An Idealistic View of Family
Novels, plays, and television shows have a unique way of making family life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries so appealing. They desensitize it, taking away the realities that really impacted families during that era. They are fictitious displays of what family life was like that we strive to achieve because they appear so perfect.
In shows like Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie, we are lured into a dimension where family life seems flawless and where everyone is a contributor to the success of the family and larger community. They depict a world in which members of the community relied on one another and banded together to get through rough times. It is indeed true that one can argue that there appeared to be greater moral standards, familial respect, and a Christian faith however, by the same token this was also a myth.
First and foremost, I am grateful we live in a society where we are free to choose the type of relationships we have. We no longer have to get married and people can date whomever they choose. There was a point …show more content…
They never showed us children being sent away from their families as the cheapest form of labor. I would not want to grow up during this time period in American history because I can 't imagine being torn apart from my family to master a trade or to be used for menial labor. Additionally, I am glad I didn 't grow up during this time period because the exchange of children among the adults brought about potential opportuntities for child abuse which is sickening to think of. These are things you never see in familiar television programs that look so appealing and carefree when truth was for more frightening. I am glad this is not the type of society we live in
Novels, plays, and television shows have a unique way of making family life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries so appealing. They desensitize it, taking away the realities that really impacted families during that era. They are fictitious displays of what family life was like that we strive to achieve because they appear so perfect.
In shows like Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie, we are lured into a dimension where family life seems flawless and where everyone is a contributor to the success of the family and larger community. They depict a world in which members of the community relied on one another and banded together to get through rough times. It is indeed true that one can argue that there appeared to be greater moral standards, familial respect, and a Christian faith however, by the same token this was also a myth.
First and foremost, I am grateful we live in a society where we are free to choose the type of relationships we have. We no longer have to get married and people can date whomever they choose. There was a point …show more content…
They never showed us children being sent away from their families as the cheapest form of labor. I would not want to grow up during this time period in American history because I can 't imagine being torn apart from my family to master a trade or to be used for menial labor. Additionally, I am glad I didn 't grow up during this time period because the exchange of children among the adults brought about potential opportuntities for child abuse which is sickening to think of. These are things you never see in familiar television programs that look so appealing and carefree when truth was for more frightening. I am glad this is not the type of society we live in