An American Family

Peter Balakian’s memoir, Black Dog of Fate, was published by Basic Books in New York in 1997. The subtitle—“An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past”—could easily be the summary on the back of the book. Balakian was born in the United States to Armenian parents. His mother was born in the country, while his father was born abroad, specifically Constantinople. His maternal grandmother, her first husband, and their two young daughters experienced the Genocide. Although his grandmother and aunts…

children on their own. Aside from divorce, children are being conceived out of wedlock at alarmingly high rates which further breaks down the family structure in the African American community. What is defined was a nuclear family consisting of a biological mother, a biological father, and their biological offspring is no longer the most visible type of family structure. The overall well-being of a child is impacted by the involvement of both the mother and the father. Daughters, especially,…

epilepsy in 1997, what steps have been taken in our healthcare system to counter the role of cultural differences? The Spirt Catches You and You Fall Down follows the true story of a healthcare battle between a hospital in California and a Hmong refugee family from Laos escaping the Vietnam war over the care of their little girl in 1982. The little girl’s name is Lia Lee and she suffers from severe epilepsy at the very young age of 3 months. The parents and the doctors both want what is best for…

there was no work and they thought they were a burden to their mother and father. Others who lived in large families left home because they thought that one less mouth to feed would lighten the burden on their families. Some teens were also asked to leave their homes by their parents who couldn’t afford food for them and were going through a tough time. The hobos’ tales reveal that families were in such bad poverty during this time, to the point where more than a quarter million teens had left…

determined urge to challenge the world on her terms. In "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker, the boldness of a young lady from Georgia will not acknowledge being characterized by anybody. Facetiously, Dee would battle her existence, and advance over her own family to end up something unique. Before Dee left for college, she comes off as a clamorous, harsh and judgmental person. As a teenager, Dee had the style of a white person, "black pumps to match a green suit she'd made from an old suit"…

perpetuates on the class difference in Christmas purchasing power and its true meaning for low-class families. Kingsolver’s choice of setting and financial circumstances advances the character development of the Turnbows through the use of social commentary on the lucrative commercialist world. As a reader, one contemplates the value of commercial goods and the meaning of Christmas in their own family and socioeconomic…

Debbie Drechsler illustrates a dysfunctional family that engages in sexual, physical, and mental abuse of a child. Daddy’s Girl is not the term most people would associate with this is not a loving relationship between father and daughter. The eleven short stories in the graphic novel discussed incest, molestation, depression, anger, domination, and rape of a girl named Lily. While Drechsler’s drawing are black and white, however the images portray more than an innocent cartoon style. There is…

What’s In the way of your American Dream? Everyone wants to live and achieve the American Dream. It’s not easy to accomplish because there are many obstacles. The author of the story “The House On Mango Street” is Sandra Cisneros. She is the author of this story and Esperanza is the main character. In the story Esperanza and her family face a lot of problems that interfere with their American dream. Some examples of their hardship and obstacles of their dream are poverty, the lack of speaking…

Her family has spent so many years being silent, protecting this family secret, while shunning this woman, her aunt. Because Maxine continues to not tell her aunts story she is in fact continuing the tradition and shaming her aunt. Kingston breaks free from the male controlled culture giving…

must not only learn the language and culture, but also be capable of translating the culture back into language. So is the story of a young girl who immigrated with her family to the United States when she was just seven years old. In her essay “Hot Dogs and Wild Geese,” Firoozeh Dumas illustrates the challenges she and her family struggled with through her approach to anecdotal humor when they first moved to the United States from Iran. For an immigrant, learning English is already challenging…