Through carefully crafted study materials, the kit examines how McCourt's family navigates extreme poverty, hunger, and illness in 1930s Ireland. The resources help students understand the daily struggles for basic necessities and how the human spirit can persevere through seemingly impossible circumstances.

The literature kit delves into the complex relationship between Irish Catholicism, social class, and personal identity. It provides frameworks for analyzing how religious institutions both supported and sometimes hindered the McCourt family, while exploring broader societal structures that perpetuated poverty cycles.

Study materials examine the complicated dynamics of the McCourt family, particularly focusing on Angela's role as the family matriarch and the impact of an alcoholic father. The kit helps students understand how family relationships can be simultaneously nurturing and destructive.