder?

The man is a Protestant.

6. What gets Frankie in trouble on his first day delivering dinner to Grandma’s boarder?

Frankie eats the dinner and has to get Grandma to prepare another.

T-16
7. What do Mam and Dad tell their children about smoking? Why is this ironic?

Mam and Dad tell the boys never to take up smoking, for cigarettes are bad for your
health. They threaten the children about what will happen if they ever catch them smoking.
However, Mam and Dad are addicted to cigarettes themselves and cannot quit when they
try.

8. What happens to Mam and Dad’s teeth?

Mam and Dad’s teeth rot, which they blame on smoking. They must have their teeth pulled
and replaced with false sets.

9. Why does Malachy have to go to the hospital?

He gets Dad’s false teeth stuck in his mouth.

10. What does the doctor at the hospital notice about Frankie?

The doctor notices that Frankie needs an operation to have his tonsils and adenoids
removed.

11. Why does Mam start giving Frankie sixpence every Saturday?

Mam wants Frankie to take Irish dancing lessons.

12. How does Frankie feel about Irish dancing?

He thinks he would be disgraced if his friends found out he takes Irish dancing lessons. He
finds the dancing itself stiff.

13. Which dancer does Frankie admire?

He admires Fred Astaire.

14. After four weeks, what does Frank start to do with his dancing money?

He spends the money to go to the cinema instead of his dancing lesson.

15. Why does Frankie have to go to confession on the day he loses his tooth?

His parents find out what he has been doing with his dancing money.

T-17
16. The McCourts moved back to Ireland when Frankie was four. Why does Mr. McCourt still
not have a steady job when Frankie is nine?

Dad loses his jobs because he always drinks his wages at the pub on the third Friday of the
job, which causes him to miss work on Saturday.

17. What is Mam’s response when Bridey tells her she could go to hell for saying God had not
been seen in the lanes of Limerick?

Mam says, “Aren’t I there already, Bridey?” (Pg. 145)

18. What is the Arch Confraternity? Why does Question Quigley tell Frankie he has to join?

The Arch Confraternity is a devotional organization. Question Quigley says being a

member of the Confraternity shows people that you are a good Catholic. He says this helps
members to get good jobs later.

19. How does the Confraternity pressure people into attending?

The Confraternity frightens people into attending through shame and social pressures.
While it rewards its members by helping them to get good jobs, the system can work
against delinquent members, as well.

20. Dad decides Frankie is old enough to be an altar boy. Why does Mam not want Frankie to
be an altar boy?

Mam says Frankie does not have the proper clothes. She also says the family cannot afford
the robes or the cost of their laundering.

21. What causes Dad to be disappointed in the Church?

The sacristan does not take Frank as an altar boy.

22. What does Mam say is the reason for Frankie’s disappointment?

Mam says snobbery and class distinction kept Frankie from being an altar boy.

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Chapter 6

Vocabulary
poltroon–coward
legion–numerous
ingle–boy favored by a homosexual

1. From the boys’ question to Mr. O’Neill, what time period can the reader surmise it is when
Frankie is in the fourth form? Why?

World War II has begun. The reader knows this fact because the boys speak of the
Germans, “bombing everything that stands.” (Pg. 153)

2. Why does Mr. O’Neill incur the anger of Mr. O’Dea?

Mr. O’Neill is not supposed to teach geometry. Geometry is the subject of Mr. O’Dea, the
fifth form teacher.

3. Why does Fintan Slattery earn the reward of Mr. O’Neill’s apple peel?

He knows who stood at the foot of the cross.

4. Describe Fintan Slattery’s reputation among his classmates.

Fintan is known for his religious devotion. He tells his classmates that he wants to be a
saint. The other boys see him as effeminate and tease him.

5. Why do Paddy and Frankie become the subjects of teasing from the other boys?

Paddy and Frankie become the subjects of teasing after Fintan calls them his friends.

6. Why do Paddy and Frankie go to Fintan’s home a second time even though they are
uncomfortable with the way he watches them?

Fintan invites Paddy and Frankie to his house at lunchtime. Paddy and Frankie usually get
little to eat and cannot resist the lure of the good food at Fintan’s house.

7. What causes Frankie and Paddy not to return to school after going to Fintan’s house for
lunch?

Fintan did not offer the other boys any food but simply ate his lunch in front of them.
Frankie and Paddy run off in search of food.

T-19
8. Where do Frankie and Paddy find something to eat?

They steal apples to eat from an orchard in Ballinacurra and drink milk from cows ready
for milking.

9. Where does Paddy fantasize about going when he grows up? Why does this place seem like
paradise to him?

Paddy fantasizes about going to India, where it is always warm. He thinks he will live in a
silken tent with an Indian woman who will feed him curry and figs.

10. What keeps Frankie from going home after he meets Question Quigley?

Question tells Frankie the schoolmaster sent a note home to Frankie’s parents because he
did not return to school after lunch.

11. Paddy’s family is even poorer than the McCourts are, yet what is Paddy’s mother doing
when her son and Frankie meet her?

She is smoking a cigarette.

12. How does Frankie bring amusement to the sickly Mr. Clohessy?

He dances to remind Mr. Clohessy of his youth and his dancing days with Frankie’s
mother.

13. Do the Clohessys begrudge Frankie his share of their morning breakfast?

No, they share their porridge freely despite the scarcity of food in their home.

14. McCourt writes, “I’m very sorry for the Clohessys and all their troubles but I think they
saved me from getting into trouble with my mother.” (Pg. 169) Why do the Clohessys’
troubles save Frankie?

Mam feels very saddened by Mr. Clohessy’s condition, for he had been a friend in her
youth. Not only does she mourn for him, but she also mourns the happiness of her younger
days, dancing and socializing. Her sadness and pity distract her from feeling anger at
Frankie’s truancy.

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Chapter 7

Vocabulary
oxter–armpit
read–give someone a lecture as a rebuke
snugs–small private rooms in pubs

1. Why do Frank and Malachy humor their drunken father by promising to die for Ireland?
How does their attitude differ now from their attitude during a similar episode earlier in the
book? What may have brought on this change?

The boys humor their father because they hope to be given a penny that they can spend on
toffee. Earlier in the book, Frank and Malachy refused the Friday Penny, an act which
showed their disapproval of their father’s behavior. Their attitude may have changed
because they have accepted their father’s drunkenness as the norm.

2. How do the children absorb their mother’s attitude toward their father?

They know not to talk to their father when their mother is angry with him for fear of
provoking the “bitter look.” (Pg. 171) When their father has done the “bad thing,”
drinking the dole money, they follow the adult practice of making him suffer by not talking
to him. (Pg. 171)

3. What does the story about Mickey Spellacy say about life in Limerick?

Answers may vary. Example: This story further illustrates the prevalence of consumption in
Limerick. In addition, the boys’ crass attitude toward death may indicate that they have
seen too much of it to be very affected by it.

4. What does the description of the Protestant girls suggest about a class divide between
Protestants and Catholics?

The description of the Protestant girls follows Frankie’s story about the miserable Catholic
Spellacy family, and the Protestants seems so healthy in contrast. Frankie says the girls are
“so lovely… [and] have such beautiful white teeth.” (Pg. 172) The Protestants do not seem
as impoverished as the Catholics of the book, for they have lovely lawns and leisure time
for games like croquet.

5. Why does Mam not want Frankie to get a job selling papers? What does Grandma say to
Mam’s objections?

Mam thinks Frankie is too young, and she says he is still in school. Grandma says school
“has him the way he is talkin’ back an’ goin’ around with the sour puss an’ the odd
manner like his father.” (Pg. 173)

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6. Who takes pity on Frankie in the pub when he is drenched from helping Uncle Pat deliver
the papers?

Uncle Pa Keating stands up for Frankie and orders him a lemonade.

7. What additional job does Frankie acquire on his first night delivering papers?

He agrees to read to Mr. Timoney.

8. What is the first piece Frankie reads to Mr. Timoney? What is the piece about?

Frankie reads A Modest Proposal. A Modest Proposal is a satirical essay by Jonathan

Swift. It suggests that the Irish eat their babies to solve the hunger problem since there was
no shortage of babies in Ireland.

9. How does Mr. Timoney’s enjoyment of A Modest Proposal reflect his beliefs?

Mr. Timoney is a Buddhist, not a Catholic. He mocks the Catholic Church and sees it as a
source of trouble for the Irish. The Catholic Church forbade birth control, which led Irish
Catholics to have large families. It was difficult for the poor to feed all of those children.
From this very real problem sprang the satire of A Modest Proposal.

10. Why is Declan Collopy angry with Frankie?

By working with Uncle Pat on Friday nights, Frankie misses the Confraternity.

11. Why does Frankie like Mr. Timoney?

Mr. Timoney talks to Frankie like a friend and does not belittle him because he is a child.

12. What happens to Mr. Timoney not long after Frankie starts reading to him? Why?

Mr. Timoney is taken to the City Home for the elderly who are helpless or demented. He is
taken away because he laughs until he cries that his dog was put down for biting a nun.

13. How does Mr. Timoney’s commitment affect Frank? What does Frank try to do for his new
friend?

Frank is saddened by his loss of Mr. Timoney and wants to read to the gentleman whether
he gets paid or not. Frank tries to get into the City Home; however, the guards turn him
away, and he leaves Mr. Timoney’s book behind.

14. Why are Frank, Malachy, and Michael told to play upstairs one July day?

Their mother is having a baby downstairs.

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15. What causes the baby to choke when Mam and Bridey are discussing names?

The baby chokes on milk that has collected and hardened in his throat.

