The sociological imagination is best described as, an individual's understanding of the direct affects that society and social instances have on their own personal growth and development. Angela's Ashes is a brilliantly displayed example of how: a situation that one individual person is born into can have a great impact on the way that person continues their life. This film is based on Frank McCourt's upbringing in Limerick, Ireland in 1935. Frankie was born into a family with intense financial burdens. At the start of the film, Frankie is one out of five children. Quickly, the audience sees that due to the father's drinking problem, the harsh living conditions, and the father's inability to maintain a job, three of the children die of starvation. Throughout the film, the audience continues to witness how bad the situation that Frankie and his other siblings are in is. As sad as it may seem, Frankie is the "candle burning in the wind", during the entire film. As much as Frankie loves his father, he realizes how he has not and continues to not provide for his family. Through this realization, Frankie decides that he will not be like that, which is a good example of how one's society shapes one's future. .
On a number of occasions, after Frankie's father left for America, Frankie actually witnessed his mother begging for financial assistance from the government, friends, family, and neighbors. Frankie was so very ashamed of this practice that he vowed that he would, one day move to America and provide for himself and his own family. When Frankie turned fifteen, in efforts to support his mother and siblings, he went out and got a job at a coal mine. Frankie was forced to take on the position of his father, which his father did not assume, by supporting his mother and siblings. Angela's Ashes portrays the way that one's history affects one's very own biography. Frankie's history, forces him to alter his future lifestyle.