There are many components to the topic of family. Barbara
Kingsolver explains family through her excerpt, “Stone Soup”. She talks about
divorce and really enforces the idea of family. Betty Smith is able to express
her thoughts through her characters: Francie, Neeley, Johnny, and Katie. Her
book, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, uses
her characters as an outlet to explain the importance of family. I believe the
function of family is to share affection, companionship, and emotional support.
Also, family is a key component to socialization.
Family teaches each other the basic necessities in life and
how to behave. Without family, the world would be out of control. Families
depend on each other for love, care, and a home for comfort. Barbara Kingsolver
really demonstrates that point when she says, “When I was a child, I had two
parents who loved me without cease. One of them attended every excuse for
attention I ever contrived, and the other made it to ones with higher
production values.” (Kingsolver par.3). She really shows the love parents give
to their children and how some parents are willing to fulfill their child’s every
need.
Families
teach each other disappointment. For example in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, “I am not a happy
man. I got a wife and children and I don’t happen to be a hard-working man. I
never wanted a family.’ Again, that hurt around Francie’s heart. He didn’t want
her or Neeley...Papa was no good. He said so himself. But she liked Papa
better. ‘I love my wife and I love my children.’ Francie was happy again” (Smith
35). This quote shows how even though Johnny isn’t an ideal father, he taught Francie
disappointment and she still loves him. Sometimes Johnny says some hurtful
things but it teaches Francie to understand the feeling of disappointment.
Routines are also something families teach
other and that is very important. Having a basic routine can make someone feel
secure and safe. For instance, in A Tree
Grows In Brooklyn, “Francie and Neeley got out of bed and they all sat
around the table and ate after Papa had put three dollars down on the table and
given the children each a nickel which Mama made them put in the tin-can bank
explaining they had already received money that day from the junk […] So Johnny
and Katie talked away the night and the rise and fall of their voices was a
safe and soothing sound in the dark” (Smith 52). Johnny sings and Francie and
Neeley sit to eat with Papa no matter the time. Then Francie and Neeley listen
to Katie and Johnny while they talk away the night. It is a nice and sweet
routine.
The ability be strong wouldn’t be possible
without family. In “Stone Soup” Barbara Kingsolver says, “Women my grandmother’s
age were likely to live with a fluid assortment of elderly relatives, in-laws, siblings,
and children…A family so large and varied would not be easily be brought down
by a single blow: It could absorb a death, long-illness, an abandonment here or
there, and any number of irreconcilable differences” (Kingsolver par.21). This
really shows that there is strength in numbers. Going through hard times can be
made easier with family around. This quote really showcases that.
Family is something everyone needs. Betty
Smith in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn shows
that routines and disappointment are huge components of family. “Stone Soup” by
Barbara Kingsolver really illustrates the importance that love and the ability
to be strong is what makes family, well, family. Love, emotional care and
affection will always be the definition and function of families. As you can see,
family is a general idea that has many different meanings that make it very
important.