Sag Harbor et al.: Family as a Powerful Force

Throughout this semester, every book we have read has had an examination of the meaning of family and its importance in the characters' lives.

There is a very powerful dinner table scene in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in which Stephen watches his parents, aunt, uncle, and family friend argue about a major political figure's actions. Uncle Charles and Stephen's father, whom he always obeys and he trusts to the highest degree, are arguing that the political figure did nothing wrong and it is very sad that he died. However, Dante, whom Stephen also respects and sees to be correct on every matter, especially religion, is saying that the political figure defied the Catholic Church and is a disgrace religiously. The argument gets very heated and ends with Dante getting up and leaving the table because she is so infuriated. It makes Stephen question the notion of a unified family and he realizes that his perception of a perfect family is not really true.

In Catcher in the Rye, Holden keeps telling the reader how much he wants to talk to his sister Phoebe, but it is either too late to call her or he can't find her. Eventually, he is falling farther and farther in a downward spiral, and when he seems to just about hit the bottom, he goes home and visits Phoebe in her room late at night. She asks him lots of probing questions, and it makes him think about himself. the next day, he goes to the zoo with Phoebe and just talking with her and spending time with her seems to improve his health and mood. We don't get a lot of information about the rest of the family, but Phoebe is a very positive figure in Holden's life.

As a stark contrast to how positive Catcher in the Rye was about family, The Bell Jar is not. Esther is very opposed to, possibly even terrified of, the idea of being a mother and having a family. She dislikes her own mother, especially when she is being the most loving, and when she sees Dodo Conway walking outside her window with six (almost seven) children, she never wants to have kids. We know that she does end up having children because she says at one point that her baby is playing years later with an object mentioned in the story. However, this negative view of motherhood and family is a very strong force at this point in her life.

One of the main themes of Housekeeping seems to be family dynamics and the role of family in Ruth's life as she is growing up. The story is based around Ruth's aunt Sylvie, and the first chapter of the book is devoted to the backstory of her family. Also, Lucille, Ruth's sister, is an important character in the book, as Lucille and Ruth were very close at first and they split ways over the course of the book.The depiction of Ruth's family is neither strongly positive nor negative, but I think this may be because Ruth is a very neutral narrator, not imposing any of her feelings onto the reader. However, Ruth is tied very closely to Sylvie in the final chapters, and Ruth is melancholy after Lucille moves out and leaves her life entirely. This neutral portrayal of family is interesting when compared to the other novels we have read this semester.

I'm not sure that his family was a positive force in his life in the beginning, but the crumbling and splitting of the family definitely is a very negative experience for Jason in Black Swan Green. He struggles when his parents argue at the table, with his sister Julia being his only ally. It is weird for him when she moves out of the house for college (I can relate) and it is really hard for him when he learns that his parents are splitting and he will have to move.

In Sag Harbor, Benji and his brother Reggie are almost twins and, just like Ruth and Lucille, they split apart at the beginning of high school. They are still very close, but they are not as similar as they were before. Benji and Reggie spend most days of the summer with the house to themselves, but their parents come out for the weekends. This creates an odd family dynamic. Their father drinks a lot and has a short temper, so on Saturdays, Benji, Reggie, and their mom are tip-toeing around, trying not to be the one to set off the ticking bomb that is the dad's temper. This leads Reggie to avoid even being home on the weekends, doubling up his shifts at Burger King. There is a lot of tension in the family, but at the same time, they follow a daily and weekly routine that is very consistent. At one point, Benji describes his workplace and colleagues as comparing the group to a family, saying "you didn't ask too many questions" (143).

The depictions of family throughout the semester are all very different, but all serve an important part of the protagonists' lives, especially in their development and coming of age. It shows how much family life and feelings of relationships with other people can vary from person to person.