16. Why does Frankie stay home from his brother’s baptism? Who else seems absent that day?

Frankie stays home because his mother is punishing him for criticizing the new baby’s
name, Alphonsus Joseph. Dad also seems absent from the baptism and party that follows.

17. What happens to the five pounds Grandpa McCourt sends the family for their new baby?

Dad cashes the money order and spends it on drinks at the pub.

18. Why does Frankie go to confession when he is searching for his father in the pubs?

Frankie steals fish and chips from a sleeping drunken man. He feels guilty for the theft and
wants to confess his sins.

19. How does Frankie’s confession affect the priest?

The priest feels humbled by the sorrows of the poor. He has sympathy for Frankie when he
learns the boy stole fish and chips because he has no food at home and a father who drank
the money for the baby.

20. Describe Frankie’s emotions when he finally finds his father.

Frankie has very mixed emotions when he finds Dad. He is angry with his father for
drinking the money for the baby, but he also feels conscious of the love he feels for his
father, who enriches his life with tales and laughter. Frankie sympathizes with Dad and
understands there must be some inner emptiness behind his drinking.

21. How does Frankie act upon these feelings?

He does not fetch his father from the pub and does not even tell his mother that he found
his father.

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Chapter 8

Vocabulary
plenary Indulgences–pardons from earthly punishment for sin

1. Why does Peter Dooley collect money by allowing other boys to look at his sisters while
they bathe?

He wants to save money so he can go to London to work for the BBC.

2. Why do the boys get caught watching Peter’s sisters?

Mikey Molloy has a fit, falls from the rainspout, and has to be taken to the hospital.

3. Mam does not want Frankie to go to confession over the incident at the Dooley house.
Why?

Frankie’s Confirmation is the next day. Mam saved all year for his Confirmation suit, and
she is worried the priest will make Frankie wait until next year for Confirmation if he
confesses. By then, she will have to buy the growing boy another suit.

4. What causes Frankie to miss his Confirmation Collection?

He develops a terrible nosebleed.

5. What gross misdiagnosis does the first doctor make?

Even though Frankie bleeds profusely, the doctor says the boy has a bad cold and needs
bed rest.

6. What does Dr. Troy do when he examines Frankie? Why?

He takes Frankie directly to the Fever Hospital, for Frankie has typhoid fever.

7. What is Extreme Unction, and what does it mean that Frankie receives it?

Extreme Unction is the last rites, and Frankie receives it because he is very close to death.

8. When does Frankie know he will get better?

He knows he will get better when his doctor passes gas “because a doctor would never fart
in the presence of a dying boy.” (Pg. 192)

9. Why does Dad’s visit to the hospital bring Frankie great happiness?

Dad kisses Frankie for the first time.

T-24
10. Which two people befriend Frankie in the hospital?

Patricia Madigan, the diphtheria patient in the next room, and the janitor Seamus befriend
Frankie.

11. What convinces Frankie that Dad is working while his son is in the hospital?

Mam brings Frankie a chocolate bar.

12. What book does Patricia loan to Frankie?

She loans him a history of England.

13. What does Frankie find thrilling about the history book? Find the quotation describing his
delight.

Frankie is excited to read his first lines of Shakespeare in the history book. He says, “…it’s
like having jewels in my mouth when I say the words. If I had a whole book of Shakespeare
they could keep me in the hospital for a year.” (Pg. 196)

14. From the other room, Patricia reads “The Highwayman” to Frankie. Why does he not get to
hear the final lines of the poem?

The nurse catches the children talking again and transfers Frankie to another room.

15. Frankie observes, “Nurses and nuns never think you know what they’re talking about. If
you’re ten going on eleven you’re supposed to be simple like my uncle Pat Sheehan who
was dropped on his head.” (Pg. 198) What is it that Frankie understands?

He knows that Patricia is going to die.

16. Why does Frankie’s new ward frighten him at night?

The ward had been the Fever Ward during the Potato Famine, and Frankie envisions dying
people all around him.

17. What unexpected challenge faces Frankie before he can leave the hospital?

He must learn to walk again.

18. How does Frankie get to hear the end of the highwayman poem?

Seamus meets someone in a pub who knows the end of the poem, and the janitor memorizes
the lines to recite to Frankie.

T-25
19. How does the girl in the blue dress enrich Frankie’s time in the hospital?

She supplies him with books.

20. After how long does Frankie finally get to go home? What day is it?

Frankie goes home on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, his patron saint, after fourteen
weeks in the hospital.

21. What makes Frankie unhappy when he arrives at home?

He realizes his father is unemployed again.

22. Why was staying in the hospital luxurious to Frankie?

He got good meals regularly, and his room was clean. He had his own lavatory and the
luxury of time to read books.

23. What embarrassed Frankie about his return to school?

Frankie is put back a year in school since he missed several months of classes. He joins his
younger brother’s class.

24. What does Frankie do that gets him into the sixth class? What does he attribute this
development to?

Frankie writes a clever composition called “Jesus and the Weather.” He believes the
prayer he said to St. Francis and the candle he lit helped to get him into the sixth class.

25. In Frankie’s composition, why does he say it is fortunate Jesus was not born in Limerick?

Frankie says that, if Jesus had been born in Limerick, the crucifixion would never have
occurred because Jesus would have died of consumption.

26. How does Mr. O’Halloran differ from the other schoolmasters?

He encourages his students to ask questions.

27. What does Mr. O’Halloran teach them that surprises Frankie?

Mr. O’Halloran teaches the students that the Irish committed atrocities in battle, too.

28. Why does Mr. O’Halloran organize a raffle?

He wants to raise money to get his shoeless pupils boots for the winter.

T-26
29. Why does Frankie feel torn between his father and his mother?

While Frankie knows his father hurts the family and distresses his mother by drinking the
dole money, the boy cherishes the father who tells him stories and talks to him about the
world. His father engages and excites his mind.

30. What does Frankie mean when he compares Dad to the Holy Trinity? What literary device
does McCourt use in this comparison?

Frankie says his father acts as thought there were “three people in him, the one in the
morning with the paper, the one at night with the stories and the prayers, and then the one
who does the bad thing and comes home with the smell of whiskey and wants us to die for
Ireland.” (Pg. 210) The literary device McCourt uses in the comparison is a simile.

31. What causes the McCourt home to be infested with rats and flies?

Rats and flies infest the McCourt home because of its proximity to the unclean lavatory and
stable.

32. Who is the latest welcome addition to the McCourt household?

The family gets a dog called Lucky.

33. Where does Frankie eat his Christmas dinner?

Frankie eats his Christmas dinner at the hospital where he recovered from typhoid.

34. How does Finn’s death demonstrate the compassion of the impoverished people in the
McCourt’s lane?

The people of the lane complain when the stable man does not treat the dead horse’s body
with respect.

35. What happens to the stable at the end of this chapter?

It burns down.

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Chapter 9

Vocabulary
gods–upper balcony in the theater
serviettes–napkins

1. Why is Mam willing to face eternal damnation?

Mam tells Dad she is willing to face eternal damnation for defying her religion as long as
she has no more children. She is exhausted.

2. What happens in England to improve the fortunes of many people in the lanes of Limerick?

Because the English are in the midst of fighting World War II, Irishmen are able to get jobs
in English munitions factories. The men send money home to their families in Ireland.

3. How does McCourt imply that Mam’s declaration affects Dad’s decision to go to England?

McCourt writes, “What is Dad to do?….if the wife turns her back to you there’s no
shortage of women in England where the able men are off fighting Hitler and Mussolini…”
(Pg. 216)

4. Why does Dad ridicule the families whose lot improves during the war?

Dad says the families buy their food with English money. He does not think it is honorable
to go to work for the English and profit from the war.

5. What changes Dad’s mind about going to England?

Mam harasses Dad about staying in Ireland where there is no work. Frank, too, tells his
father he wishes he would go to England so the McCourts could have good food, a radio,
and electricity like the other families of the lane. Finally, the Americans’ joining the war
convinces Dad the cause is just, and he is not as disturbed about assisting the English.

6. What do many of the men on Dad’s train do with the money the English agents gave them
for food?

They spend it to have a last whiskey, and a last pint of Guinness in Ireland.

7. How do Mam and Dad seem to feel when they say goodbye to each other?

They seem genuinely sorrowful, despite their quarrels leading up to the day.

T-28
8. What keeps Mam smoking by the fire all day on a Saturday two weeks after Dad left for
England?

Mam waits for a money order telegram from Dad that never comes.

9. On what does Grandma blame Frankie’s trouble with his eyes?

She says reading brought on Frankie’s eye problems.

10. Why is going to the Dispensary for medical treatment a humiliating experience for the poor
families of Limerick?

The patients at the Dispensary must explain their health problems in front of all the other
waiting patients.

11. What diagnosis does Dr. Troy give for Frankie’s eyes?

Dr. Troy says Frankie has conjunctivitis.

12. Which two old friends does Frank meet in the hospital?

He encounters Seamus and Mr. Timoney.

13. What does Frankie find amusing about the doctor’s advice upon his release from the
hospital?

The doctor tells Frankie he can go home even if there is still a bit of an infection in his eyes
if he will take care of them at home. The doctor recommends good food to help the healing,
as well as cleansing the eyes with soap and clean towels. Frankie knows he cannot follow
the doctor’s advice at home.

14. What news of Dad does Mr. Downes bring from England?

Mr. Downes reports that Dad has “gone pure mad with the drink.” (Pg. 230) Mr. McCourt
spends all his wages in pubs and cannot even pay his own rent. He makes a public
nuisance of himself.

15. What drastic step does Mam consider when she hears the news about Dad? What does she
do instead?

Mam considers putting her children in an orphanage and going to work in England herself.
Instead, she decides to ask for public assistance.

