Summary Of Looking For Work By Gary Soto

Introduction

From time immemorial, the family has been considered as the basic uni of a well functioning society. Perceiving the fact, many authors have written concerning the nature of an ideal American family as it developed in various historical periods. One such author is Gary Soto, who presents the memories of a 9-year-old Mexican-American boy. This boy is obsessed by the portrayals he sees on the television about the white families that he considers as “perfect families” and wishes his family could be such. The media plays a critical role in portraying the evolving nature of familiar roles. Therefore, the concept of an ideal American family can further be exemplified by exploring the plot of the modern television series. Owing to the above fact, this essay explores “Modern Family” and parenthood television series. This essay will explore the concept of an ideal American family as revealed by Gary Soto in his narration “Looking for Work.” The essay will then

expound the concept of an ideal American family by analyzing the revelations from the modern family and parenthood. Finally, the essay will present a personal memoir, to depict my perspective about the concept of an ideal American family.

Looking For Work by Gary Soto
In his narration “Looking For Work” Garry Soto presents his childhood memories as a Mexican-American boy who desires his family to adopt the better living style of the families he sees on television, which according to him are typical perfect families.

One of the family issues depicted by the narration, “Looking For Work” is the struggle and challenges of parenting. Though it is not mentioned that this is a single mother family, the plot of the narration clearly reveals this reality. Specifically, we note that there is no mention of a father figure in the narration, even when the family is discussing critical family matters during dinner. Through the narration, the children in this family are influenced by the lifestyles they see on the television and wish that their family could adopt it. One of the television shows that attract the narrator is the show entitled “father knows best”. As he describes it, it depicted a family that was so uncomplicated in its daily routine that he longed to imitate

it.

Exploring the narrator, he is a Mexican-American boy who desires his family to adopt the better living style of the perfect families he sees on the television, which according to him are typical perfect families. For example, the narrator wants his siblings to wear shoes at dinner, where he is aggrieved when Deb comes in with his swim trunks, thus nullifying his suggestions (Soto 27). Notably, none of the family members, including the mother, notice this wayward behavior by Deb. As we learn later in the narrative, all these lessons emanate from the television programs the narrator watches. This is evidently brought out by the narrator’s reference to David King, a typical white neighbor who owed virtually everything that the kids saw on the television. In this context, the author represents a family where parents were less concerned with the behavior of their kids.

The narration represents the segregation that occurred in families at the period by exemplifying it in the life of the narrator. Specifically, we see the narrator resolves to break the chain of poverty eating up his family by resolving to seek for employment. As such, he sets out and lands into the homestead of a large woman who turns him away, but not without giving him a nickel claiming that it was summer, and there were no leave debris to be raked in her homestead. Being hopeful he seeks another working opportunity with one Mrs. Moore where he succeeds. Little John also exemplifies the aspect of working children, whom the narrator notes had also once gone searching for work in the neighborhood (Soto 29).

However, as opposed to the narrator whose family was not concerned with his whereabouts, Little Johnny’s mother who was a New Jersey Italian beat him up severely. It is also clear that the children attend low-class schools. This is brought out clearly when the narrator says he sat amongst the so-called Stupid when referring to the St. John’s Catholic school he attended. By saying so, we can insinuate that his mother was unable to take the children to prestigious schools, which is an indication of financial challenges. Notably, when the narrator’s sister expresses her wish to accompany them to the swimming pool, she cannot afford the admission fee required. As such, they have to sell a coke bottle to top up the amount. Surprisingly, when the children come in the evening after spending the whole day in the swimming pool, the mother just welcomes them home without inquiring where they have been the whole day.

As the narration progresses, it becomes clearer that these children, more so the narrator, have been influenced by the television programs that depicts white families as superior. As the narrator notes, white children receive no beatings; they are smartly dressed, and they hop into bed with kisses (Soto 29). This aspect is also portrayed by the kind of food he requests. Specifically, he requests his mother to prepare a turtle soup that he saw the Polynesian tribe prepare on a television program a few days ago. Notably, as that narrator makes this suggestion to his mother, her sister Debbie, who was watching the program, then, shouted “Caca.” This implies that virtually all the children in the family had been obsessed with the seemingly high-class life depicted on the television programs and wished that their family could be so.

Half-Hour Television Series
“Modern Family” is an American-based family comedy that was first aired in 2009 on the ABC network. In the show, Jay is the father of Mitchell and Claire. Gloria is Jay’ wife, and she has a son, Manny, from her initial marriage. Claire is married while Mitchell is in a domestic partnership. One of the aspects presented in the first episode of the comedy is shared parental decision making. The shared parental obligation has experienced immense revolution over the years. This is exemplified by the increasing cased of mothers suing fathers who neglect their fatherly duties to their children (Wood 235). This aspect is backed by the legislative provision that fathers should be coerced to take care of their neglected children. The shared parental obligation is clearly brought out when Claire reprimands her daughter, Hailey, for wearing what she calls a short dress. However, when Claire seeks support from her husband he negates her sentiments by telling the daughter that she is very smartly dressed.

