Family Ties

Mother of the Year


Paul Theroux's piece about JP's "big family" was an interesting look inside life behind closed doors.  I feel  it was a very real portrayal of how some families work and operate, but don't want to admit to the outside world.  Everyone has known a family like this throughout their life.  On the outside everything looks fine and dandy, but behind closed doors there are many skeletons in the closet.  Going back the the last few readings we have done about gender differences, I noticed a continuing theme in Theroux's story.  I found it very interesting that he only used physical descriptions of the two sisters in the family, and used this opportunity to paint them in an unflattering light.  Did it really matter that they were unattractive and out of shape?  He also provided a glimpse into gender roles within a family.  Although the man is supposed to be considered the "provider," and the one who runs the household, clearly it was the mother who made the rules in this family.

Shooting Dad


I found Sarah Vowell's piece "Shooting Dad" to have many parallels to my own relationship growing up with my Dad.  It is not always easy for a father and daughter to bond, especially when there is another male in the family.  I definitely was always a "daddy's girl," but as I grew older I think he found it difficult to relate to me.  I can only imagine the struggle a father goes through when his little girl starts growing up and changing.  We were lucky in the fact that we found we could bond over basket ball.  I actually continued to play the sport many years after I had become uninterested, simply because it was one thing that my dad and I both understood and could talk about.  There were certainly times when we butt heads, but with more years under my belt I have come to realize it is because we are far too much alike.  I can relate with the author when she comes to the realization that they are the same person.  My dad and I didn't always agree on things, but that was because we were far too much alike in our strong headed personalities.  I love my dad, and I believe our differences will only continue to bring us closer together.

Jimmy Corrigan- The Smartest Kid on Earth


I found this comic to be extremely confusing and did not find too many similarities in the "theme" of the previous two readings.  I did not understand the parts about him being taunted by the young kids, and did not know how it tied in with his mother getting sick.  The best I can pull from this comic strip is that it once again showed a female personality "bossing" a male in her life around.  It seemed the Jimmy Corrigan was run down and would do whatever he had to do to make his mother happy.  I look forward to discussing this piece in class so that I can better grasp what the author was trying to convey.