16. How does Mr. Kane shame Mam when she goes to ask for public assistance?

Mr. Kane implies that her husband spends his money on prostitutes in England. He also
harasses her for being married to a man from the North and asking for assistance in the
Irish Free State.

T-29
Chapter 10

1. How do the boys know something is wrong with Mam?

She neither smokes a cigarette nor mentions wanting one.

2. Why does Frankie steal food and lemonade?

His family has no money to buy food and no food in the house. Mam is very ill and asks for
nothing but lemonade. She is in no condition to care for the children.

3. When does Mam’s illness begin to scare the children?

The boys get worried when Mam starts raving about her dead children.

4. How do the boys decide to get fuel for the fire?

They decide to take Alphie out in the pram and beg for coal and turf in the rich
neighborhoods. When begging fails, they steal.

5. Who discovers the truant boys and their sick mother?

Guard Dennehy discovers the truant boys and the sick Mrs. McCourt.

6. What is Mam’s illness?

Mam has pneumonia.

7. Whom do the McCourt children stay with while their mother is in the hospital?

They stay with Aunt Aggie and Uncle Pa Keating.

8. Where does Aunt Aggie send Frankie, Malachy, and Michael the morning after they arrive
at her house?

She sends them to church for Ash Wednesday to pray for their mother.

9. Why are the boys glad when they get to go to school?

School is warm, and they will be free from screaming Aunt Aggie.

10. What does Aunt Aggie make Frankie write?

Aunt Aggie makes Frankie write a letter to his father asking for money and informing him
of Mam’s illness.

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11. How does Uncle Pa flaunt Aunt Aggie’s stinginess?

When Aunt Aggie goes to play cards, Uncle Pa makes a generous tea for himself and the
children. He amuses the boys with his humorous stories. Then, they all clean up before
Aggie’s return so she will never know about their little party.

12. Who comes to take the children away from Aunt Aggie’s?

Dad returns from England and takes the children home.

13. How long does Dad stay?

Dad stays until shortly after Mam comes home from the hospital.

14. What surprise does the family receive two weeks after Dad’s return to England?

They receive a telegram money order from Dad for three pounds.

15. What effect does the lack of any subsequent money order have on Mam?

She seems depressed. She sits by the fire and smokes and never cleans the house.

16. What does Frankie see that upsets him when he is out caring for Alphie?

He sees his mother begging for food at the priests’ house.

Chapter 11

Vocabulary
togged out–dressed finely
float–small vehicle used to make deliveries

1. What does Frank use to create hearts for his soccer team?

Frank cuts up his mother’s cherished red flapper dress to make the hearts.

2. What makes Frank think his birth to be a miracle? Why?

He finds his birth certificate in his mother’s trunk and realizes he was born less than nine
months after his parents’ marriage. Frank thinks a father and mother must be married nine
months before a child can be born.

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3. How does Mikey Molloy respond to Frank’s suggestion that his birth was a miracle?

Mikey explains to Frank that he was conceived outside of wedlock. He then tells Frankie
that he is doomed, not a miracle.

4. What revelation does Peter Molloy have in the pub?

Mr. Molloy realizes that, instead of being the “champion of all pint drinkers,” he could be
the “champion of no pints at all.” (Pg. 255) He decides to give up drinking.

5. What convinces Frankie that he cannot really be doomed as Mikey said he was?

He makes a goal on the soccer field, which he thinks must be a blessing sent by God, or the
Virgin Mary. Frankie does not think such a blessing would be sent to a doomed person.

6. What development causes eleven-year-old Frankie to feel like a man?

Frankie gets a job helping Mr. Hannon deliver coal.

7. Why does Mr. Hannon need help with his job?

In spite of the bandages on his legs, Mr. Hannon has sores on his legs that will not heal
due to the coal dust and dirt that gets in them.

8. How does Bridey react to Mam’s suggestion that she get a job to help her father? What is
ironic about her response? How is Mam’s comment on Bridey’s situation ironic, as well?

Bridey feels offended by Mam’s suggestion; she complains of health problems like a weak
chest. Her response is ironic because her complaint of a weak chest is likely brought on by
the very thing that occupies her idle days, smoking. While Mam recognizes the weakness of
Bridey’s point, she does not seem to connect it with her own situation; Mam smokes and
spends much idle time by the fire with Bridey.

9. What upsets Mam and threatens to keep Frankie from continuing his new job after the first
day? Why does Mam allow him to continue?

Frankie’s eyes, still unwell after his stay in the hospital, upset Mam when she sees him
after his first day helping Mr. Hannon; the coal dust irritated Frankie’s eyes again. Mam
allows Frankie to continue because she pities Mr. Hannon.

10. How does Frank impress the boys at school?

Mr. Hannon picks Frank up for work one day after school. Frank’s classmates are
impressed to see him working and driving the horse himself.

T-32
11. Frank takes great pride in having a job and in his ability to work. Why is this?

He thinks of himself as a responsible replacement for his father. He likes the idea of
providing for his family and relieving his mother’s worries.

12. Frank’s eyes get so bad he has to leave his job. What makes him tear up when he goes to
see Mrs. Hannon, who is so grateful for the help he gave her husband?

Mrs. Hannon makes Frank start to cry when she tells Frank he has been like a son to Mr.
Hannon.

Chapter 12

Vocabulary
quiffs–locks of hair
arrears–unpaid, overdue debt

1. What claim about himself does Dad make in his letter home to his family?

Dad claims he is a changed man.

2. How does Dad prove his claim false?

Dad arrives a day late for the Christmas holiday. He looks beaten up, and his top false
teeth are missing because he got in a fight while drunk.

3. What does Dad bring his family for Christmas?

He brings them a half-empty box of chocolates.

4. How soon does Dad leave again?

He leaves on Christmas day.

5. How do Frank and Malachy hide the holes in their stockings if Mam cannot mend them?

The boys blacken the skins under the holes with shoe polish.

6. How do clothes serve as a strong reminder of class divisions for Frankie?

Frank and his brother Malachy are so embarrassed by their raggedy clothes that they
avoid going to school on the streets where they might see the better dressed boys. Frankie
feels that the well-dressed boys will be the ones who have power as adults; boys like the
McCourts will work for them.

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7. How do Mam and Michael show compassion for those even less fortunate than they are?

Mam and Michael bring home women, children, old men, and dogs to share their shelter
and meager food supplies.

8. What puts a stop to their generosity?

The family get lice from a wandering old man.

9. Who does Frankie compare to mashed potatoes? Why?

Frankie compares Shakespeare to mashed potatoes because he says you cannot get enough
of him. Frankie enjoys to hear plays by Shakespeare on his neighbor’s radio.

10. Why do the McCourts get evicted from their home?

They get evicted because they are behind in the rent and because the rent collector
discovers they burned their upstairs wall in the fire.

11. The author’s tone expresses the way the author feels about his subject. What do you think
is the tone of the passage leading up to the McCourts’ eviction? Why do you think the
author uses this tone?

Answers may vary. Example: The tone seems humorous and amused despite the difficulties
the eviction will bring upon the family. McCourt finds the humor in the pathetic situation of
being so desperate for warmth that the family will break down a wall of their home to
obtain fuel for the fire.

12. Where does Grandma arrange for Mam and her boys to go?

Grandma arranges for them to stay with Mam’s cousin Laman Griffin.

13. What indignity must Mam accept in order to stay in her new home rent-free?

Not only must she wait on Laman Griffin and clean his house, but she must empty his
chamber pot, too.

14. What job does Laman Griffin assign Frankie?

Frankie must go to the library to pick out Laman Griffin’s books.

15. At the end of the chapter, what does the reader learn happens to Grandma? What happens
to Malachy?

Grandma got pneumonia and died after her night out in the rain when the McCourts were
evicted. Malachy goes to Dublin to train to play the trumpet in the Army School of Music.

T-34
Chapter 13

Vocabulary
boding–predicting
pithy–meaningful and concise
adroit–clever
foisted–forced to accept

1. Why does Frankie agree to empty Laman Griffin’s chamber pot?

Laman Griffin will allow Frankie to borrow his bike for a weekend trip if Frankie empties
the chamber pot.

2. What description does McCourt use to show Mam is unhappy with the way Laman treats
her son?

McCourt writes, “Mam stares into the dead ashes in the fireplace” after Laman tells
Frankie all the chores the boy must do. (Pg. 285)

3. What makes Frankie so interested in Butler’s Lives of the Saints?

Frankie enjoys the lurid descriptions of the saints’ martyrdom. In addition, curiosity about
what it means to be a virgin leads Frankie to the dictionary, where the thirteen-year-old
discovers many words which make him wonder about sex. Frankie says, “All I want to
know is where I came from but if you ask anyone they tell you ask someone else…” (Pg.
286)

4. How does the librarian interpret Frankie’s absorption in the saints’ lives?

The librarian thinks Frankie to be absorbed because he is so religiously devoted; she

writes Mrs. McCourt that Frankie may be a priest in the making.

5. Why does schoolmaster O’Halloran want to meet with Frankie’s mother?

Mrs. O’Halloran wishes to see Frankie continue in school. He believes Frank to be a

bright boy.

6. How does Frank feel about Mr. O’Halloran’s recommendation?

Frank does not want to go to school anymore. He wants to finish and get a job so he can
bring home wages.

T-35
7. How do the Christian Brothers treat Frank and Mam when they go to ask if Frank can
attend their secondary school? What does Mam say to Frankie after they leave the Christian
Brothers?

The Christian Brothers turn Frankie down and shut the door in their faces. Remembering
what happened when Frank applied to be an altar boy, Mam tells Frank this has been the
second time the Church slammed a door in Frank’s face. Mam tells him never to let
someone slam a door in his face again.

