In Search of the Good Family by Jane Howard

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Recommended: Relationship between my family

A family is a group of people who love, respect, and help one another no matter the circumstances. Family members are not confined to people you are related to or have married; they can include friends, acquaintances, etc. In this second paragraph on page 283, Howard states, “If our relatives are not, do not wish to be, or for whatever reason cannot be our friends, then by some complex alchemy we must try to transform our friends into our relatives.” This shows that blood relatives should come first in the matter or family, but there are circumstances in which this is untrue. For example, there are several family members that my immediate family, consisting of my mother, father, and myself, no longer associate with, nor do we plan to. My aunt (my mother’s sister) recently started heavily drinking alcohol again. This causes her to become volatile and vicious, and consequently takes it out on everyone who tries to assist her. She began to yell at my mother for no reason and called her a plethora of rude names accompanied by several cuss words. I found out about this rampage on my own and wanted to make her realize what she was doing was wrong, so I told her that she had no right to call my mom any of these names. We got into a bit of an argument, and she took it all out on my mother yet again. My uncle heard of this news and took my aunt’s side, fully understanding the entire story. Needless to say, we refrain from speaking to them for fear of them causing more drama. As Howard suggested, we have made friends with our neighbors and have adapted them into fitting in with our definition of family. We love them, we respect them, and we help them on a daily basis. Core Question: What effect is Howard trying to achieve with a metaphor w... ... middle of paper ... ...an count on and vice-versa. In the first paragraph of the essay, Howard states, “Even if you live alone, even if your solitude is elected and ebullient, you still cannot do without a clan or tribe.” In this line, Howard is stating that no one can live without family. Of course, this is not literally true. Her main audience may have been doing so for a long period of time. The author truly means that one will not be able to become a useful, wholesome member of society until they have a family. This is true because families often teach you the difference between right and wrong as well as how to treat others. Without these teachings, one would become ignorant and would likely fail to treat others in a positive manner. While a large group of family is not necessary, it is necessary to have at least one person to count on in order to grow up as a successful human being.

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