He Truly is Good on the Inside

In reading the book Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, some people might think that Malachy Sr. is a cruel and ignorant father. If you were to look closer into detail, you would find that in fact, Malachy does show some good person qualities.
First off, Angela’s cousins, Delia and Philomena, are hunting down Malachy because Angela was pregnant with Malachy’s baby. Malachy was forced to marry Angela. Now, if Malachy were a bad person then Malachy would have left Angela either before or after they were married. “On the feast of St. Joseph, a bitter day in March, four months after the knee-trembler, Malachy married Angela and in August the child was born” (McCourt 17). When Angela conceives Margaret, Malachy is really happy, nervous for the baby, and totally stops drinking. He also is really helpful with Margaret and rocks her to sleep when she cries, and even makes her laugh sometimes. He chose to be really helpful with the baby until she passes away and then Malachy becomes sad again, and Malachy is a good person because he chose to be helpful with Margaret instead of being asked.
“He walks around the kitchen with her and talks to her. He tells her how lovely she is with her curly black hair and the blue eyes of her mother. He tells her, he’ll take her to Ireland and they’ll walk the Glens of Antrim and swim in the Lough Neagh. He’ll get a job soon, so he will, and she’ll have dresses of silk and shoes with silver buckles. … When Margaret cries there’s a high lonely feeling in the air and Dad is out of bed in a second, holding her to him, doing a slow dance around the table, singing to her, making strange sounds like a mother. … Now when he cries over Margaret he has no smell of drink on him,” (McCourt 30)
Malachy is also a good father. When Michael is a baby and he is sick with a stuffy nose, Malachy makes Michael feel better by sucking the snot from his nose. They couldn’t go to the doctor with him because it was a Sunday. Malachy might have even saved Michael’s life because Michael was suffocating and unable to breathe. “He has his mouth on the little nose and he’s sucking the bad stuff out of Michael’s head. He spits it into the fire, Michael gives out a loud cry and you can see him drawing the air into his head and kicking his legs and laughing.” (McCourt 103). Malachy also shows that he is a good father by bring his boys to Mass every once in a while. Bringing his kids to Mass shows the kids where they came from and how to live their lives right. What living their lives right means that when they sin, they go to confession and tell the priest what they’ve sinned. Frank is a good example because when he sins, he would go to confession and tell the priest. Since Malachy Sr. isn’t at home any more, they aren’t going to Mass as much, but if he was still in Ireland, he would bring them to Mass. “While the pig is boiling away Dad takes Malachy and me to Mass at the Redemptorist church,” (McCourt 99). “Easter is better than Christmas because Dad takes us to the Redemptorist church where all the priests wear white and sing,” (McCourt 107).
When Malachy goes off to work in England and he comes back, be has brought chocolates for Christmas to show that he still cares for his family. By doing this, Malachy shows that he still cares about his family because even though times are hard Malachy managed to save enough money to get his family something nice for their Christmas dinner. “He takes a box of chocolates from his suitcase and hands it to Mam,” (McCourt 269). Malachy also drinks a lot, but sometimes alcohol addiction can also make you crazy like it did with Malachy, but I think he’s doing the best he can at the moment. He did manage to give his family his first week’s wages the second time he left for England. When he leaves, Malachy also tells his kids to remember to go to Mass, and to obey Mam. “Dad pats our heads. He tells us to remember out religious duties but, above all, obey our mother,” (McCourt 221). Malachy is a good person in this part of the book because by telling his kids to go to Mass and obey their mother, he is telling his kids that even though he isn’t there, Malachy still wants them to be good kids and he wants them to grow up strong with the Lord by going to Mass.
Next, Malachy is shown as a good person, by doing a lot of work all of the time. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, men did all of the work and they worked all hours of the day. Malachy, when he gets jobs, he is up early and isn’t home until late. This is a very good example he is setting for his boys for when they grow up. The pay may be little, but by working all hours, you can receive a lot of money. Frank is a good example of this because when Frank gets his first job as a telegram boy, he is willing to do anything to keep the job. Things like not cashing people’s money orders, and things like that. Frank is a good worker when he is at his jobs. Malachy wanted his boys to grow up big and strong and get good jobs to take care of their mother, and when Frank gets his jobs, he does help with getting food and things like that.
Now, to support those who think that Malachy Sr. is a bad person, the book shows that Malachy has an enormous drinking problem. Malachy ends up using the dole money to spend on all of his drinks, and comes home broke. In doing this Malachy is leaving his family starved and without proper clothing. Malachy also uses the wages he makes on the slim jobs he gets to go out and drink as well. Malachy might bring home a few dollars but never enough to efficiently survive on. :Where’s the money? The children are hungry. You mad oul’ bastard, did you drink all the money again? Just what you did in Brooklyn. He blubbered, Och, poor Angela. And wee Margaret and poor wee Oliver,” (McCourt 77).
Malachy is also a bad person because when he goes to work in England, he doesn’t send back any money. He is spending it all on the alcohol and he is going so crazy that he might even get kicked out of England because of his sing and drinking. “Dad is from the North and he never sends money home from England where he is working in a munitions factory,” (McCourt 236)
Through many quotes and passages throughout this book, Malachy is portrayed as a good person. One’s first reaction might be to dislike him for what he does like his drinking habits, but by doing things, like bringing his family chocolates or bringing his kids to Mass, Malachy is shown to be a good person.