8. Despite his mother’s feelings of anger and despair, how does Frankie feel about the end of
his schooling?

Frankie feels elated and is excited to start a job.

9. Where does Frank plan to work after school ends?

He plans to work for the post office as a telegram boy.

10. What comment does Mr. O’Halloran make on Ireland’s class system? What admonishment
does he give boys?

Mr. O’Halloran says the Irish have kept a class system forced upon them by the English,
and this system wastes the talent of bright lower-class children. The schoolmaster
admonishes his students to go to America.

11. Where does Frankie consider being a missionary? How does his doctor discourage him
from this idea?

Frankie considers being a missionary in the Sahara Desert. The doctor ridicules the idea
and tries to frighten Frankie with warnings of vicious camels and worse eye trouble than
he already has.

12. What does Frank suspect is going on between his mother and Laman Griffin?

He thinks they are having the “excitement,” although he does not completely understand
what this means. (Pg. 291)

13. What do the priests tell the boys about their budding sexuality? Does Frank accept this
doctrine?

The priests try to impress upon the boys the idea that their sexuality is a sin. Frank cannot
understand how his sexuality could be a sin and behaves as though he rejects the idea.

T-36
14. Why does Frank get in a fight with Laman Griffin?

Frank does not like the abusive way Laman Griffin treats Mam, and he is furthered
angered when Laman retracts his promise to let Frank borrow his bicycle because Frank
forgot to empty the chamber pot.

15. How does Mam disappoint Frankie after Laman beats him up?

Mam climbs into Laman’s loft and spends the night with him.

16. What does Frank do after everyone in the house is asleep?

He runs away and goes to stay with Uncle Pat Sheehan.

Chapter 14

Vocabulary
boreen–narrow country lane
carbolic–relating to an acidic compound that is used as a disinfectant
cassock–robe worn by Roman Catholic clergyman

1. What makes Frankie consider returning to Laman Griffin’s house?

Michael’s pleas for his brother’s return make Frankie consider going back to Laman’s
house.

2. Frankie has a great desire to work and takes pride in the fact that he can earn money to
provide for his family. What feelings motivate Frankie to be a provider, something he
cannot have learned from his father?

Frankie feels ashamed of his family’s poverty; he is pained that his brothers have to go
around with broken-down shoes. He also feels envious of people who can afford the
luxuries of life–or simply enough nourishing food for their families. He longs for comforts.
Because his parents did not do much to provide for the family, Frankie feels he must take
on the role of provider as the oldest brother.

3. What food item symbolizes the ultimate in luxury for the poor in Limerick?

An egg is a luxury for Limerick’s poor.

T-37
4. Frank understands that language can be an indicator of social class. Give an example of an
observation Frank makes which shows that he sees a class divide between himself and the
speaker.

Answers may vary. Example: Frank hears his uncle say “oush of ish” instead of out of it
and remembers his father’s comment that the phrase was low-class. (Pg. 300)

5. The Abbot does not want to share his food with Frankie. How does Frankie feed himself
before he starts his job?

He steals bread and milk deliveries from rich people’s houses and apples from orchards.
He gets damaged produce from the farmers, he helps at the markets on Saturdays, and
leftovers from the closing fish and chips shops.

6. How does reading the Lives of the Saints make Frank feel about God and sainthood?

While Frank thinks he would like to be a saint, he does not understand the trials saints
have to go through to reach sainthood. Frank says he does not understand God and
wonders why God would want saints to go through what they do.

7. What does Frank suddenly understand while reading the Lin Yütang book?

He understands what sex is.

8. How does the Lin Yütang book get Frankie in trouble?

The librarian discovers Frank reading the book and declares the book is filthy. She then
revokes Frank’s library privileges.

9. The day before he turns fourteen, what does Frankie do to help make himself presentable
for his new job?

He washes his clothes.

10. What does Frank wear while his clothes are drying on the line?

Frank wears his Grandma’s old dress.

11. Why does Frank get discovered in his unusual attire?

The Abbot falls coming out of the pub, and Uncle Pa and Aunt Aggie must help him home.
When Aunt Aggie orders Frank out of bed to make Uncle Pat’s tea, she sees Frank wearing
his grandmother’s dress.

T-38
12. The dress incident comes across as a very humorous episode, despite the embarrassment
Frank suffered. How does McCourt’s use of humor in his memoir affect the tone of the
book?

If McCourt could not tell his story with humor, the tone of the book, so full of suffering and
tragedy, would be irredeemably dark. Humor injects the memoir with a sense of joy and
love of life, with acceptance and forgiveness for the hardships. Thus, humor lightens the
tone of the novel.

Chapter 15

Vocabulary
transom–horizontal crossbar over a door

1. What does Aunt Aggie do that surprises Frank on his fourteenth birthday?

She buys him new clothes and shoes to wear for his job as a telegram boy.

2. Is Frank a temporary or permanent telegram boy? What is the difference between the two
positions?

Frank is a temporary telegram boy. The permanent telegram boys took an exam and are
able to get promotions in the post office. The permanent telegram boys also have more
privileges, such as waterproof capes for bad weather and two weeks of vacation. The
temporary telegram boys can only keep their jobs from the ages of fourteen to sixteen.
McCourt writes, “There are no uniforms, no holidays, the pay is less, and if you stay out
sick a day you can be fired.” (Pg. 311)

3. Why does Frankie have to walk on his first telegram delivery route?

He walks because there is a shortage of bicycles.

4. Which old acquaintance does Frank deliver one of his first telegrams to? What change does
he see in this person? Why?

Frank delivers one of his first telegrams to Mrs. Clohessy. She is neatly dressed and has
plenty of food and new furniture in her house. Paddy and even sickly Mr. Clohessy have
gone to England to work and send money home to their family.

5. How does Frank spend his first week’s wages? What does Frank resolve to do with his
wages in the future?

Frank treats himself and his brother Michael to a night of cinema and eating out. Frank
resolves to save several shillings each week in the future so he can get to America by the
time he is twenty.

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6. Regarding tipping, what comment does Frank make about rich people, nuns, and priests?
How do the poor people of Limerick compare to the rich when it comes to tipping?

Frank says that, from rich people, nuns, and priests, “there’s no hope of a tip.” (Pg. 315)
The poor people of Limerick, in contrast, are among the best tippers.

7. How does Frankie risk losing his job when he takes telegrams to Limerick’s misfortunate?

Frankie is only supposed to deliver telegrams; he is not allowed to cash the money orders.
When he delivers to the poor, sickly people, pity overcomes him, and he ends up running
errands and assisting the people.

8. What change prevents Frankie from continuing in his plans to save for fare to America?

Mam, Michael, and Alphie move out of Laman Griffin’s house and into Uncle Pat’s house.
Malachy returns from Dublin and moves to Uncle Pat’s, as well. When the people at the
Dispensary find out Mrs. McCourt has a son who earns a pound a week, they refuse to give
her any more relief. Frankie must support his whole family now.

9. What does their willingness to sit on the damp floor say about the McCourt boys?

The McCourt brothers are just happy to all be together in each other’s company again.

10. Where does Frankie prefer to make deliveries?

Frankie prefers to make deliveries in the country.

11. Why does Frankie get the Carmody family telegram?

The other telegram boys are afraid of catching consumption from Theresa Carmody.

12. What do the other telegram boys say happens to sick people when they know they do not
have long to live?

The boys say knowing “there’s little time left…makes them [sick people] mad for love and
romance and everything.” (Pg. 323)

13. Why does Frankie enter the Carmody house?

He skids on his bike and scrapes his hand and face. Theresa Carmody invites him in so she
can clean his cuts, and he can dry his clothes.

14. What makes the other telegram boys’ claim about sick people seem true?

Theresa instigates sex with Frank.

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15. How does Frank reveal that he is developing feelings for Theresa?

Not only does Frank stop taking the shilling tip from Theresa, but he also does not tell the
other telegram boys that he has been having sex with her. He says that seeing her sickness
causes him pain and “…all I want to do then is make tea for her and sit with my arms
around her…” (Pg. 324)

16. What does Frank do when he learns Theresa has gone to the sanatorium?

After being denied entrance to see Theresa at the hospital, Frank goes to church to pray for
Theresa. He asks St. Francis to tell God to take Theresa’s consumption away.

17. Why is it important to Frank that Theresa get well?

He loves Theresa.

18. Why is Frank so concerned about Theresa Carmody’s soul when she dies? Why does he
have such guilt?

Frank worries that Theresa Carmody’s soul has gone to hell because they had the
“excitement” on the sofa. (Pg. 324) He feels responsible and thinks he brought about her
spiritual doom.

Chapter 16

Vocabulary
litigious–prone to bring a lawsuit against
barrister–lawyer
assiduity–diligence
guidon–small flag

1. Why does Frank try to baptize the deceased Mrs. Harrington as a Catholic with sherry?

He wants to save her soul and thinks he might be able to do penance for sending Theresa to
hell.

2. Why does Frankie lose his job with the post office?

After cursing him and forcing him to have ham and sherry, Mr. Harrington accuses
Frankie of stealing food and drink when he came to deliver telegrams.

3. How does Frankie get his job back?

Mam gets the priest to write a letter to the post office.

T-41
4. How does Frankie get undeserved credit for striking a blow for Ireland?

Frankie’s boss at the post office, Mrs. O’Connell, still believes Frankie stole the food and
drink. She decides it is excusable, though, because the owner of the food was an
Englishman. Mrs. O’Connell likes to think of Frankie taking revenge for Ireland’s long
suffering at the hands of the English.

