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How does our family influence our identity
Narrative on family and relationships
Narrative on family and relationships
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"Here we go again," I thought to myself. Another story about the silly little girl my mother would always refer to as we sat around the dinner table at my grandparent's house on Christmas Day. The cute little blond, of course, was me at 7, who was just perfecting the art of making herself the center of attention. But despite what I thought, the stories weren't about me; they were about my grandma, who would later commit suicide. I don't recall childhood events as clearly as if it were yesterday, but these stories offer a sense of relief. They allow for a perspective that is crucial to my identity and my development. Family stories play a very important role in a person's psychological development. The stories I am told now, as a young adult, reflect my life as a child, some ten years ago. My parents were divorced when I was six years old; my little sister only four. My father was remarried within a year, but my mother struggled with a job, night school, and the unmastered task of ensuring the happiness of her children. While my mother was making sacrifices left and right, my grandmother stepped in to give her a hand. I think this took a tremendous amount of pressure off mom, because she didn't have to hire a baby-sitter. After school we would just take the bus to grandma's house. I remember grandma as a sweet, soft skinned, fun person. We would sit in the living room for hours, playing my favorite board game, "Trouble." As mom recalls, "You were relentless. She would play that game over and over with you, and she always let you win." I suppose I was a bit selfish; it was just so funny to see her bury her face in her small, wrinkled hands, but she never got frustrated with me. She was always so patient; she just wanted to see... ... middle of paper ... ...rience. In a way, the stories are the one connection we still have with her. Every family has traditions, and each has their own meaning and significance. In my case, stories about Me-ma are a way to cure the hurt and grief I was left with three years ago. For the rest of my family, including my mom, they are a fond tribute. Mom laughs when she tells the stories, and it is only then that I realize the importance of these family traditions. Stories are forever; they outlast the members who are remembered in them. Works Cited Finney, Nikky. Rice. Toronto: Sister Vision. 1995. Kagan, Jerome. "The Role of Parents in Children's Psychological Development." Pediatrics 104 (1999): 164. Nadel, Miriam H. "Telling Family Stories." 1995. www.cinenet.net/mhnadet/. Sanoff. Alvin P. "Eloping grandmothers and other tales." U.S. News & World Report 4 July 1988: 56-57.
The author clearly shows how his childhood effected his adulthood, making in a living example of what he is writing about allowing the audience to more easily trust what he is writing about. Instead of using factually evidence from other dysfunctional family incidences, the author decides to make it more personal, by using his own life and comparing family ideas of the past to the present.
After the plane crashes and the boys find each other, they are scared and helpless. However, after establishing rule and living on the island for some, the boys transform into blood thirsty savages. Because Ralph found and blew into the conch, all surviving members of the plane crash are able to come to one place. The boys call for a vote and Ralph is elected leader. Then Jack, Ralph, and Simon go up to the mountain top to search for a way off. However, on the way back, they find a piglet but Jack can 't bring himself to kill it (Page 23). For this reason, the boys still remember what it’s like to be a civilized kid and this shows how innocence is still present inside the boys. Later, Jack tracks a pig through the forest, but it escapes. Afterwards,
Presenting the story from a third person perception and having the narration by the mother or “Mama” gives the story great relevance to real life situations that ha...
Leadership is something that stands out in people; the ability to show courage, initiative, responsibility, and determination. Within a group, people tend to look for an individual with these traits to follow. The main protagonist in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, Ralph who was immediately elected leader by a group of schoolboys who were stranded on the uninhabited island due to a plane crash, strives to recreate a civilized society to which he was accustomed to previously and apply it to the group of adolescents that accompany him. The qualities of leadership Ralph possess deemed him to be a fitted leader as they are demonstrated throughout the course of the novel by keeping order among the group, appearing confident in his leadership
Stories are necessary aspects in our everyday life. From helping us remember a loved one to preparing for an interview, stories are extremely beneficial. I hear stories everyday and they help me as I overcome the loss of my favorite uncle. He was a great man and is still present everyday because of the impact stories of his great legacy have. Without stories, I would be sad every day that he is no longer physically with me, but I always hear of the great things he did and it consoles and comforts me greatly.
