Comapring Families in Song of Solomon, Narrative of Frederick Douglass and Push :: compare and contrast essay examples

Role of Ex prevailed Families in poesy of Solomon, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Push The readings presented by Afri goat American writers pull up stakes greatly in style, context, and story line, however there are some(a) common themes presented throughout. Among these themes is an expansive shift from what is gener whollyy considered to be a traditional, atomic family. Each work presents a view of family life that, forced by events, shows people attempting to build non-traditional, extended families in an effort to identify themselves, deduce where they fit in socially, and know their place in the world. It is important to finish up the definition of traditional and extended families in the context of minority populations. For the absolute majority culture, a traditional family is thought to consist of the nuclear family (i.e. father, mother, and children). Minority groups tend to cast a wider net when defining members of their families. The extended fami ly is the norm in minority cultures, which consists of the nuclear family plus Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents. In the following works, each of the primary(prenominal) characters are forced to go beyond what is considered the extended family structure to watch over what they need. Song of Solomon is the only story presenting even a glimpse of what can be considered a majority traditional family. On the surface, the Dead family presents all the mechanics of a normal and functional family attempting to live out the American dream. The family unit is complete there are no overt problems or missing pieces of the puzzle. This image of a normal family quickly vanishes when we see how discontented Milkman is within this family. He feels smothered he lacks identity and direction for his life. His family does non provide what he needs most, a sense of where he belongs and fits in the world. In order to understand his own place and history he is forced to first leave his immedi ate family, then his extended family and lastly begins his spare-time activity in search of unknown family members as a vogue of self-development. This quest is beyond the normal strive that a son takes to take his own person rather than the son his father envisions. It is a quest to understand himself as a whole person, to know where he fits in the big picture rather than simply following the familys expectations. He does non feel complete until he has discovered where he came from.