Jean Bethke Elshtain presents a critical perspective about the deteriorating state of the family in contemporary society in her article, “Society's Well-Being Depends upon the Traditional Family”. By employing rhetorical strategies of ethos, logos, and pathos, the author constructs a persuasive case that calls for renewed focus on the family as the fundamental unit of society. Elshtain builds her argument through a combination of rhetorical strategies, including the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Each of these elements contributes to her overall argument and the extent to which her rhetoric succeeds in convincing readers of the urgency in addressing the challenges faced by the family unit. As far as ethos goes, Elshtain shares her own experiences and personal involvement in the "family debate". She briefly describes some of the challenges present within the traditional family, and makes sure to highlight that she has been in the front lines of this topic for nearly two decades, which enables her to present as someone with firsthand knowledge and commitment to the topic. She establishes credibility and expertise that sets the tone for the rest of her argument, this personal touch also works to engage the reader and create a sense of authenticity in the argument. Elshtain opened her article by invoking the authority of …show more content…
She describes the troubled state of American children, their vulnerability, and the negative consequences they face due to family breakdown. She shares that American children have shown increasing rates of substance abuse, adolescent violence, and emotional and behavioral problems. This emotional appeal aims to invoke an emotional response from the reader, fostering a connection and empathy towards the children and families affected, allowing readers to recognize the urgency of addressing family breakdown and its
The article, Beyond Family Structure: Family Process Studies Help to Reframe Debates About What’s Good for Children, talks about the topic of issues that are brought up when it comes to what is best for children. Topics like, should single parenthood be discouraged and marriage encouraged? Should marriage between same-sex partners be legalized or forbidden? Should divorce be made more difficult or easier to obtain? Should poor families receive income supplements or tax breaks?
“Never before has private life been so preyed upon by public life.” (Berry 156). Before the invention of the television set, families were closer together and all the work was done for the good of the family. We had this innate belief that family was one of the most important aspects of our life. In today’s modern society, our ideals have changed and we search for things outside the family life.
Stone writes about three essential functions of family stories– to pass on the family’s standards, to identify family characteristics, and coping strategies. The first of the three functions is the standards of the family since the family act as the “first culture,” teaching people what their family values and their opinions on certain situations like marriage and illness, mental or physical (Stone 384). The second factor is the family’s characteristics and their traits that bind them together, which act as the family member’s confidence boost (384). Furthermore, this boost makes them value themselves more than the next family, so that the family members contently remain together (384). The third factor is influencing how families cope; these “teaching stories” tell each family how to function outside of the family (385).
Eva Mastrocola Mrs. Adams AP Language and Composition 13 January 2023 Appeals and Ideals and of American Family Culture In the past decade or so, classical family life in modern America has transformed from an ideal to a debate. With a growing rate for divorces, remarriage, and cohabitation, many question the relevance and benefit of bearing children. However, family is vital to the sustainability of a society, and while its traditional concept has diversified and expanded in recent years, the appeal of such remains constant. The function of a family is to fulfill the natural and societal desire to procreate, considering the influence of commercialization, and the values that raising a child instills.
Main Analysis The varieties in family structure are exposed in the television series Parenthood. The small families within the Braverman family give relevant examples of the change. Each of the children in the show has their own unique support system. All families prove relevance to prior research conducted on the topic.
On September 23, 2009, the well-known television show Modern Family broadcasted for the first time on millions of televisions across the United States. The five-time Emmy award winning and hilarious mockumentary, or mock documentary, styled show gives an honest perspective of family life through its multifaceted characters, witty script writing, and relatable episode premises. As Modern Family enters its seventh season, the series continues to leave a tremendous effect on its viewers due to the show’s progressive themes and powerful messages. The biggest impact that Modern Family has had on its viewers is the acceptance of homosexuality. The show’s depiction of two of the main characters, Cam and Mitchell, as a regular couple rather than
In a family there are many different roles; there's the role of the mother, the father, the child, the grandparents, then there’s the brothers and sisters. Every single one of those roles has different responsibilities. The father, according to most of society, is supposed to be the breadwinner for the family. However, nowadays the mother is actually quite capable of being the breadwinner just as much of as the father. As they work to show their children what it is to be an adult they are teaching them as well on how to be an active member of society.
