Healthy Relationships In 'A Sad Daughter'

By definition, family is “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household”, but family is way more than that. Family is an incredibly basic word. The word holds different meanings to every individual. Family are the people who make you laugh and feel at ease. They do not even have to be blood related, infact many find close friends can be family. Family are the people who ensure safety, care for one 's well being, and always put the best interests first. Regardless of ugly moments and lies, families still love and care for each other. In the Interface English textbook, edited by Joan Green, the family ties unit shows the strengths, bonds, wisdom and love families give. These stories inspire the reader to reflect upon …show more content…
Healthy relationships are important in strengthening family bonds. Open communication, mutual respect and the ability to absorb biodiversity is required to establish a healthy relationship. Mutual respect is accepting each other for the way they are. In the poem To a Sad Daughter by Michael Ondaatje, the father explains “When I thought of daughters,/ I wasn’t expecting this,/ but I like this more./ I like your all of your faults”(8). The father explains how he did not expect his daughter to be the way she is, but he has learned to accept it. When the faults and differences of others are accepted, the family members are loved for who they truly are. Family ties allow you to become closer and accept one another for how one another is. To accept each other is very healthy and creates a positive environment. As well, family ties create healthy relationships by teaching us to join together rather than fighting against each other in troublesome situations. In Brothers, the writer describes the awful car trip experience with his brothers. “Spilled out of the puke wagon and fell to the grass laughing… laughing until we couldn’t anymore.”(13). Instead of all of the boys blaming each other for the awful event, they laughed it off and did not even think of accusing each other. This strengthens family ties and makes it a healthy relationship because they did not incriminate each other, but bonded from it. The family …show more content…
Family shares their wisdom and teaches one another not to be shameful for who they are. Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan perfectly exemplifies the wisdom and teachings from a family member. After teaching the lesson to her daughter, the mother mentions, “But inside you will always be chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame”(14). The mother explains to her child that there is no shame in her heritage, regardless if it’s different than another culture. She does not let her child feel shame for who she is, rather she explains there is no shame in being a true self. Similarly, family teaches how to accept what we do not like about one’s self and to be proud of flaws. The child admits after “It wasn’t until many years later- long after I had gotten over my crush on Robert- that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson”(15). The child was not aware that her culture was not a bad thing. Instead of the mother cooking American food, her mother cooked cultural food. Once again, the mother taught the child even if someone is different compared to them, it is fine to be oneself around them. The mother was teaching her child not to stray away from her culture. Family ties guide us to be who one is meant to be in a lifetime. Through lessons and wisdom, embracing what we dislike about ourselves is