5. Why is Frankie unable to go to confession?

He is tormented by the idea that he sent Theresa to hell, but he is terrified to confess. He
feels he is the “worst sinner in Limerick.” (Pg. 330)

6. What job does Frank take so he can make money to save fare for America? What is his new
employer’s business?

Frank takes a job writing threatening letters for Mrs. Finucane so she can collect money
owed to her. Mrs. Finucane lends people money and gives them vouchers for goods from
the shops. She overcharges her customers for the vouchers and makes them pay interest, as
well.

7. How does Frank increase the income from the writing job?

He saves the stamp money and delivers the letters himself late at night.

8. Why does Frank feel no remorse for taking money from Mrs. Finucane when she sleeps?

Mrs. Finucane is saving her money to have Masses said for her soul after her death. Since
the money is going to the Church, Frank feels no remorse for taking it. He figures the
Church owes him after slamming doors in his face.

9. How is Frank able to overcome any remorse he might feel about sending threatening letters
to friends of his family?

Frank is desperate to save his “escape money” for America. (Pg. 333) He thinks he will
send money home to his family, and they will then not have to worry about moneylenders'
threatening letters.

10. What causes Frankie not to take the postman exam?

Frankie has a conversation with Uncle Pa Keating, who encourages him to make up his
own mind. On the way to the exam, Frank sees a sign that says “SMART BOY WANTED,”
and he decides to apply for a job there. (Pg. 334)

11. Who is Frankie’s newest employer, and what do they do?

Frankie’s newest employer is Eason and Son, Ltd., a newspaper and magazine distributor.

T-42
12. Why does Mr. McCaffrey tell Frankie not to read The Irish Times?

The Irish Times is a Protestant newspaper. Mr. McCaffrey warns Frankie that reading this
paper would cause him to “lose the Faith.” (Pg. 336)

13. Why do the women at the post office resent the fact that Frankie did not take the postman
exam?

The women believe Frankie thinks he is too good for the post office.

Chapter 17

1. Where does Frank go when he leaves the post office? Why?

Frank goes to South’s pub to have his first pint with Uncle Pa Keating.

2. What is the subject of conversation in the pub?

The end of World War II is the subject of conversation. Men talk about the Nuremberg
trials and findings in the concentration camps.

3. Why does Frankie ring the Jesuits’ doorbell after having too many pints? How does the
monk who answers the door react?

In his drunken state, Frank becomes obsessed with going to confession. The monk who
answers the door threatens him and eventually kicks him down the steps; he tells the boy he
cannot go to confession drunk because he has not properly repented.

4. What does Mam say when Frankie comes home drunk? How does Frankie respond to her?

Disappointed in her son, Mam tells Frankie that he is just like his father. Frankie responds
that he would rather be like his father than Laman Griffin.

5. What does Frank do that he regrets when he is sober?

He slaps his mother in anger over her relationship with Laman Griffin.

6. At whom does Frank rage on his sixteenth birthday?

He rages at St. Francis.

T-43
7. How does the Franciscan priest comfort Frank?

The priest suggests that, since Frank thinks he did things too terrible to confess, Frank
could talk to St. Francis about his troubles. The priest says he will listen for God and the
saint.

8. What does Frank tell St. Francis while the priest listens?

Frank tells of all the things in his life that have saddened, shamed, angered, and troubled
him.

9. How does the priest relieve Frank’s mind about Theresa Carmody?

The priest says Theresa is surely in heaven, for she suffered so much in her life. The priest
assures Frank that Theresa did not die without a priest.

10. What are Eamon and Peter surprised to learn about Frankie? Why?

They are surprised to learn he does not smoke. They think you have to smoke to go out with
girls.

11. Why does Gerry Halvey’s anger over seeing Frank with his girlfriend Rose seem absurd?

Frank is with Rose because Gerry left her at the train station without saying a word to her;
Gerry left after deciding–based upon his girlfriend’s walk–that she has been unfaithful to
him in England. While assisting the girl with her luggage, Frank quickly realizes Rose
loves Gerry and was not unfaithful to him.

12. Why does Frank find Mr. McCaffrey so upset when he returns to the office?

Mr. McCaffrey is upset because the government has ordered them to remove page sixteen
from all the copies already delivered of John O’London’s Weekly.

13. What is on page sixteen? Why does Eamon want the pages?

Page sixteen contains information about birth control, which is banned in Ireland. Eamon
wants to sell the pages.

14. What kind of demand do the boys have for page sixteen? Who wants to read it?

There is high demand for the page on birth control. The boys find that mostly wealthier
people want to read it.

15. Mam has a job now, too. What does she do?

She cares for an elderly man while his daughters go to work.

T-44
16. What does Mam’s charge, Mr. Sliney, want to tell Frank? Why is this good advice in
Limerick?

Mr. Sliney tells Frank, “Never smoke another man’s pipe.” (Pg. 352) Sharing a pipe could
spread TB and other diseases.

17. Why is Frankie interested in the Protestant newspaper?

He wants “to see where the danger is.” (Pg. 352) He is curious as to what the Protestant
read that the Catholics do not allow.

18. Why is Malachy fired from his job at a rich, Catholic boys’ boarding school?

Malachy gets fired for not acting deferential to the wealthy boys.

Chapter 18

1. How old is Frank now?

He is eighteen.

2. What does Frank do with some of the money Mrs. Finucane sends to churches to have
Masses said for her soul?

Frank deposits some of the money in his America fund and vows to pray for Mrs. Finucane
himself.

3. How does Frank get the rest of the money he needs to go to America?

He finds Mrs. Finucane when she dies, and he takes some money from the dead woman’s
purse and trunk of savings.

4. Why does he feel like Robin Hood when Mrs. Finucane dies?

Frankie secretly throws Mrs. Finucane’s ledger recording others’ debts to her into the
Shannon.

5. How will Frankie travel to America? How soon will he leave?

Frankie will travel to America from Cork on the ship Irish Oak. He will leave in a few
weeks.

T-45
6. How does Mam react to Frank’s news that he is going to America? For what does she
hope?

Mam cries when Frank tells her he is leaving for America. Mam hopes the whole family
can go to America one day.

7. How does Frank feel about leaving Limerick?

He has mixed feelings about leaving Limerick, even though he has longed to go to America.
He remembers the family’s history there and feels sad when he thinks of leaving Mam and
his brothers.

8. What natural phenomenon marks Frank’s going-away party?

There is an eclipse of the moon.

9. Why do feelings of guilt burden Frank as he sets sail from Ireland?

Frank worries that he should have stayed in Ireland to provide for his mother and
brothers; he feels selfish.

10. Who befriends Frank on the ship to America?

A priest befriends Frank.

11. When Frank sees New York from the ship, he observes, “…the sun turns everything to
gold.” (Pg. 359) How is this imagery symbolic? How does Frank think of America?

The imagery is symbolic because Frank sees America as a country of wealthy, comfortable,
and beautiful people with no worries at all.

12. Frank says he stopped going to confession after the Franciscan priest told him Theresa
Carmody was not in hell. Almost as soon as Frank arrives in America, he has sex with an
American woman. What do you think McCourt is trying to say by closing his book this
way? How might the episode be symbolic, as the description of New York was?

Answer may vary. Example: McCourt may be trying to say that he has finally rejected the
Catholic Church’s ideas about sex. The episode may be symbolic because, when the priest
knocks on the bedroom door, Frank ignores him. While with Frieda, Frank thinks, “…do
you see what’s happening to me at long last I don’t give a fiddler’s fart if the Pope himself
knocked on this door and the College of Cardinals gathered gawking at the windows…”
(Pg. 361)

T-46
Chapter 19

1. What does this one word chapter mean? Why do you suppose McCourt ends the memoir
this way?

“’Tis” is McCourt’s answer to the Wireless Officer’s question about America in the
previous chapter, “Isn’t this a great country altogether?” (Pg. 363, Pg. 362)
Answers may vary. Example: The word creates interest in the second chapter of McCourt’s
story and is actually the title to the sequel of this memoir.

T-47
 Angela’s Ashes

Study Guide
Student Copy

Chapter 1

Vocabulary
shiftless–lazy; lacking in ambition
loquacious–excessively talkative
pious–devotedly religious
pompous–arrogant, self-important
cacophony–harsh sound
catarrh–chronic inflammation of the nose and air passages
jakes–outhouse, privy
novenas–in the Roman Catholic Church, periods of prayer lasting nine days
speakeasies–during Prohibition, places where alcohol was sold illegally
skivvy–female domestic servant
hangdog–sad, downcast
puce–dark red

1. To what genre does Angela’s Ashes belong?

2. How does the adult Frank McCourt feel when he looks back on his childhood?

3. What nationality is the McCourt family, and what religion do they practice? What would
Frank McCourt say you could expect from such a heritage?

4. The Feast of the Circumcision falls on January 1st. What, then, is McCourt saying about
the rain in Limerick, and why does he write at length about the rain and the damp?

S-1
5. What reason does McCourt give for the piety of Limerick?

6. Describe the introduction McCourt gives his father.

7. Why does Angela Sheehan never meet her father?

8. Why does McCourt write, “My mother’s troubles began the night she was born”? (Pg. 13)

9. When and where do McCourt’s parents meet? Why have they both left Ireland?

10. Why are Angela’s cousins prejudiced against Malachy? What causes their prejudice?

11. After the confrontation with Angela’s relatives, Malachy decides to go to California. What
keeps him from getting there?

12. Do Malachy and Angela want to marry?

S-2
13. How does alcohol impact their child’s naming and baptism?

14. The MacNamara sisters force Angela and Malachy to marry. What, however, do they say to
Angela at Frank’s baptism?

15. In an autobiography, the book is narrated in the first person, but subtle changes do occur in
the narrator’s perspective. How does the point of view change on page nineteen?

