The article, “The Stories That Bind Us,” by Bruce Feiler, centers on the problem of families falling apart and proposes a way to fix it. Feiler’s primary assertion is that “the single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative” (Feiler). The idea is that sharing a family story will strengthen relationships within a family. As a result, the problem Feiler characterizes will be prevented. In my initial reading, I began to believe that Feiler’s proposed solution could actually solve the problem of families falling apart. This was because he including personal anecdotes, evidence of studies, and quoted experts on the matter. All of these factors led me to be persuaded that cohesive families are held together by strong family narratives. However, after reading comments posted by other …show more content…
One comment in particular, made by a user named Ellen, had a significant impact on my initial reading. This reader shared that her life was full of misfortune and made a rather good point. Ellen revealed how her adversity made her want a better life for herself and her children. After, she made a point that challenged Feiler’s ideas claiming, “They could handle the hideous truths at this point, but I don't for a minute believe that they would have benefited from hearing about the rotten wood in the family tree as children” (Ellen). Her belief is that she has achieved a better life for herself and her children. Ellen uses the fact that she has not told her children about the terrible things in her life to reveal flaws in Feiler’s
Ellen Hopkin’s daughter, Kristina, starts off as a sweet and innocent girl with great academic achievement. She gets a court sentence to go see her father for a few weeks. When she finally sees her father after not seeing him for years. He smells like alcohol and tobacco and looks like he hasn’t slept in days. She asks him on the way home if he has anything planned for the two of them but he seemed to not care. Upon arriving she steps outside for a minute where she notices a boy making out with a girl. He notices her and begins to flirt. They introduced
One day at school a teacher found a bruise on Ellen's arm. She sends Ellen to live with Julia the
I’ve completed the novel, BANG, by Sharon Flake. In my story the protagonist name is Mann, he grew up in a ruthless environment. Mann had a little brother that died and it drove their father crazy and he was determined that he would not lose another son. He threw Mann into the world to see if he could become a man. Mann, the protagonist of BANG by Sharon Flake and I are alike in many ways. We share some of the same views of the world, are viewed by the world in similar ways and I would respond in a comparable way to the central conflict of the novel. Therefore, I believe given the chance, we could be friends.
It’s not easy to build an ideal family. In the article “The American Family” by Stephanie Coontz, she argued that during this century families succeed more when they discuss problems openly, and when social institutions are flexible in meeting families’ needs. When women have more choices to make their own decisions. She also argued that to have an ideal family women can expect a lot from men especially when it comes to his involvement in the house. Raymond Carver, the author of “Where He Was: Memories of My Father”, argued how his upbringing and lack of social institutions prevented him from building an ideal family. He showed the readers that his mother hide all the problems instead of solving them. She also didn’t have any choice but to stay with his drunk father, who was barely involved in the house. Carvers’ memoir is relevant to Coontz argument about what is needed to have an ideal family.
Even with this minor breakthrough for her character development, Ellen is mostly concerned with there being a crowd to witness the embarrassment of her mother and is again self-absorbed. She does however work together with her siblings to make a decision to burn down the house, rather than have their mother be made a public spectacle. She assists them in removing all the furniture from the house before setting it on fire. In this act, Ellen finally seems to see her family as a unit which may be due to “formal operational reasoning which allows for reflection about social relationships” (Newman & Newman, 2012, p.356). As Ellen transitions into late adolescence, she will hopefully continue to develop positively and this begins with establishing a strong individual identity.
Journalist, Jane Howard in her argumentative essay, “ In Search of a Good Family “ emphasized the markers of a good family. Howard's purpose is to give her opinion on families, because she thinks human being should not be alone. She adopts an educated, factual and knowledgeable time in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences towards the whole country. Howard uses many rhetorical question, metaphors , repetition, and allusions to help her pull her argument together Howard argues how essential is to have a good family. All human being need a family , clan or a tribe in order to survive in the real world. No matter where you are or what are the circumstances you are going through. You would always have somewhere or someone to fall back to.
... trusted statistics and carefully worded statements did not appear as though the author was pushing excessively for his own viewpoint but instead wished to share as many factual statements so the reader could come to their own logical conclusion along with the author giving no room for a reasonable argument that he had not already approached at some point in the chapter.
