'Tis by Frank McCourt
'Tis by Frank McCourt is a memoir that follows the author’s experiences after his arrival in New York City in 1949, continuing the narrative established in his previous work, Angela's Ashes. The story begins with McCourt feeling isolated and out of place, navigating life in a new country while grappling with his impoverished background and limited education. Drafted into the Korean War despite his eye troubles, McCourt finds his footing in Germany and later uses the G.I. Bill to pursue higher education at New York University. His tumultuous marriage to Alberta, a middle-class woman, produces his only child, Maggie. As he becomes a high school teacher, McCourt reflects on the challenges faced by his students and the disillusionment of his colleagues, echoing broader themes of societal and educational struggles. The memoir also delves into family dynamics, including the arrival of his mother, Angela, and the complexities of their relationship. Ultimately, 'Tis weaves a narrative of resilience, identity, and the immigrant experience in mid-20th century America, concluding with themes of loss and the quest for closure.
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Subject Terms
'Tis by Frank McCourt
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1999
Type of work: Memoir
The Work
’Tis begins where Angela’s Ashes ends, with the arrival of McCourt in New York in September, 1949. He knew almost no one other than a pedophile priest who had befriended him on the ship, and who arranged a job for McCourt through his contacts with the local Democratic Party, sweeping and mopping at the Biltmore Hotel. McCourt felt isolated and alienated in the land of his birth. The upper-class college students who frequented the Biltmore stood in contrast to his own lack of education, and, compounded by his continuing eye problems, his Irish brogue, and general poverty, gave him feelings of inferiority.
It is the Korean War that McCourt credits for his escape. Drafted into the Army in spite of his bad eyes, he was sent to Germany, where he eventually became a battalion clerk. After his discharge, with the aid of the G.I. Bill, he enrolled in New York University, in spite of lacking a high school education. While there, he met his first of three wives, Alberta, called Mike, a middle-class Episcopalian from Rhode Island. She is the only one of McCourt’s wives mentioned in ’Tis. Theirs was a contentious relationship even before marriage, which produced McCourt’s only child, his daughter, Maggie.
After graduation, McCourt found a teaching position in a working-class high school on Staten Island, and his comments about the lack of preparation and interest of his students and the cynical and pessimistic attitude of his fellow teachers express timeless themes. McCourt earned an M.A. degree, taught remedial courses at a community college, and eventually obtained a position in one of New York City’s most prestigious high schools, where he taught creative writing to college-bound students. His brothers Malachy and Michael followed him to New York, with Malachy becoming something of a celebrity, famous for his popular bar and his appearances on television. McCourt’s mother, Angela, and his youngest brother, Alfie, arrived from Ireland, ostensibly for a visit, but they stayed.
Angela was unhappy about everything in America, from tea bags to the taste of lettuce, much to Frank’s frustration. His father, Malachy, came over in the 1960’s, but his drinking drove him back to Northern Ireland. Angela died in 1981, Malachy in 1985. In that latter year, the McCourt brothers, relatives, and friends took Angela’s ashes back to Limerick, distributing them on the family grave site, while saying a Hail Mary prayer. Frank, himself long estranged from the Catholic Church, noted that Angela truly deserved the presence of a priest, a proper farewell for a mother of seven.
Sources for Further Study
Booklist 95 (March 1, 1999): 1102.
Library Journal 124 (May 15, 1999): 122.
Los Angeles Times Book Review, July 25, 1999, p. 9.
The New York Review of Books 46 (June 24, 1999): 14.
New York Times Book Review 104 (May 2, 1999): 33.
Publishers Weekly 246 (April 5, 1999): 230.
Science 284 (June 25, 1999): 2096.
Scientific American 280 (June, 1999): 98.