16. McCourt records the misunderstandings and confusion of a child learning about the world
by writing from the perspective of a three-year-old. What does young Frank misunderstand
about blood?

17. Mr. McCourt tells Frankie a story that the boy believes to belong to him. What is the
subject of the story?

18. Why do the children spend so much time unattended at the playground?

19. How can the boys tell when their mother is happy because their father has found a job at
last?

S-3
20. What happens after Dad’s three weeks of work?

21. How does Mam cope when Dad does not bring his wages home on the fourth Friday of his
job?

22. What does Frankie think when Malachy sings Maisie’s song? Why does he have this
reaction?

23. How does Mr. McCourt change when Margaret is born?

24. Frankie and Malachy become the chief caregivers for their twin brothers after Margaret’s
birth. How does Frank deal with the twins’ hunger?

25. What does the Italian do when he learns of the theft?

26. What does the grocer mean when he says “the problem, the Irish thing”? (Pg. 32)

S-4
27. How does Frankie learn Margaret is sick?

28. After Margaret’s death, the generosity of neighbors Minnie MacAdorey and Mrs.
Leibowitz sustains the children. What happens to their parents?

29. On the night of his father’s return, what does Frankie dream of after swearing to die for
Ireland?

30. What is the only development capable of getting Mam out of bed after Margaret’s death?

31. How does Frankie view his brother Malachy?

32. When Angela’s cousins discover the state of her family and the squalor in which they are
living, what do they do?

33. What sense is there that McCourt, writing as an adult, mocks the meddlesome cousins of
his mother?

34. How does the reader know that, wretched as the McCourts’ lives seem in Brooklyn, they
are only going to get worse in Ireland?

S-5
Chapter 2

Vocabulary
dole–handout of government funds to the unemployed
dotes–terms of endearment for children
perfidy–treachery
fags–cigarettes
docket–certificate giving the holder the right to buy goods
blaguarding–acting like a vagabond
rashers–thin slices of bacon or ham

1. Where do the McCourts go to when they first arrive in Ireland? What kind of welcome do
they receive?

2. The children marvel over many things when they arrive in Ireland. What are some of the
things they have never seen before, and what is the reason for this?

3. How does McCourt use onomatopoeia to capture the sensory impressions he had as a
child? Give examples of this literary device.

4. Where do Mr. McCourt’s parents tell him to go since they have no room for his family?
Why?

5. Whom does Dad tell the children about on the bus to Dublin? What purpose does the story
serve?

S-6
6. How does Dad’s storytelling contrast with Mam’s attitude?

7. Why does little Malachy think the McCourts are in New York City when they arrive in
Dublin?

8. How does Frankie know his mother is cheered a bit on their arrival in Dublin?

9. Whom do Frankie and Mr. McCourt encounter on the street on their way to the IRA office?
How does the reader then know that false hope has been raised for help from the IRA?

10. Why does the IRA man Mr. Heggarty refuse to give Mr. McCourt money for the bus fare?

11. Who takes the McCourts in on their first night in Dublin?

12. Where does Mr. McCourt ask to go on the way to meet the train to Limerick? Why?

13. Why do the McCourts go to Limerick next?

S-7
14. What seems contradictory about conditions in Limerick? How is the environment at odds
with the condition of the populace?

15. Do Angela’s relatives give her family a warmer reception than Malachy’s family did?

16. Locate Grandma’s comment to Mam about cigarettes on page fifty-six. Explain Grandma’s
warning.

17. Where does the man on the bicycle tell Frankie and his father that fleas come from?

18. What happens to Mam several nights after the flea incident?

19. What types of prejudice does the McCourt family encounter when they try to find a means
to support themselves?

20. What is it Mam’s habit to do when she is worried?

S-8
21. What is the St. Vincent de Paul Society? List some adjectives to describe the Society and
its attitude toward the people who come to it for charity.

22. How does the St. Vincent de Paul Society feel about smoking? What does Nora Malloy
have to say to this?

23. What is a souper?

24. How does Nora help the McCourts?

25. Why does Frankie not mind when Dad tells the Cuchulain story to his brother Oliver?

26. Why will Mr. McCourt not pick coal up off the road even though his son is sick?

27. What is Mam’s response when Dad says he prayed to St. Jude that she would get coal?

28. What makes Uncle Pa Keating one of the most positive figures in this book?

S-9
29. What does the reader learn about Aunt Aggie’s bitterness when the McCourt children go to
stay with her after Oliver is taken to the hospital?

30. What does it seem likely Oliver dies of?

31. How does Dad deal with Oliver’s death?

32. Why does the family move from the house on Windmill Street?

33. Where do Malachy and Frank start school?

34. What do the other students ask the boys when they learn the McCourts have come from
America? Where do the Irish people in this book seem to be getting their ideas about
Americans?

35. The masters at Leamy’s School have some harsh methods. Explain.

S-10
36. Why does Eugene spend so much time looking out the window?

37. Of what does Eugene die?

38. Although he is just a young child, why does Frankie get upset with his father on the
afternoon before Eugene’s funeral?

39. An amazing fact of this narrative is that humor works its way into the tragedy of McCourt’s
childhood at all. Yet, the memoir is frequently interspersed with wit and gratitude for small
things. What is the literary term for humor that lightens tragedy? Find an example of this
device on page 89, when the family travels to Eugene’s funeral.

40. What is young Frank’s idea of heaven?

S-11
Chapter 3

Vocabulary
lorries–trucks

1. The McCourts move once more after Eugene’s death. They are just getting settled in their
new house when they get some unpleasant news about it. What is this news?

2. Why had Frankie been so pleased with the new house before learning the unpleasant news?

3. Who is on the McCourts’ one picture? Why is this person significant to Dad?

4. Mam says that what she missed most in America was the River Shannon. How does Dad
feel about the river?

5. What is ironic about Dad’s attitude toward work and begging?

6. What happens to the McCourts’ house in the winter rains?

S-12
7. The family shows a remarkable ability to cast misfortunes in a positive light. How do they
choose to think of their move upstairs for the winter?

8. What can Mam get with the docket for the family’s Christmas dinner?

9. How does Pa Keating help Malachy and Frank on Christmas day?

10. Where does Dad tell his sons their new brother Michael came from?

11. How does Dad relieve the sick baby’s cold?

12. When the St. Vincent de Paul men come to visit, what do they term the upstairs of the
McCourts’ house? Why?

13. With what does Dad fix his sons’ shoes?

S-13
14. To whom does Frank try to confide his troubles and worries?

15. What literary device does McCourt employ in the paragraph on women’s and men’s roles
on page 107? Explain.

16. Where does Dad find his first job in Limerick? How long does he keep the job?

17. How do Malachy and Frank show Dad their unhappiness that he spent the wages of his new
job at the pub?

S-14
Chapter 4

Vocabulary
ineffable–indescribable
grousing–complaining
venial–pardonable

1. How does McCourt capture the literal-mindedness of children when Frankie learns he must
prepare for his First Communion?

2. What is Mikey Molloy’s “affliction”? (Pg. 114) Why does Frankie look up to Mikey?

3. Why does Nora Molloy regularly go to the insane asylum? What sense is there that it is a
relief for her to go there?

4. What is The Collection?

5. Does Mr. Benson, the schoolmaster, encourage curiosity among his students? How does he
expect his pupils to learn?

6. Ho gets the raisin from Frankie’s bun?

S-15
7. What does the master use to teach the boys how to receive Holy Communion?

8. What does the master tell the boys to impress upon them the importance of their First
Communion?

9. What makes Frankie start to worry about his First Communion?

10. How is Frankie’s worry relieved?

11. How does Dad comfort Frankie?

12. Although the child Frankie does not seem to recognize it at the time, what does McCourt
imply to be the priest’s reaction when Frankie confesses his big sin at his First Confession?

13. What does the priest tell Frankie about books?

14. Why does Frankie almost miss his First Communion?

S-16
15. What is ironic about Grandma’s telling Frankie on page 128 that “a little spit won’t kill
you”?

16. Why does Grandma take Frankie back to church after his First Communion?

17. How does the priest react to Frankie’s confession?

18. What does their laughter say about the priests?

19. How does Frankie get in the Lyric Cinema since he never makes The Collection rounds?

S-17
Chapter 5

Vocabulary
guile–dishonest cunning
gansey–jersey
brawn–loaf or sausage made from parts of the pig, especially the head
saffron–orange-yellow
tripe–stomach tissue of the ox
poll–head
sodality–Roman Catholic devotional association of lay people
footpads–robbers of pedestrians

1. What is both humorous and poignant about Frankie’s description of the adult practice of
“not talking to each other”? (Pg. 132-133)

2. How do Mam and her friend Bridey Hannon spend their time together?

3. What does the poem Mam recites say about her life? Why does she laugh all the way
through it?

4. What does Dad do with the money he earns from letter writing?

5. Why is Grandma upset when she meets her new boarder?

6. What gets Frankie in trouble on his first day delivering dinner to Grandma’s boarder?

S-18
7. What do Mam and Dad tell their children about smoking? Why is this ironic?

8. What happens to Mam and Dad’s teeth?

9. Why does Malachy have to go to the hospital?

10. What does the doctor at the hospital notice about Frankie?

11. Why does Mam start giving Frankie sixpence every Saturday?

12. How does Frankie feel about Irish dancing?

13. Which dancer does Frankie admire?

14. After four weeks, what does Frank start to do with his dancing money?

S-19
15. Why does Frankie have to go to confession on the day he loses his tooth?

16. The McCourts moved back to Ireland when Frankie was four. Why does Mr. McCourt still
not have a steady job when Frankie is nine?

