Exploring Identity and Stereotypes in Angela's Ashes

Passage Analysis: Identity in Angela's Ashes

In both "Sure You Can Ask Me a Personal Question" and the excerpt from Angela's Ashes, individuals' identities are defined by others in simplistic, often stereotypical terms. Identify a passage in Angela's Ashes when this happens to the narrator. Analyze the passage and annotate to compare it to a similar experience of the speaker in the poem. These passages underscore the tendency to oversimplify and stereotype individuals, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the complexity of human identities beyond surface-level labels.

In Angela's Ashes, a passage exemplifying the narrator's identity being defined in simplistic terms occurs when the narrator, Frank McCourt, recounts his experience in the classroom. He writes, "And Teacher tells me to stand up and tell the class my name. I say Frank McCourt, Angela's son, Malachy's boy, and Teacher writes it on the board: Frank McCourt, Angela's son, Malachy's boy" (McCourt 7). Here, Frank is reduced to his familial associations, neglecting his individuality and personal experiences.

Similarly, in "Sure You Can Ask Me a Personal Question," the speaker expresses frustration at being reduced to a label. The speaker states, "You see a Middle Eastern face and all of a sudden / You want to know where I’m really from" (Zeidan). This reflects the tendency of people to define others based on ethnicity or nationality, overlooking the complexity of their identities.