In another incidence, when their son Luke shoots her sister Alex with BB gun Claire insists that she has to be also be shot as a form of punishment for his offense. Notably, he husband Phil is not in agreement with this decision too. This is an important observation noting that in the past, it was mothers who were accused of pampering their children. However, modernity has proven that fathers have also started pampering their children. A typical scenario that may be employed to bring out the notion of shared parenting is depicted by the way the family equally incorporates Manny in their family decisions despite being a stepson. Shared parenting has become a common phenomenon in modern families, where parenting roles are no longer segregated on gender lines (Palay 6).

The aspect of shared parenthood is brought out clearly by the character of Cam and Mitchell. A case in point is when they work together to address the sleeping habits of their adopted daughter, Lily. Participation in household duties is another aspect that is brought out in the comedy (Anthony, Merchant, and Koester 352). A case in point is the Claire, who is presented as a typical housewife doing all the household chores. This aspect is also evident in the day-to-day chores of Gloria, who has to do most of the household chores such as cooking and washing. Specifically, we note that Clare’s husband Phil requires her to fix the broken step which is known to be a masculine duty. This can be contrasted with Gloria’s husband Jay, who takes up his masculine duties such as fixing the ceiling in episode three. Therefore, as opposed to the narration by Garry Soto that vested parental obligations in the hand of one parent, modern family reveals that modern parental has evolved a has become more of a shared obligation.

One Hour Television Series
One of the television series that can be employed to compare the parenting obligations presented by Soto to the depiction of such obligations is the parenthood television series. Parenthood is an American-based family comedy that was first aired on NBC network in 2010. Zeek and Camille are parents to Sarah, Julia, Adam, and Crosby. Adam and Julia are married, Sarah is divorced, and Crosby is not married. The development of this family comedy presents rich content on shared parenting. Right from the first episode, we are presented with Adam Braverman, who is closely concerned with the livelihood of his siblings and their families. However, we note that Kristina, Adam’s wife, makes most of the decisions in this family. This represents the increasing role of women if decision-making process in many modern American families today (Coffin 34). This closely augers with the narration of Gary Soto, that presents his mother as the dominant figure in the family.

The concept of shared parenting is especially pronounced when it comes to making health decisions about their son Max who is suffering from Asperger syndrome. Specifically, in episode two, when Adam objects her wife’s decision of allowing Max to wear a pirate costume, she defends her decision by claiming that she was the one to bear the repercussion of her son’s health decisions. In this comedy, Joel and his wife Julia are also represented as a family that shares parenting responsibilities in bringing up their daughter Sydney. Therefore, it is clear that some families do not lay the parenting burden on one parent but, rather, eases one another’s burden (Feiler). Sharing responsibilities has been proven as the sure way of ensuring that a family is cemented together. This is evidently brought out by the efforts portrayed by Joel, who takes up the role of both the father as well as the mother, especially when his wife is out for work. This aspect has made their daughter to develop a more liking for the father as opposed to the mother.

The concept of shared parenting in line Deutsch findings, that children tend to be more passionate with parents that spend more time with them (Deutsch 26). Participation in household obligations also comes out in the comedy. A case in point is the representation of Joel, who is seen cooking for his daughter Sydney when the mother is away for work. However, when his wife Julia comes home from work, she is also seen helping her husband in emptying the dishes. This is a typical representation of the evolving gender obligations, where family ditties are no longer segregated on gender lines (Lehmann). For Adam, he only steps in to take up feminine gender roles when his wife leaves for three days. This is evidenced when he begins picking up his children from school, a duty that he had solely left to his wife. As such, Parenthood employs visual representation to bring out the notion of shared responsibility in the modern family. The film reiterates the need for balancing these responsibilities for the proper functioning of the family.

Personal Memoir
The analysis of the above three presentations closely relates to my experiences in life. As portrayed by Soto, I live in a neighborhood with many families headed by single mothers. Such mothers experience a myriad of challenges in bringing up their children especially observing that most of them are unemployed. This has forced many of those children to drop out of school as they seek finances to sustain their livelihood. This can be associated with Soto’s life who resolved to seek employment in the neighborhood to sustain his living. Additionally, as was the case with Soto I have also been greatly influenced by family shows.

Specifically, family shows made me believe that children should live a lavish life as depicted in these shows. This made me pressurize my parents to buy for me the products I saw on these shows. Notably, as depicted in both the modern family and parenthood, my parents share responsibilities. Specifically, observing that both are working classes, they fulfill my desires notwithstanding whether the fulfillment of such a desire is traditionally attributed to a specific gender. As such, it can be stated that comparing Soto’s narration to the revelations from the modern family and parenting; it is clear that familial obligations are rapidly evolving. As such, it is crucial for modern parents to accept the dynamics of the modern family so as to retain the familial bonds.