Are traditional nuclear American families really the most encouraging families compared to any other families or ethnicities? As stated in the article, “The Color of Family Ties” by Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian, “Commentators often emphasize the disorganization and dysfunction of Black and Latino/a family life. They suggest that if we ‘fix’ family values in minority communities and get them to form married- couple households, all their problems would be solved” (51). In other words, commentators believe that if unmarried Black and Latino/a families or single parents found a soul mate and married that there will be fewer complications within their family. However, Gerstel and Sarkisian claim, “Even if they don’t live together, Blacks
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Gary is a nine year old who had a different perspective of a normal life. This story takes place in the industrial side of Fresno. Gary comes from a non-nuclear Mexican American family that although they seem to have a good connection towards each other, they are not as supportive to one another. In the beginning of the story, Gary was thinking about how much he wanted to have a civilized family. The narrator told his family that he wanted to get dressed up for dinner sometime but they all just ignored his remark. The narrator states, “I tried to convince them that if we improved the way we looked we might get along better in life” (23). This passage indicates how he wanted to improve their lifestyle but his family was not supportive about his idea. During Gary’s free time he liked to go door-to-door asking for work and he would get paid around five to twenty—five cents. One day Gary and his friend Little John decided to go for a swim to the Roosevelt High School. Soto writes, “We ran home for my bike and when my sister found out that we were going swimming, she started to cry because she didn’t have the fifteen cents but only an empty coke bottle. I waved for her to come and three of us mounted the bike…” (22). The action he took when he invited his sister to go with him was a sign of support and family unity. The reason why is because he demonstrates how even if he worked hard to earn that money, he is willing to spend it on his sister. Another sign of unity is when the narrator explains, “That evening we all sat down in our bathing suits to eat our beans, laughing and chewing loudly” (22). Not every family gets to eat their daily meal together and at the same time enjoy it as it seems like Gary’s family
Gary is a nine year old who had a different perspective of a normal life. This story takes place in the industrial side of Fresno. Gary comes from a non-nuclear Mexican American family that although they seem to have a good connection towards each other, they are not as supportive to one another. In the beginning of the story, Gary was thinking about how much he wanted to have a civilized family. The narrator told his family that he wanted to get dressed up for dinner sometime but they all just ignored his remark. The narrator states, “I tried to convince them that if we improved the way we looked we might get along better in life” (23). This passage indicates how he wanted to improve their lifestyle but his family was not supportive about his idea. During Gary’s free time he liked to go door-to-door asking for work and he would get paid around five to twenty—five cents. One day Gary and his friend Little John decided to go for a swim to the Roosevelt High School. Soto writes, “We ran home for my bike and when my sister found out that we were going swimming, she started to cry because she didn’t have the fifteen cents but only an empty coke bottle. I waved for her to come and three of us mounted the bike…” (22). The action he took when he invited his sister to go with him was a sign of support and family unity. The reason why is because he demonstrates how even if he worked hard to earn that money, he is willing to spend it on his sister. Another sign of unity is when the narrator explains, “That evening we all sat down in our bathing suits to eat our beans, laughing and chewing loudly” (22). Not every family gets to eat their daily meal together and at the same time enjoy it as it seems like Gary’s family