In his story, “The Commitments,” Roddy Doyle identifies the Irish as \"the blacks of Europe\" (148). This sentiment typifies the oppression of the two cultures. The overwhelmingly oppressive society of the two aforementioned groups creates an atmosphere of failure, particularly for the fathers, who, for the most part, are supposed to be the heads of their families. Through Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, the reader discovers the effects of these failures of the fathers due to tyrannical societies that impose dominance over such groups as the African-Americans and the Irish. The main characters, Celie and Frank, are adversely affected by the absent or failing fathers, and must search for means to transcend the failure and oppression.
","abstract_html":"<p>In his story, “The Commitments,” Roddy Doyle identifies the Irish as "the blacks of Europe" (148). This sentiment typifies the oppression of the two cultures. The overwhelmingly oppressive society of the two aforementioned groups creates an atmosphere of failure, particularly for the fathers, who, for the most part, are supposed to be the heads of their families. Through Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, the reader discovers the effects of these failures of the fathers due to tyrannical societies that impose dominance over such groups as the African-Americans and the Irish. The main characters, Celie and Frank, are adversely affected by the absent or failing fathers, and must search for means to transcend the failure and oppression.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hale, Gwendolyn Nicole"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2001,"date_issued":"2001-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2001-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:18:50Z","subjects":["Irish","Paternal Failures","Oppression","Walker","McCourt","African-American","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/99","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hale, Gwendolyn Nicole"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2001-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Irish","Paternal Failures","Oppression","Walker","McCourt","African-American","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1149/viewcontent/hale0412.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/99"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In his story, “The Commitments,” Roddy Doyle identifies the Irish as \"the blacks of Europe\" (148). This sentiment typifies the oppression of the two cultures. The overwhelmingly oppressive society of the two aforementioned groups creates an atmosphere of failure, particularly for the fathers, who, for the most part, are supposed to be the heads of their families. Through Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, the reader discovers the effects of these failures of the fathers due to tyrannical societies that impose dominance over such groups as the African-Americans and the Irish. The main characters, Celie and Frank, are adversely affected by the absent or failing fathers, and must search for means to transcend the failure and oppression.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["\"'Tis Hard to Dance with One Shoe\": The Failure of the Fathers in Walker's The Color Purple and McCourt's Angela's Ashes."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Hale, Gwendolyn Nicole"],"dc:date.available":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2001-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In his story, “The Commitments,” Roddy Doyle identifies the Irish as \"the blacks of Europe\" (148). This sentiment typifies the oppression of the two cultures. The overwhelmingly oppressive society of the two aforementioned groups creates an atmosphere of failure, particularly for the fathers, who, for the most part, are supposed to be the heads of their families. Through Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, the reader discovers the effects of these failures of the fathers due to tyrannical societies that impose dominance over such groups as the African-Americans and the Irish. The main characters, Celie and Frank, are adversely affected by the absent or failing fathers, and must search for means to transcend the failure and oppression.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1149/viewcontent/hale0412.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/99"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["Irish","Paternal Failures","Oppression","Walker","McCourt","African-American","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["\"'Tis Hard to Dance with One Shoe\": The Failure of the Fathers in Walker's The Color Purple and McCourt's Angela's Ashes."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:18:50Z"}