Families can be insane, but they can also be loving and comforting. Even if a family is harsh and realistic, it will shape personalities. Each person gets one family and has to make the best of it, no matter how it affects them. David Sedaris is a typical person whose family strongly affected his personality. In the first chapter of his book Chipped Beef, he most importantly demonstrates the stark differences between his mom and himself, while also hiding his insecurities and inflating his fantasies, ultimately highlighting his dysfunctional family dynamic. Juxtaposition, satire, and dramatization are the key devices that aid Sedaris in achieving his goal of describing how his family life affected him. The main relationship in this story is Sedaris’s dreams are over dramatic and not plausible. He uses these as an escape from the reality of his own flawed life. One example of his ridiculous fantasies is when he is “thinking of asking the servants to wax my change before placing it in the Chinese tank I keep on my dresser. It's important to have clean money--not new, but well maintained.” Obviously his reality doesn’t include servants or probably a lot of spare change, considering the size of the family. His obsession of material possessions led to unmet dreams and his mother’s inability to provide enough for Sedaris. Another terrible and unrealistic fantasy is “When my sisters were taken, my father crumpled the ransom note and tossed it into the eternal flame that burns beside the mummified Pilgrim we keep in the dining hall of our summer home in Olfactory. We don't negotiate with criminals, because it's not in our character. Every now and then we think about my sisters and hope they're doing well, but we don't dwell upon the matter, as that only allows the kidnappers to win. My sisters are gone for the time being but, who knows, maybe they'll return someday, perhaps when they're older and have families of their own.” This is obviously a plea to have less siblings. He longs to be an only child and receive the entirety of his parent’s attention, but he still slightly cares about his sister's wellbeing. He hopes they have will be happy and have families This dynamic is exhibited through depicting the blunt differences between his mom and himself, while also cloaking his insecurities and exaggerating his fantasies. Families, weather good or bad will always shape personalities and that is why each person is unique. Everyone has a different family dynamic and various experiences throughout life, but this is what makes each person exceptional in their own
Wes (the author) has a family who wants to see him succeed. Although Wes didn’t know his father for long, the two memories he had of him and the endless stories his mother would share with him, helped guide him through the right path. His mother, made one of the biggest effects in Wes’s life when she decided to send him to military story, after seeing he was going down the wrong path. Perhaps, the other Wes’s mother tried her best to make sure he grew up to be a good person, but unfortunately Wes never listen. His brother, Tony was a drug dealer who wish he could go back in time and make the right decisions and he wanted Wes to be different than him. He didn’t want his brother to end up like him and even after he tried everything to keep Wes away from drugs, nothing worked and he gave up. As you can see, both families are very different, Wes (the author) has a family who wants him to have a bright future. Most importantly, a family who responds fast because right after his mother saw him falling down the wrong hill she didn’t hesitate to do something about it. The other Wes isn’t as lucky, as I believe since his mother already had so much pressure over keeping her job and her son Tony being involved in drugs. Same thing with Tony, he was so caught up in his own business that no one payed so much attention to
...development of your identity. Gregor, the family man, tried as hard as he can to be there for his family. His family is everything he has got and this is his identity. While Sonny, the trouble kid turned musician, abandoned his family’s suggestions and went his own way by keeping true to himself and being dedicative to a specific goal. Both of these characters are polar opposites in a sense that one follows his family and the other does not. But, both characters were forced into difficult situations and both have experienced some sort of sacrifice.
A personality is a combination of various attributes that belong to a single person. Each one has its own unique qualities and traits that create an individual that is different from any other human being. How this individuality is formed depends on the environment that a person has lived through and their experiences. Alison Bechdel grew up in a home with a father who alienated himself from his family so that he could conceal a dark secret from his life. Nevertheless, Bechdel was able to take from her past so that she could become a strong and independent women who kept true to who she was. Likewise, straying from the expected path of her family, Dorothy Allison was determined to become the person who she wanted to be. Expressing who she is and not changing to match others expectations has become high priority in Allison’s adult life. It was through a journey of hardship in their childhoods, both Allison and Bechdel were able to discover their individual identities in their adult life.
People in their lives may confront different challenges, difficulties, and opportunities; their choices and decisions significantly influence their paths in life. Their abilities to making right choices are determined by many factors, including family, neighborhood, education, personal responsibility, age, environment, religion, media, others’ expectations, etc. Even two people, who have identical names, live similar circumstances, they have two different fates. Wes Moore (2011), in his book “The Other Wes Moore,” tells a story of how and why the other Wes Moore and himself had different lives. Even though the author Wes and the other Wes both grew up in Baltimore, their different choices, which were influenced by their families, friendship,
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
Shaymus’ point of view is influenced by his mother’s cognitive dissonance on how he perceives the world. His father rented “The Breakers” cottage online, and pictures online were far more appealing than the reality. Shaymus knew that in reality, the depiction of the cottage was deceiving. He noted that “a picture might be worth a thousand words but it might be all lies” (3). In contrast, the mother deludes herself into thinking that “she loves them ‘cause it reminds her of the house she used to live in.” This illusion also reflects the idea of the Walsh’s happy family appearances. Like the pictures online, they try to simulate a happy family, but in reality, they are dysfunctional at best. The author introduces to the readers that this is a significant illusion, and there is more beneath the surface where one’s reality clashes with another’s
Some experiences one cannot remember, such as the first year of life. Though we cannot remember this time of our life, we discovered and developed reactions to our world. Parent interaction is needed in this time to help develop a sense of trust; therefore, parents are a big deal as we develop. They are the ones we look to know how to respond to the environment around us. We develop some fears because our parents are afraid of them and we develop likes and dislikes based on what our parents’ interests are. Personality is a collaboration of our reactions to the world. Each personality is different, though some people may have similar aspects to another’s personality. The more common, the better they get
Erik’s has an unfortunate and tumultuous relationship with his mother. Erik’s mother is arguably the one responsible for setting Erik in an almost perpetual state of moodiness, distrust, and antagonism towards others. Erik’s mother is responsible for creating
Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...
For David Sedaris, growing up was not the typical fun and excitement as it was for other teenagers his age. Sedaris battled a secret that was looked down upon by all of society as well as the world around him. A secret that left him feeling shameful about his everyday life and constantly wishing he could do something, anything, to change it.
As the story goes we start with a family who appears as a typical family where the desires of the parents are for their children to be smart and successful in life and the desires of the children are those of any typical child. However, as the story unfolds we are given the insight of the true nature of the family that follows most laws of nature that there is greed and deception even among loved ones. That every family has its secrets and that every secret comes with a cost no matter how small.
...and how we perceive ideas about what writers are trying to get across. This story is a clear representation of family values and true inheritance.
Characterization: Most of the characterization is indirect. We learn about these characters mostly by their action and their dialogue. However, there is some direct characterization when the narrator tells us of what has shaped the mother into what she is today.
The mother in the story a nameless figure with very little description and almost no voice what so ever. She is a bitter reminder of how society views some woman. They are seen as a permanent stature of a home but not necessarily a figure in society. The kids both very loud and annoying portray a selfish, rude, an almost ignorant way of society such as Jo...
The definition of family dynamics refers to the way members of the family interact with each other in relation to the group as a whole. A lot of influences affect the dynamics between family members such as traditions, communication styles, behavioral patterns and emotional interdependence. In Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis relates to how humans and their offspring are capable of changing and interpreting different life experiences in the family that can transform the dynamic bond.