Character Mandala: Angela's Ashes

410 Words2 Pages
Explaining Malachy Jr.’s character traits was a rather easy task. He is a bubbly yet sometimes mischievous child that looks up to his brother in every possible way. Malachy is portrayed to be happy and optimistic throughout the memoir, and the color attributed to that is yellow. Little Malachy can bring a smile to anyone’s face, regardless of the situation. “When he laughs you can see how white and small and pretty his teeth are and you can see his eyes shine. He has blues eyes like my mother. He has golden hair and pink cheeks … My mother tells Mrs. Leibowitz down the hall that Malachy is the happiest child in the world” (McCourt 22). Malachy is also an innocent young child trying to tagalong with his older brother Frank. He knows so little, therefore he has pure and naïve thoughts, and this color is white. When referring to a discussion he had with an adults, Frank talks about how innocent Malachy truly is. “That makes me laugh because I know Malachy and I have four hands between us and one glove would be silly. Malachy doesn’t know what I’m laughing at: he won’t know anything till he’s four going on five” (McCourt 29). Malachy is always bursting with energy and he tends to be playful. The color attributed to his liveliness is green. In one instance, Malachy is determined to go to the playground in New York to swing, and he convinces Freddie Leibowitz to push him. “He’s [Malachy] happy, laughing when he swings to the sky … they laugh every day” (McCourt 23). Malachy is also loyal to his older brother Frank. He frequently looks up to him and listens carefully to him. The color that represents loyalty is purple. Once when Malachy Sr. came stumbling home drunk, he announced he had the Friday penny. “ ‘I don’t want it,’ I [Frank] say. And Malachy tells him he doesn’t want it, either” (McCourt 112). Malachy follows his brothers lead and denies his father’s Friday penny.
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