Family is the fundamental group of people that hones each individual into a social being and trains each person into a being that complies with various changes that may occur in one’s life. It aids in developing a person’s skills and attitude in relating to other people. If not for the family, growing and developing one’s self is a difficult and an almost impossible task to accomplish. In the article by Joan Patterson, known as Understanding Family Resilience, it had highlighted various information and explanations of how a family responds and should opt to act during times of adversity, or also known as family resilience. It is defined by McCubin, H and McCubin, M. as “characteristics, dimensions, and properties which help families to be resistant to disruption in the face of change and adaptive in the face of crisis situations.” Since change occurs on a daily basis and is entirely inevitable, the trait of a family to be flexible in adjusting is necessary. Events that may trigger changes are various crises and challenges or internal and external forces. Such occurrences that arise and are experienced by the family may draw most families to become hopeless and disoriented. In Patterson’s work, a clear explanation and citation of various instances to prove that such misfortunate events that could lead to the disorganization of a family can be avoided and be used as an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship founded in the family.
Napier and Whitaker maintain that every family is a society within itself regulated by its own distinctive culture, language, rules, and traditions. In The Family Crucible, the reader is introduced to the microcosm of the Brice family as they grapple with the politics of their own family system in order to solve the crisis that rules it. By exploring the Brice family’s past and present interactions with one another, and by unearthing the roots that nourish the difficulties threatening their reality, Napier and Whitaker take us on a journey of discovery with the Brice family, which would eventually include extended family members, using a co-facilitated systems approach to help the family learn to cope with life’s stresses; all the while, helping the family to gain awareness of self and to deepen relationships with each other. Together, the Brice parents, Carolyn and David, and their three children, Claudia, Don, and Laura gain skills that assist them in redirecting their lives, reshaping their family dynamic, and creating the positive change they desire.
Currently, families face a multitude of stressors in their lives. The dynamics of the family has never been as complicated as they are in the world today. Napier’s “The Family Crucible” provides a critical look at the subtle struggles that shape the structure of the family for better or worse. The Brice family is viewed through the lens of Napier and Whitaker as they work together to help the family to reconcile their relationships and the structure of the family.
Family dynamics are patterns in the relationships between family members. Every family has its own dynamics and there are very different from one another because of the many aspects that influence them such as the numbers of members in the family, the personalities of the individuals, the cultural background, the economic status, values, and personal family experiences. This paper will analyze the two different relationship patterns found in the poem “Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead,” by Andrew Hudgins and in the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. By interpreting those two sources through Freud’s concept of family, the family environment and the relationships between the members will be analyzed to illustrate the ways family dynamics
Throughout my life I have heard a wide range of stories from my parents. When putting this assignment together I have put these stories into account. Randall Bass, educator of English at Georgetown University, concurs that stories shape individuals ' personalities. Bass expresses that, "People infer their feeling of personality from their way of life, and societies are frameworks of conviction that decide how individuals experience their lives" (Bass 1). Social stories about family history, religion, nationality, and legacy impact individuals ' conduct and convictions. Personalities of diverse individuals originate from their societies. Narrating starts at home. Stories associate individuals to their frameworks of convictions. They shape individuals ' lives by giving them a model of how to live. Individuals get their most punctual learning from distinctive stories. (Bass)
The Olson’s family experienced a shift in their life when John and Susan lost their jobs, and when their 3 year old daughter died in a car crash. According to Smith and Hamon (2012), a family is composed of many members who have their own roles and expectations, and when those roles or expectations are broken, families experience difficulties. (Smith, and Hamon 2012). Based on the Family Systems Theory, families need to be viewed as
families have struggles, both internal and external, and while this is undoubtedly true, the struggles that
... both sides if an issue, because there are usually two sides to every story. But by looking at Frankl and examining what he has to say about the meaning of life, suffering, love, frustration, boredom, tension, etc, I have rally gained a lot of knowledge that almost is common sense. If you sit and take the time to read the material through thoroughly you can see exactly where he is coming from. He’ll take a difficult situation, such as suffering, and turn it completely around. As far as suffering goes I try to do the same thing, in a way. When Mark Felice died last October it crushed me. But I tried to look at the positive side and say well, his suffering is over and he was here to teach us how to live to be stronger and better people. Through our suffering, over the loss of his life, we ended his suffering. This is kind of what Frankl does, he turns things around and makes you view things from a different perspective. I like his way of thinking because it’s not always something that I would think of off the top of my head. Overall, I enjoyed the book although it was difficult at times to read, but I think I gained knowledge from it and see different ways to look at things now.