Nuclear Family or Extended Family - Which Is Best - Research Paper Example

? 16 February Nuclear Family or Extended Family: Which is best? Gerstel and Sarkisian, in The Color of Family Ties, make an attempt to look at the nature of extended families among various racial classifications. They expose the conventional assertion that families belonging to races other than Whites are more disjointed, but more accurately, extended families have varying roles in different family lives. The role of an extended family is to afford the family with almost everything that it needs. Although White families have higher possibilities of receiving emotional and financial assistance for their extended family, Black families take a more practical approach in supporting their extended families as Blacks usually have lower socio-economic status; hence, they less financially capable to provide support for their extended families. Gerstel and Sarkisian argue that cultural inheritances are the reason behind the dissimilarities in the way White and Black families support their extended families. In contradiction of the common notion, family ties do not concern much about culture, but it concerns more about socio-economic status. According to studies, people who earn similar amount of income and holds the same educational attainment and background have the tendency to use family ties correspondingly regardless of the race they considered themselves in. Extended family relationships are common among families with lower socio economic status. Perhaps, this is because people with lower income require assistance from outside the nuclear family. While Gerstel and Sarkisian present a strong argument contention suggesting the relationship between family ties and socio-economic status, much less, social class, the authors ensure that socio-economic status is not the lone determining factor. The subtleties of families are always different, and even in some instances, there is a lesser need of an extended family support. Nevertheless, Gerstel and Sarkisian generally poses the argument that money or financial capability is a key issue, which should serve as the focal point for supporting the argument that nuclear families are not the only ones capable of supportive relationships and strong family connections, but so as non-traditional families. In Roger Jack’s “An Indian Story”, he subtly contends that there is no ideal or absolute standard to what composes a family, or what should constitute a family. In the story, Jack shows how races cannot be a determining factor that supports the idea that family orientations differ according to race such that Indians, just like all other races, employ the same perspective to both nuclear and non-traditional families, like extended families. Also, the reading suggests that a family is not a social unit that encompasses a stationary arrangement. It cannot only contain a mother and a father; it could also include aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins, and others. Roger Jack is trying to convey that a family is not a pre-determined component of the society; and what is more important is to help children in understanding that “what the family provides for its members is more important than the way it is structured” (Hare and Gray 4). Aunt Greta treats his nephew like her own son, so much that she accepted him when he asked to stay with her. But despite this unconventionality, Aunt Greta and her nephew are able to create a healthy family. According to Hare and Gray (5), when parents in nontraditional families encourage strong and healthy ties among between its members, it is more likely that the children would feel more secure. Aunt Greta and his nephew get along perfectly just like a traditional nuclear family with a mother, a father, and children. They travel together and talk just like best friends. Aunt Greta shares her own stories and past experiences to her nephew without any hesitation or reservations (Jack 455). Indeed, the best that a family can offer cannot only be found in a traditional nuclear family, but also in a nontraditional family. This has been manifested in the story when the narrator moved away from his father when his father remarried, and he tells her aunt that he wants to stay with her because he feels more comfortable with it. Jack never had a sound relationship with his dad, so instead of living with his father and his stepmother, he opts to stay with her aunt. Jack asserts that his “home and academic life improved a lot after I [he] had moved in with Aunt Greta" (Jack 454). As the story approaches towards its end, Jack develops a better relationship with his father albeit they never talked a lot when Jack still stayed in his dad’s house. The seemingly better relationship arrived when Jack’s father started to tell him that he loves him, which makes Jack more interested to be closer with his father. In the story, roles that are present in a traditional nuclear family are compensated by the presence of a member of a nontraditional family. Aunt Greta played the role of a mother for Jack; Jack played the role of a son for Aunt Greta. This is one evidence that while there could be difficult challenges involved in growing up or living, the strong bonds that can develop in the process would bring a family environment that is just the same as a conventional nuclear family. In Melvin Dixon’s “Aunt Ida Pieces a Quilt”, the author illustrates how nontraditional families can be just like a traditional nuclear family. It is a common and accepted belief that love can be tested during the toughest times, and most often than none, fair whether friends or relatives are the first ones to get estranged in times of difficulties. In the poem, Aunt Ida and Francine mourn about the death of Junie, Francine’s son and Aunt Ida’s grandnephew, and the two recalls their good memories together. Dixon conveys how strong and close the bond among the three was when Junie was still alive. In fact, this unusual affection is manifested in the poem when Aunt Ida was convinced to make a quilt out of Junie’s shirt, and with Francine’s initiative, plans to send it to Washington to create a gigantic quilt. Aunt Ida’s love for her extended family members is also shown in the concluding part of the poem when she decides to make a new quilt for Maxine’s baby. The new quilt symbolizes a welcome to a new member of the family, and as an addition to the family after the passing of Junie. Looking at both literary pieces, there is some degree of similarity in the way both authors view family. Both literary works suggest that a family must not be defined by how the majority views it. In “An Indian Story”, Roger Jack believes that nontraditional families can likewise afford its family members with the same level of comfort, security, and love that most of us thought could only be found in traditional nuclear families. In “Aunt Ida Pieces a Quilt”, Dixon illustrates the deepness of love that can draw out from a nontraditional family. As long a strong bond and supportive relationship is established within a family, whether it is a nontraditional or a traditional nuclear family, no specific, ideal or absolute standard can determine what a family should be. Works Cited Hare, Jan, and Lizbeth A. Gray. “Nontraditional Families: A Guide for Parents.” Oregon State University Extension Service. Oregon State University Extension Service, 1992. Web. 16 February 2013. Jack, Randy. “An Indian Story.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo. Boston: Bedford and St. Martin’s, 1992. Print. Soto, Gary. “Looking for Work.” Amherst Schools Online. Amherst Schools Online, n.d. Web. 16 February 2013. Read More