In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack which gives him better leadership qualities. Ralph displays these useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the betterment of the boys' society. He knows the boys need stability and order if they are to survive on the island. He creates rules and a simple form of government to achieve this order. Jack does not treat the boys with dignity as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys, particularly Piggy, have to be given respect and must be treated as equals. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to acknowledge that he was not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph has the sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos.
In a group, there are always people who prove to have better leadership skills then others. The strongest of these people can often influence the weaker people into following them. However, the strongest person is not necessarily the best leader as it is proven in William Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies. Although Ralph is the weaker person, he is still able to show a better understanding of people than Jack who is stronger. Ralph demonstrates his excellent leadership skills throughout the book by keeping the group in line, treating everyone with respect, and staying focused on getting rescued.
Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding is able to touch on the many aspects of our civilization through the various characters he creates. Leadership plays a very important role in the novel as it does in real life because the characters need to feel some sense of security in order for them to survive. The two main leaders in the story, through their similar and different leadership characteristics and objectives fight back and forth to gain the discipline of the other boys on the island and generally the power to make the decisions that they feel should be made. Both leaders, Jack and Ralph, experience leading the group in their own style, which is similar in their desire for control yet different pertaining to their leadership qualities and their objectives while on the island.
Throughout my life, I've heard many different stories about my family. Because of these stories, I know about my background, and they have helped form my identity. Randall Bass, professor of English at Georgetown University, agrees that stories help shape people's identities. Bass states that, "Individuals derive their sense of identity from their culture, and cultures are systems of belief that determine how people live their lives" (Bass 1). Cultural stories about family history, religion, nationality, and heritage help influence people's behavior and beliefs. Identities of different people come from their cultures. Story telling begins at home. Stories help connect people to their systems of beliefs. They sculpt people's lives by giving them a model of how to live. People receive their earliest knowledge from different stories.(Bass)
Stories are an integral part of growing up because stories create an escape from reality for children and adults as they grow up, furthermore there are
Identity-“Ones personal qualities.”Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never spent hours upon hours making collages and scrap books for his future children. My uncle never hid in the back of a pick-up-truck and traveled four hours to New York and my grandmother has never walked hours in the rain looking for the Queen of England. My identity is something only I can define.
I never would have imagined feeling like an outsider in my own home. Unfortunately I wouldn’t even go as far as considering my current home as “my home.” I live in a house with eight people and two dogs and for some, that might not even be slightly overwhelming, but for me it is. I try to keep my heart open about the situation, but I always end up feeling like I don’t belong. Given the circumstances of my situation, I would say life definitely turned out better than what I initially expected, but I was left feeling like a “stranger in a village” having to live with a family that is nothing like my own.
Stories are important for many reasons. Not only do we as human beings rely on telling each other stories to pass time, get our points across, or share memories we have but also to teach lessons. Many stories that are told are about something that has happened to someone personally, or a story that was passed on to them by another person. Regardless, stories have been used to help us as humans communicate since the beginning of time. Story telling has been an extreme aid to our history as we pass tales on from one generation to the next. Stories have impacted me ever since I was a little girl. I was told stories not only to get me to fall asleep every night but also as lessons for me when I did something wrong. Stories with morals were also told to me so I could learn from them. Many stories told to me even to this day help me learn and grow as a person. I myself even tell stories of my own in my writing along with stories I have learned from other...
When I was 11 I watched my mother abruptly become a single parent responsible for four daughters, two of which were still in diapers. I became the full time babysitter and raised my two younger sisters for years, despite being a child myself, while my mom worked several jobs at a time.
The way a person behaves is a reflection of how and where they were raised. From birth, we are taught to behave a certain way and have certain family expectations that we must meet that will then play a key role in shaping our identity. But family is not the only factor that influences identity, friends and environment help shape our identity too. Family, friends and environment help shape our identity greatly from the beginning of life up till adulthood.