The importance of family is very difficult to comprehend at times. It isn’t a difficult subject to talk about, but what is the best way to describe it. You could say that a family is a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household or its Mom and Dad and 2.5 kids, but it isn’t the best definition of the word. Not all families are the same as what I like to call the “sitcom family” where their troubles last for a half hour and everything's all hunky-dory as the credits roll.
Families have evolved over time and have taken different forms. Family doesn’t end with blood relatives but to close friends that you couldn’t live without. Gender Roles on the way a family should be are fading from existence form being challenged by the 21st century society. Couples of the LGBTQ+ community are now becoming socially acceptable as a family. A divorced family, which would have been shocking in decades prior, is an accepted part of society. As families evolve, and become less like the “sitcom family”, the bonds between them never change. Also, just because a family isn’t societies’ norm, doesn’t mean you should label the family broken. In “Stone Soup” by she writes, “Lucky is the child with this many relatives on hand to hail a proud accomplishment” (Paragraph 1 Kingsolver). This kid has all of these people supporting him at his baseball game, and shows how even though a family may be labeled “broken” doesn't mean that the family is truly broken.
In the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the Nolan family is far from perfect. With Johnny’s alcoholism and Katie basically raising the kids on her own, their family is far from perfect. Just because their family isn't perfect, doesn't mean that it’s a bad family. In the book the author, Betty Smith, writes,” “Francie was proud of her father, she wrapped up his ironed apron carefully in a clean piece of paper, saved for that purpose; she walked with him to the trolley car. Women smiled at him until they noticed the little girl clinging to his hand, Johnny looked like a devil-may-care Irish boy instead of the husband of a scrub woman and the father of two children who are always hungry” (Smith pg.38). In the quote the book, Francie is proud of her father even though he isn’t the greatest father in the world. Even though Johnny is a less-than-stellar father, Francie thinks he is a good person and is happy when they are together. Also, in another section of the book Francie states,” My brother is next, his arm is as dirty as mine, so don't be surprised” (Smith 147). In this part of the book, Francie and brother are judged because they are covered in dirt, so the staff at the Doctor’s assumes that they were poor. Francie sticks up for herself and her family and shows that even when no one is watching, it’s important to stand up for what matters in life. For Francie, that means her family.
I think that one phrase that describes family well is Ohana. Ohana is Hawaiian for family. The word is best described in the 2002 animated Disney film Lilo & Stitch. The film focuses on two sisters which the older sister Nani needs to take care of her younger sister Lilo after their parents died in a car crash. They soon adopt a dog named Stitch who is an alien in disguise that the sisters adopt thinking it's a dog. Lilo, Nani, and Stitch all say sometime during the movie,”Ohana means family. Family means nobody left behind or forgotten.” Another quote that describes family is when Stitch says, “This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah - still good.” Both quotes show how a family may not be perfect, but it's not something that you can leave behind either. The quotes also show good virtues to have when it comes to family. You don’t leave people that you love behind. It’s okay if your family is small, and broken. What matters is the love in the relationships between family members. If you love and care about your family, no matter if it’s big or small, there will always be happiness and hope that can help you through even the darkest of times. In the end, “My soup contains a rock or two of hard times, and maybe yours does too. I expect it’s a heck of a bouillabaisse” (Paragraph 31 Kingsolver).
Love Always,
Erin
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