Black Dog Of Fate Sparknotes

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Growing up in an affluent New Jersey neighborhood, Peter Balakian’s house can tell us a lot about his up bringing. Tenafly, New Jersey seems to be a common topic in Balakian’s memoir ‘Black Dog of Fate.’ Not only must we study the house, but also the relationships that are formed within Balakian’s household. His extended family is made up of physicians, merchants, and well-known literary authors. Arguably the biggest presence in Peter’s life was his Grandmother, along with his Mother and Father. One of Peter’s most vivid memories is of his Grandmother. He starts off his memoir with a lengthy description of her and her apartment, as if she were still alive when he wrote it. He describes her apartment as “mysterious and exotic after the …show more content…

The Yankees were a type of family bonding for Peter, and he even followed them with his Grandmother. “My grandmother and I followed the Yankees together, and by the time I was ten it had become an ongoing conversation between us. Box scores, averages, pitching rotations, prenogis for the World Series – because there was almost never a series without the Yankees” (12). The Yankees were a symbol of American pride for Peter, “they were more than a team, they were a mood, an image, a feeling” (12). As Peter grew up he began to listen to the game with his friends, but the bond between him, the Yankees, and his Grandmother was never severed. The relationship between Peter and his Grandmother is similar to the relationship I have with my Grandmother. When I was younger my Grandma would take me to the mall to eat cinnamon rolls with her and her group of (what seemed to me at the time) ‘old people’. She loved to show me off to her friends. My Grandma and Grandpa lived across town from me in a typical Midwestern house. My Grandma loved to keep me updated on my ancestry, much like Peter’s grandmother. I spent numerous afternoons listening to my Grandma drag on about ancestors from years ago that I could only imagine ever existed. At the time, I didn’t realize how important those times would be to me …show more content…

In both my family and the Balakians’, family dinner was an important aspect of the day. My family was always really involved in sports and extracurricular activities and it was sometimes a struggle for us, but we always managed to make time for a home-cooked family dinner nearly every night. Peter Balkian’s family seems to also take high priority in family dinners. “Every Sunday it’s the same. Out extended Armenian family sitting around the dining room table in winter or out on the patio in summer for a full afternoon and more, and my grandmother quietly watching (4).” This shows that Balakian’s family was very tight knit and had strong family morals and values. These values and traditions relate closely to my family, except that my grandparents only join for dinner about once a month. This just goes to show the importance of extended family to the Armenian heritage, especially compared to the American customs. If you were to look at the physical home of the Balakian’s, it appears to be a typical American house of a well-off family, very particular

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