17. What is Mam’s response when Bridey tells her she could go to hell for saying God had not
been seen in the lanes of Limerick?

18. What is the Arch Confraternity? Why does Question Quigley tell Frankie he has to join?

19. How does the Confraternity pressure people into attending?

20. Dad decides Frankie is old enough to be an altar boy. Why does Mam not want Frankie to
be an altar boy?

21. What causes Dad to be disappointed in the Church?

22. What does Mam say is the reason for Frankie’s disappointment?

S-20
Chapter 6

Vocabulary
poltroon–coward
legion–numerous
ingle–boy favored by a homosexual

1. From the boys’ question to Mr. O’Neill, what time period can the reader surmise it is when
Frankie is in the fourth form? Why?

2. Why does Mr. O’Neill incur the anger of Mr. O’Dea?

3. Why does Fintan Slattery earn the reward of Mr. O’Neill’s apple peel?

4. Describe Fintan Slattery’s reputation among his classmates.

5. Why do Paddy and Frankie become the subjects of teasing from the other boys?

6. Why do Paddy and Frankie go to Fintan’s home a second time even though they are
uncomfortable with the way he watches them?

7. What causes Frankie and Paddy not to return to school after going to Fintan’s house for
lunch?

S-21
8. Where do Frankie and Paddy find something to eat?

9. Where does Paddy fantasize about going when he grows up? Why does this place seem like
paradise to him?

10. What keeps Frankie from going home after he meets Question Quigley?

11. Paddy’s family is even poorer than the McCourts are, yet what is Paddy’s mother doing
when her son and Frankie meet her?

12. How does Frankie bring amusement to the sickly Mr. Clohessy?

13. Do the Clohessys begrudge Frankie his share of their morning breakfast?

14. McCourt writes, “I’m very sorry for the Clohessys and all their troubles but I think they
saved me from getting into trouble with my mother.” (Pg. 169) Why do the Clohessys’
troubles save Frankie?

S-22
Chapter 7

Vocabulary
oxter–armpit
read–give someone a lecture as a rebuke
snugs–small private rooms in pubs

1. Why do Frank and Malachy humor their drunken father by promising to die for Ireland?
How does their attitude differ now from their attitude during a similar episode earlier in the
book? What may have brought on this change?

2. How do the children absorb their mother’s attitude toward their father?

3. What does the story about Mickey Spellacy say about life in Limerick?

4. What does the description of the Protestant girls suggest about a class divide between
Protestants and Catholics?

5. Why does Mam not want Frankie to get a job selling papers? What does Grandma say to
Mam’s objections?

6. Who takes pity on Frankie in the pub when he is drenched from helping Uncle Pat deliver
the papers?

S-23
7. What additional job does Frankie acquire on his first night delivering papers?

8. What is the first piece Frankie reads to Mr. Timoney? What is the piece about?

9. How does Mr. Timoney’s enjoyment of A Modest Proposal reflect his beliefs?

10. Why is Declan Collopy angry with Frankie?

11. Why does Frankie like Mr. Timoney?

12. What happens to Mr. Timoney not long after Frankie starts reading to him? Why?

13. How does Mr. Timoney’s commitment affect Frank? What does Frank try to do for his new
friend?

14. Why are Frank, Malachy, and Michael told to play upstairs one July day?

S-24
15. What causes the baby to choke when Mam and Bridey are discussing names?

16. Why does Frankie stay home from his brother’s baptism? Who else seems absent that day?

17. What happens to the five pounds Grandpa McCourt sends the family for their new baby?

18. Why does Frankie go to confession when he is searching for his father in the pubs?

19. How does Frankie’s confession affect the priest?

20. Describe Frankie’s emotions when he finally finds his father.

21. How does Frankie act upon these feelings?

S-25
Chapter 8

Vocabulary
plenary Indulgences–pardons from earthly punishment for sin

1. Why does Peter Dooley collect money by allowing other boys to look at his sisters while
they bathe?

2. Why do the boys get caught watching Peter’s sisters?

3. Mam does not want Frankie to go to confession over the incident at the Dooley house.
Why?

4. What causes Frankie to miss his Confirmation Collection?

5. What gross misdiagnosis does the first doctor make?

6. What does Dr. Troy do when he examines Frankie? Why?

7. What is Extreme Unction, and what does it mean that Frankie receives it?

S-26
8. When does Frankie know he will get better?

9. Why does Dad’s visit to the hospital bring Frankie great happiness?

10. Which two people befriend Frankie in the hospital?

11. What convinces Frankie that Dad is working while his son is in the hospital?

12. What book does Patricia loan to Frankie?

13. What does Frankie find thrilling about the history book? Find the quotation describing his
delight.

14. From the other room, Patricia reads “The Highwayman” to Frankie. Why does he not get to
hear the final lines of the poem?

S-27
15. Frankie observes, “Nurses and nuns never think you know what they’re talking about. If
you’re ten going on eleven you’re supposed to be simple like my uncle Pat Sheehan who
was dropped on his head.” (Pg. 198) What is it that Frankie understands?

16. Why does Frankie’s new ward frighten him at night?

17. What unexpected challenge faces Frankie before he can leave the hospital?

18. How does Frankie get to hear the end of the highwayman poem?

19. How does the girl in the blue dress enrich Frankie’s time in the hospital?

20. After how long does Frankie finally get to go home? What day is it?

21. What makes Frankie unhappy when he arrives at home?

22. Why was staying in the hospital luxurious to Frankie?

S-28
23. What embarrassed Frankie about his return to school?

24. What does Frankie do that gets him into the sixth class? What does he attribute this
development to?

25. In Frankie’s composition, why does he say it is fortunate Jesus was not born in Limerick?

26. How does Mr. O’Halloran differ from the other schoolmasters?

27. What does Mr. O’Halloran teach them that surprises Frankie?

28. Why does Mr. O’Halloran organize a raffle?

29. Why does Frankie feel torn between his father and his mother?

30. What does Frankie mean when he compares Dad to the Holy Trinity? What literary device
does McCourt use in this comparison?

S-29
31. What causes the McCourt home to be infested with rats and flies?

32. Who is the latest welcome addition to the McCourt household?

33. Where does Frankie eat his Christmas dinner?

34. How does Finn’s death demonstrate the compassion of the impoverished people in the
McCourt’s lane?

35. What happens to the stable at the end of this chapter?

S-30
Chapter 9

Vocabulary
gods–upper balcony in the theater
serviettes–napkins

1. Why is Mam willing to face eternal damnation?

2. What happens in England to improve the fortunes of many people in the lanes of Limerick?

3. How does McCourt imply that Mam’s declaration affects Dad’s decision to go to England?

4. Why does Dad ridicule the families whose lot improves during the war?

5. What changes Dad’s mind about going to England?

6. What do many of the men on Dad’s train do with the money the English agents gave them
for food?

7. How do Mam and Dad seem to feel when they say goodbye to each other?

S-31
8. What keeps Mam smoking by the fire all day on a Saturday two weeks after Dad left for
England?

9. On what does Grandma blame Frankie’s trouble with his eyes?

10. Why is going to the Dispensary for medical treatment a humiliating experience for the poor
families of Limerick?

11. What diagnosis does Dr. Troy give for Frankie’s eyes?

12. Which two old friends does Frank meet in the hospital?

13. What does Frankie find amusing about the doctor’s advice upon his release from the
hospital?

14. What news of Dad does Mr. Downes bring from England?

15. What drastic step does Mam consider when she hears the news about Dad? What does she
do instead?

16. How does Mr. Kane shame Mam when she goes to ask for public assistance?

S-32
Chapter 10

1. How do the boys know something is wrong with Mam?

2. Why does Frankie steal food and lemonade?

3. When does Mam’s illness begin to scare the children?

4. How do the boys decide to get fuel for the fire?

5. Who discovers the truant boys and their sick mother?

6. What is Mam’s illness?

7. Whom do the McCourt children stay with while their mother is in the hospital?

8. Where does Aunt Aggie send Frankie, Malachy, and Michael the morning after they arrive
at her house?

S-33
9. Why are the boys glad when they get to go to school?

10. What does Aunt Aggie make Frankie write?

11. How does Uncle Pa flaunt Aunt Aggie’s stinginess?

12. Who comes to take the children away from Aunt Aggie’s?

13. How long does Dad stay?

14. What surprise does the family receive two weeks after Dad’s return to England?

15. What effect does the lack of any subsequent money order have on Mam?

16. What does Frankie see that upsets him when he is out caring for Alphie?

S-34
Chapter 11

Vocabulary
togged out–dressed finely
float–small vehicle used to make deliveries

1. What does Frank use to create hearts for his soccer team?

2. What makes Frank think his birth to be a miracle? Why?

3. How does Mikey Molloy respond to Frank’s suggestion that his birth was a miracle?

4. What revelation does Peter Molloy have in the pub?

5. What convinces Frankie that he cannot really be doomed as Mikey said he was?

6. What development causes eleven-year-old Frankie to feel like a man?

7. Why does Mr. Hannon need help with his job?

S-35
8. How does Bridey react to Mam’s suggestion that she get a job to help her father? What is
ironic about her response? How is Mam’s comment on Bridey’s situation ironic, as well?

9. What upsets Mam and threatens to keep Frankie from continuing his new job after the first
day? Why does Mam allow him to continue?

10. How does Frank impress the boys at school?

11. Frank takes great pride in having a job and in his ability to work. Why is this?

12. Frank’s eyes get so bad he has to leave his job. What makes him tear up when he goes to
see Mrs. Hannon, who is so grateful for the help he gave her husband?

