Family In Gary Soto's Looking For Work

Superior Essays
Family is associated with every human’s life. From the past to the present, family has always played an important role in society. Family is a cell of life, it is an important environment for people; it is a place that nurtures and educates to help develop personality. But what exactly does “family” mean? There are many different definitions of “family.” Generally, family is a group that is formed on the basis of marriage and blood ties. The family members of the knit bind together the responsibilities for each other’s. Today, families are currently facing major challenges due to the transition from the traditional household to the modern household. In order to survive and grow, every family must find ways to adapt to the new conditions; hence, …show more content…
Some families don’t have a father, and those families can be referred as a “Single-Mother Family.” Single-Mother Family is a family that has only a mother and one or more children. In that family, the mother is the head of the household. She does everything that in a traditional household a father would do. Based on the narrative “Looking For Work” by Gary Soto, Soto appears to be living in a single-mother type of family. In his narrative he wants his family to be perfect like the white-family he has always seen on TV. One day Soto asks his mother, “Mom, do you think we could dress-up for dinner one of these days? David King does” (24). Based on that line, readers can assume that his family is not very well-constructed. It doesn’t match the traditional American family standard. Soto thinks that in order to achieve that ideal family he has to become rich, and that’s where the idea of looking for work came from. Back in the 1950s, the ideal family was perfect. Most of the people today would choose the 50s era over any other decade. In the expository piece “What We Really Miss about the 1950s” by Stephanie Coonts, she asserts what a great time it was, “It is belief that the 1950s provided a more family-friendly economic and social environment and easier climate to keep kids on the straight and narrow” (Coonts). A traditional family back in the day was very well-constructed and easier to live with. An average 30 year old man could buy a median-priced home for 15-18% of his salary. A family didn’t have to worry about their children like most parents in the Modern Family do today. The traditional family is an ideal family that everyone should aim for. It is one where the husband goes to work and the wife stays home taking care of their kid. In contrast, a modern family has both husband and wife going to work. They’re both sharing the same responsibilities. Even though modern family has

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