This is seen when the understanding of femininity evolved from females being expected to stay at home and ensure the well-being of the family; to the present times, where women can be employed and contribute to the financial stability of the family (Langen, 2005). In this way social constructionism can be said to helpful in family therapy in that it recognises the different values and perceptions upheld in large cultural or ethnic groups, and how they help define a functional family relative to a specific time in history (Robideau, 2008). It also recognises that the meaning and interpretation of a reality is created and can be altered through conversation (Robideau,
Carl Nixon Documented Essay “Fractured families can bring out the best and worst in people” (Carl Nixon). How do fractured families affect a person? In his short stories, Like Wallpaper and My Father Running with a Dead Boy, Nixon elaborates on the difficulties of living in a fractured environment and how it contributes to the development of an adolescent. Nixon skillfully composes stories that attribute to the transition of time and the hardships of maturing and becoming independent.
This essay discusses how the family is viewed by two different sociological perspectives- functionalism and conflict theory. Firstly, ‘family’ is defined. Secondly, the main ideas of functionalism will be discussed followed by how this theory perceives the family. The main ideas of Conflict Theory will then be examined and how conflict theorists perceive the family.
Family theories have been used throughout the history of nursing to help guide patient care and provide the best patient outcomes. Certain theories may be more applicable to the specific patient encounter; however, each theory has benefits and drawbacks to their use. The purpose of this paper is to examine two selected theories, comparing their strengths and weaknesses. I will also discuss a theoretical family in relation to one theory, and how that theory can be best integrated into the care provided by an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN). Description of Theories
Family is natural in the sense that it is the closest structure to the nature of our life roles. It has given context to the idea that to be in a society, there must be hierarchical order that has been agreed upon. The social contract does not promote equality and pushes a more constricted definition of liberty. In the case of the father and child, the child becomes the father’s equal as an adult. However, the social contract is not reliant on the equality of everyone involved.
Introduction In this case study, it analyse how the concept of family has changed in the past 20 years as it will be depicting modern family forms and past norms. It is important to look at how families have developed throughout the years up until the 21st century as we compare the two and elaborate on the difference and what makes it so significant. In this case study, it contrast and compare the television series Modern family which is a 21st century concept of family and The Simpsons which was adapted 27 years ago and how things have changed with family dynamics and what is the norm now which was not the norm years ago.
There are many types of families in today’s society and each of these families have different values and things that they do well and not so well together. In the identification of these strengths the family strengths framework may be used to assess these and provide goals of what the family could work on to improve their ability to cope with crisis and stressful situations. This assignment will inform the reader about what a family is in contemporary society and the family strengths framework and analyse the framework in relation to health care practice. In olden day society the definition of family was seen as being a patriarchal traditional family structure where a husband lived with his wife and they raised their biological children together
has also been used to assess family functioning is the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES IV) by Olson (2011). While the FAD consisted of six dimensions, the FACES IV focused on two major dimensions: cohesion and adaptability. Cohesion and adaptability are dimensions that are commonly used to describe general family functioning (Lee & Gardner, 2010; Liu, Shono & Kitamura, 2008; Ievers, Brown, Lambert, Hsu & Eckman, 1998; Mathijssen, 1998). In addition, a number of studies also reported that family activity is also a dimension connected to family functioning (Ylven, 2013; Elliott, 2010; Spagnola & Fiese, 2007; Llewellyn, Dunn, Fante, Turnbull, & Grace, 1999). For the purpose of this study, family functioning will be measured according to level (i.e., low, moderate, or high) depending on the researcher’s chosen dimensions.