S-36
Chapter 12

Vocabulary
quiffs–locks of hair
arrears–unpaid, overdue debt

1. What claim about himself does Dad make in his letter home to his family?

2. How does Dad prove his claim false?

3. What does Dad bring his family for Christmas?

4. How soon does Dad leave again?

5. How do Frank and Malachy hide the holes in their stockings if Mam cannot mend them?

6. How do clothes serve as a strong reminder of class divisions for Frankie?

7. How do Mam and Michael show compassion for those even less fortunate than they are?

S-37
8. What puts a stop to their generosity?

9. Who does Frankie compare to mashed potatoes? Why?

10. Why do the McCourts get evicted from their home?

11. The author’s tone expresses the way the author feels about his subject. What do you think
is the tone of the passage leading up to the McCourts’ eviction? Why do you think the
author uses this tone?

12. Where does Grandma arrange for Mam and her boys to go?

13. What indignity must Mam accept in order to stay in her new home rent-free?

14. What job does Laman Griffin assign Frankie?

15. At the end of the chapter, what does the reader learn happens to Grandma? What happens
to Malachy?

S-38
Chapter 13

Vocabulary
boding–predicting
pithy–meaningful and concise
adroit–clever
foisted–forced to accept

1. Why does Frankie agree to empty Laman Griffin’s chamber pot?

2. What description does McCourt use to show Mam is unhappy with the way Laman treats
her son?

3. What makes Frankie so interested in Butler’s Lives of the Saints?

4. How does the librarian interpret Frankie’s absorption in the saints’ lives?

5. Why does schoolmaster O’Halloran want to meet with Frankie’s mother?

6. How does Frank feel about Mr. O’Halloran’s recommendation?

S-39
7. How do the Christian Brothers treat Frank and Mam when they go to ask if Frank can
attend their secondary school? What does Mam say to Frankie after they leave the Christian
Brothers?

8. Despite his mother’s feelings of anger and despair, how does Frankie feel about the end of
his schooling?

9. Where does Frank plan to work after school ends?

10. What comment does Mr. O’Halloran make on Ireland’s class system? What admonishment
does he give boys?

11. Where does Frankie consider being a missionary? How does his doctor discourage him
from this idea?

12. What does Frank suspect is going on between his mother and Laman Griffin?

13. What do the priests tell the boys about their budding sexuality? Does Frank accept this
doctrine?

S-40
14. Why does Frank get in a fight with Laman Griffin?

15. How does Mam disappoint Frankie after Laman beats him up?

16. What does Frank do after everyone in the house is asleep?

S-41
Chapter 14

Vocabulary
boreen–narrow country lane
carbolic–relating to an acidic compound that is used as a disinfectant
cassock–robe worn by Roman Catholic clergyman

1. What makes Frankie consider returning to Laman Griffin’s house?

2. Frankie has a great desire to work and takes pride in the fact that he can earn money to
provide for his family. What feelings motivate Frankie to be a provider, something he
cannot have learned from his father?

3. What food item symbolizes the ultimate in luxury for the poor in Limerick?

4. Frank understands that language can be an indicator of social class. Give an example of an
observation Frank makes which shows that he sees a class divide between himself and the
speaker.

5. The Abbot does not want to share his food with Frankie. How does Frankie feed himself
before he starts his job?

6. How does reading the Lives of the Saints make Frank feel about God and sainthood?

S-42
7. What does Frank suddenly understand while reading the Lin Yütang book?

8. How does the Lin Yütang book get Frankie in trouble?

9. The day before he turns fourteen, what does Frankie do to help make himself presentable
for his new job?

10. What does Frank wear while his clothes are drying on the line?

11. Why does Frank get discovered in his unusual attire?

12. The dress incident comes across as a very humorous episode, despite the embarrassment
Frank suffered. How does McCourt’s use of humor in his memoir affect the tone of the
book?

S-43
Chapter 15

Vocabulary
transom–horizontal crossbar over a door

1. What does Aunt Aggie do that surprises Frank on his fourteenth birthday?

2. Is Frank a temporary or permanent telegram boy? What is the difference between the two
positions?

3. Why does Frankie have to walk on his first telegram delivery route?

4. Which old acquaintance does Frank deliver one of his first telegrams to? What change does
he see in this person? Why?

5. How does Frank spend his first week’s wages? What does Frank resolve to do with his
wages in the future?

6. Regarding tipping, what comment does Frank make about rich people, nuns, and priests?
How do the poor people of Limerick compare to the rich when it comes to tipping?

7. How does Frankie risk losing his job when he takes telegrams to Limerick’s misfortunate?

S-44
8. What change prevents Frankie from continuing in his plans to save for fare to America?

9. What does their willingness to sit on the damp floor say about the McCourt boys?

10. Where does Frankie prefer to make deliveries?

11. Why does Frankie get the Carmody family telegram?

12. What do the other telegram boys say happens to sick people when they know they do not
have long to live?

13. Why does Frankie enter the Carmody house?

14. What makes the other telegram boys’ claim about sick people seem true?

15. How does Frank reveal that he is developing feelings for Theresa?

S-45
16. What does Frank do when he learns Theresa has gone to the sanatorium?

17. Why is it important to Frank that Theresa get well?

18. Why is Frank so concerned about Theresa Carmody’s soul when she dies? Why does he
have such guilt?

S-46
Chapter 16

Vocabulary
litigious–prone to bring a lawsuit against
barrister–lawyer
assiduity–diligence
guidon–small flag

1. Why does Frank try to baptize the deceased Mrs. Harrington as a Catholic with sherry?

2. Why does Frankie lose his job with the post office?

3. How does Frankie get his job back?

4. How does Frankie get undeserved credit for striking a blow for Ireland?

5. Why is Frankie unable to go to confession?

6. What job does Frank take so he can make money to save fare for America? What is his new
employer’s business?

7. How does Frank increase the income from the writing job?

S-47
8. Why does Frank feel no remorse for taking money from Mrs. Finucane when she sleeps?

9. How is Frank able to overcome any remorse he might feel about sending threatening letters
to friends of his family?

10. What causes Frankie not to take the postman exam?

11. Who is Frankie’s newest employer, and what do they do?

12. Why does Mr. McCaffrey tell Frankie not to read The Irish Times?

13. Why do the women at the post office resent the fact that Frankie did not take the postman
exam?

S-48
Chapter 17

1. Where does Frank go when he leaves the post office? Why?

2. What is the subject of conversation in the pub?

3. Why does Frankie ring the Jesuits’ doorbell after having too many pints? How does the
monk who answers the door react?

4. What does Mam say when Frankie comes home drunk? How does Frankie respond to her?

5. What does Frank do that he regrets when he is sober?

6. At whom does Frank rage on his sixteenth birthday?

7. How does the Franciscan priest comfort Frank?

8. What does Frank tell St. Francis while the priest listens?

S-49
9. How does the priest relieve Frank’s mind about Theresa Carmody?

10. What are Eamon and Peter surprised to learn about Frankie? Why?

11. Why does Gerry Halvey’s anger over seeing Frank with his girlfriend Rose seem absurd?

12. Why does Frank find Mr. McCaffrey so upset when he returns to the office?

13. What is on page sixteen? Why does Eamon want the pages?

14. What kind of demand do the boys have for page sixteen? Who wants to read it?

15. Mam has a job now, too. What does she do?

16. What does Mam’s charge, Mr. Sliney, want to tell Frank? Why is this good advice in
Limerick?

S-50
17. Why is Frankie interested in the Protestant newspaper?

18. Why is Malachy fired from his job at a rich, Catholic boys’ boarding school?

S-51
Chapter 18

1. How old is Frank now?

2. What does Frank do with some of the money Mrs. Finucane sends to churches to have
Masses said for her soul?

3. How does Frank get the rest of the money he needs to go to America?

4. Why does he feel like Robin Hood when Mrs. Finucane dies?

5. How will Frankie travel to America? How soon will he leave?

6. How does Mam react to Frank’s news that he is going to America? For what does she
hope?

7. How does Frank feel about leaving Limerick?

S-52
8. What natural phenomenon marks Frank’s going-away party?

9. Why do feelings of guilt burden Frank as he sets sail from Ireland?

10. Who befriends Frank on the ship to America?

11. When Frank sees New York from the ship, he observes, “…the sun turns everything to
gold.” (Pg. 359) How is this imagery symbolic? How does Frank think of America?

12. Frank says he stopped going to confession after the Franciscan priest told him Theresa
Carmody was not in hell. Almost as soon as Frank arrives in America, he has sex with an
American woman. What do you think McCourt is trying to say by closing his book this
way? How might the episode be symbolic, as the description of New York was?

S-53
Chapter 19

1. What does this one word chapter mean? Why do you suppose McCourt ends the memoir
this way?

S-54
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Save Time and Money with

Downloadable Activity Packs!
If you don’t have time to wait for FedEx or UPS to arrive, or you want to eliminate the cost of ship-
ping, we now have the solution to your problems. The same Teaching Units, Response Journals,
Mastery of Writing and, Mastery of Grammar programs that you have trusted for years to prepare
your students are now available for immediate download! Each Unit contains the same high-quality
resources, in easy-to-use Adobe Acrobat format. The Unit or Journal is downloadable directly from our
site, saving you shipping charges. Visit http://www.prestwickhouse.com for more details.

1-800-932-4593 • FAX 1-888-718-9333 • www.prestwickhouse.com

 P R E S T W I C K H O U S E , I N C .

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Prestwick House, Inc.
Call 1-800-932-4593 Fax 1-888-718-9333 P.O. Box 246
Cheswold, DE 19936
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graphic errors are subject to revision. Prestwick House is the sole source of all proprietary materials listed in this catalogue. Please be sure to • 2nd day air
include a street address. FedEx ground/UPS will not deliver to a P.O. Box. • 3 Day Select