Family Affairs Essay

For this paper, I selected two works of literature, The lie with of My Life, and commonplace substance abuse. The Love of My Life by T. Coraghessan Boyle deals with teenage love that transition into turmoil. E reallyday Use by Alice carriage revolves around the fond and economic differences amid generations. Throughout this paper, I will be comparing the economic, instructional, and genial cultures of the families opened in each(prenominal) story. While both stories take very different channels, both illustrate the depth of which family members will go for one another.There ar several relations exemplifying social likenesss. Jeremy and chinaware are both girlish souls venturing out to learn the life lessons of the surrounding world. mamma, Maggie and the pretentious Dee have very conflicting views of the world. One of the social differences the families face is the contrast in age differences. Jeremy and China are from the very(prenominal) generation. They share man y of the same views and perspectives on events and situations around them. In occasional Use, at that place are two different generations that have conflicting views.This internal conflict between Mama and Dee is the leading comparison of their story. Jeremy and China, have an external force applying conflict onto their relationship. Their poor choices have led them down a path in which strife and confrontation are inevitable. One is shown this when Jeremy and China are arguing in the hotel board over the handling of their situation (Boyle 561). Conversely there is an internal conflict between Mama and Dee. Walter shows Dee never brings anyone home repayable to her embarrassment of her family (Walker 315).In both situations, conflicts pull the families apart but their love for each other holds them together through their difficult situations. The economic differences are the most apparent difference between the two families. Jeremy and China both come from upper middle class fam ilies. Boyle speaks of their playing tennis and notice football on a 36 inch TV in the kitchen (Boyle 556). In Everyday Use, Mama goes into detail about the description of their house. She states that it does not have windows, but it has hide shaped holes in the crop shift walls (Walker 316).The economic differences between the two families are clear. The family with a stable financial solid ground could easily avoid the type of strife Jeremy and China are faced with. Along that same invention of thought, there should be some level of ignorance for ones actions within Mamas family. Ignorance is exemplified by Jeremy and China with their lack of regard for their actions, slice Dee shows a sense of pride for her heritage for the first time in her life. This shows an interesting conflict between the relationship of economic stability and the choices one makes.Simply put, there is not a simple choice. This is compelling because those of privilege often find themselves in situatio ns of despair due to the poor choices they make. Another striking and illumination difference is the education of these families. Jeremy and China are heading take away to college to further their young minds. However, this gives one a sense that they should be more aware of the consequences their actions may bring. This heretofore is not the case. Jeremy and China both set off on a path of self-gratification and set out little room for reasoning and foresight.One is drawn to the conclusion that China and Jeremy are intelligent young adults. They both have been accepted to respectable universities, and China is striving to outshine others with a higher grade point average (Boyle 559). Contrary to China and Jeremy, Mama states that she is not very well educated. Mama did not receive an education past the second grade due to her schools closing (Walker 316). However, her daughter Dee is off at college taking her education to a level her get under ones skin couldnt achieve. The edu cation gap between mother and daughter leads to both the conflict and the sympathy between the two.The educational comparison between these two families goes against nows social expectations. The more educated family goes down a terrible life altering path, while the less educated family has a conflict over quilts. Usually one finds those with less education in situations where foresight and planning would prevent their problem, but in these stories, it is just the opposite. A more in-depth look at the social constraints facing our two families in question reveals several insights. You have one group that is provided for in every way they need.They are given all the tools they need to succeed in life. They come from a background of money and privilege. All of their basic needs and desires are taken care of with minimal exploit on their part. The other group is one more of a post-civil rights movement in which education and luxury were not easy to come by. This group also spans a generational gap that is not present in their counter parts. Given the nature in which rocky work and sacrifice was all Mama knew, she passed that on to her daughter while unknowingly protecting them from the ill-faded temptations of the privileged Jeremy and China.Taking a look at how the society views those with privilege and education, one often hears I cant believe something like that would line up to them. Yet those same people hear of the less privileged having the same types of problems. They instantly jump to blaming their lift or surrounding. In Jeremy and Chinas case, if their privileged lives meant a better education and upbringing, they should have foreseen trouble. Similarly, the hard work and sacrifice instilled by Mama into Dee led her to reach out and gain an appreciation for her family and heritage that she never had before.After looking at the differences between the economical, educational, and social cultures of our two families, it is apparant many different factors go into the possible outcome of ones path. Above all else, it comes down to a choice. Jeremy and China make a choice just like Mama and Dee made a choice. The surrounding factors play however a small fraction into the outcome when the right choices are made. Whether one picks Everyday Use by Alice Walker or The Love of My Life by T. Coraghessan Boyle, changing the choices our protagonists would completely alteration the outcome of each story.Just because one is privileged doesnt mean one will make the right decisions. The power of a choice lies within a persons willingness to overcome economical, educational, and social perils. Work Cited Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. Making Literature Matter An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. Boston Bedford, 2012. 314-21. Print. Boyle, T. Coraghessan. The Love of My Life. Making Literature Matter An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. Boston Bedford, 2012. 556-69. Print.