Harmony at Home: The Myth of the Model American Family - Coursework Example

Corse Harmony at Home For reasons that are practically apparent, conservative groups in America voice out their thoughts frequently seeking to exercise what they refer to as the “return to the traditional values of America”. During these times, people valued family and co-existed harmoniously that is why some people are so active trying to list the alleged family values and show others how live was betters during those times. At that time, some of the values sought by the families consisted of a family with two parents where the husband provided financial support and the wife tended the home. Additionally, gender roles formed an absolute part of the family and preferably, all family members attended a particular type of a Christian church at least once in a week. However, according to Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian, traditional nuclear families are not the only ones capable of supportive relationships and strong family connections. With that regard, this essay will seek to analyze two untraditional families to discover which family illustrates the supportive relationships and strongest family ties most. In the “An Indian Story”, Roger Jack the transitions that one must undergo in order to be become an independent adult. In the introduction, the author paints the kind of life that Aunt Greta passed before she became a mature person, was married, and settled down as a fully independent adult (Jack). When Roger goes out in one evening and drinks a lot to an extent that he ends up getting into trouble, which in turn lands him into prison, he runs from Aunt Greta’s home back to his father’s house. As the story unveils, his father tells him of how his aunt used to drink before she settled down with her husband. At this point, Roger feels at ease when talking to his aunt mainly because he believes that she is in a better position to understand him more than any one else. As such, he goes back to Aunt Greta’s house. A closer outlook into this transition shows that a person must undergo some tribulations or rather challenges before he or she becomes mature and sensitive. In addition, Roger demonstrates the essence of family ties as regards emotional and financial support. For instance, Aunt Greta feels proud to have Roger as her nephew. That is emotional link between familial relatives. Apart from that, when falls into trouble regarding his fight with another person and ends in prison, Aunt Greta goes ahead to bail him out. This financial support comes mostly from extended families in Roger’s context. In such families, there is also emotional support wherein, after his troubles, Roger opens up to his father who in turn opens up about Aunt Greta. Father exercises will to support his son through hard times by tactfully referring him to his aunt. Roger’s father talks about the similarities between Roger’s behavior at his age and his aunt’s at the same age. With that in mind, Roger feels emotionally supported by both his father and his aunt even though he finds his aunt being at a greater place to listen and offer support (Jack). With reference to Gary Soto, it is agreeable that nuclear families where there is only father and mother as the sole guardians for their children, life is bound to be hard, tiresome, and strenuous. Gary paints a picture of a family without other family members that can offer their support in case one of the family members is incapacitated or dead. With regard to his own life experiences, Gary shows no support for nuclear families. This is because; his life turned and became hard when his father died when working at Sunmaid Raisin Company (Soto 51). Gary claims that loss of his father brought his whole family devastation. Having no one else apart from their mother to take care of them, Gary together with his mother Angie and two siblings had no choice but to move from their current location to Barrio, which was within the industrial area of Fresno. Literal analysis reveals that, their move to an industrial area was a backdrop of lack of family support. Barrio is indeed an area, which signifies poverty. Left with no one else to cater for their needs, he had to join his mother Angie in working in the industrial area in order to support the family. Furthermore, his grades at school deteriorated and ended up getting a D as an average mark in school. Poverty happened to be a common or usual thing in their family and so Gary’s siblings started working casual jobs in the industrial area in order to add on something to their family needs (77). Based on these facts, it is believable that if only other family members such as aunts and uncles were supportive, Gary and his family would have remained intact even after his father’s death. A comparison between Jack Roger’s structure of family and that of Gary Soto shows that, Jack Roger’s family offers the best illustration of supportive relationships and strong family ties. This is because, when Roger’s mother passed away, Roger became uncomfortable living with his father. As a result, he went to live with his aunt. Imagine that Roger did not have any other family member to run to familial support. Indeed, he would have ended up in the streets where crime is rampant. Nevertheless, due to the strong relationship ties and familial support shared between and amongst Indian families, Roger had a safe place to live. Further, when Roger’s mother died, his father remarried a half Indian breed. It is observable that the rest of the family found it necessary to get another companion. This signifies their support for familial continuity. When Aunt Greta falls sick, Roger’s father calls him and requests Roger to come and see her. This shows that Roger’s father went to take care of Aunt Greta upon falling sick. This is indeed a strong relationship built mostly within such families. In conclusion, this essay has demonstrated that some untraditional families are supportive than others are. It has illustrated that Jack Roger’s structure of family considers the well-being of any family member who is troubled or devastated unlike Gary Soto’s memoir, which shows young members of the family forced to help in providing for the family (Soto 91). Families composed of more than just father and mother have the strongest family support and relations according to Jack Roger. On the other end, Gary Soto gives a clear illustration of how life can be hard where there are no other members of the family to provide for the rest especially when the breadwinner dies. Works Cited Soto, Gary. Buried Onions. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006. Print. Jack, Roger. An Indian Story. Web 14 Sep. 2012. Read More