Essay On Successful Marriage In Society

Wilson Brown

Chip Dunkin

Writing 102

7 April 2014

Successful Marriages In America: The Role and Importance to Society

In Rereading Americas Chapter Harmony at Home: The Myth of the Modern Family, the ideas of both past and present meanings of what a family truly is, are brought to light with some staggering statistics. “Among Millennials those born after 1980- only 30% say having a successful marriage is “one of the most important things in life””. An in depth look at this statistic raises questions about the mindset of this new generation and the role of marriage in the development of future generations. Today’s modern view of traditional marriage is one that most affiliate with in a new, constantly changing society, an almost ancient idea from 1950’s American homes. Gender roles have also changed as women become more relevant in today’s work force making an extreme impact on the consecrated relationship of marriage. This inevitably changes parenting and the way children are raised.

Parenting of course begins with the father and mother associated with raising of a child. In an article from the Atlantic, by Richard reeves the main focus is analyzing what this new generation of Mellenials views marriage as. Reeves began by looking at “marriage gap”, the difference in marriages from a socioeconomic standpoint. The findings were that college graduates are more likely to have a “successful marriage” than those who failed to obtain a general education (GED) or high school degree (Reeves). When looking at a successful marriage though there are more factors than just if the two spouses stay together and are happy. The role they play in the raising of a child can take place in two forms, the first is a traditional marriage where the ma...

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...lenging situation of single parenthood. This problem has not as much to do with the mothers in these situations but the fathers or lack there of. These poorer families tend to take the traditional view of marriage where the father is the main breadwinner of the family instead of a HIP marriage. This lack of money and a father figures often lead to the children involved looking for a sense of community which they find in gangs and other socially unhealthy environments. Gangs and other criminal paths take more than a toal on just the children though. This leads to violence that impacts more than just those in the family but in the larger community as well causing and a cycle of absent fathers and births out of wedlock. The greatest resolution to this problem is to get fathers involved in the children’s lives in a positive way, ending the cycle of violence and poverty.