Angela's Ashes Building a Tone Through Details

Writing a memoir is similar to constructing a building. An architect must design a strong foundation of steel and cement in order to have a stable building. In a similar manner, a writer must have a strong foundation of rhetorical strategies to create a powerful, moving memoir worth reading. Frank McCourt must be Wright himself, building his memoir, Angela’s Ashes, one meaningful word at a time. The outcome of McCourt’s construction, a wonderful memoir, unmistakably expresses itself through a somber tone. Most importantly, the tone is expressed through McCourt’s use of stylistic devices, such as his selection of detail from a triad of stages throughout his life.
Even when describing his life as a young child, McCourt takes it upon himself to include certain details to build the tone of his narrative. From the very beginning he establishes a gray, ashen tone using certain details from his early childhood. McCourt wants the reader to realize the misery he faced from his birth...