How the “all in the family” theme is relevant to one of the texts we have studied in our classes this term.

All In The Family: Familial Treatment and Expectations
[name]
[school/course]
[professor]
[date] I - Introduction
II - Body
The Cold Shoulder
Reconciliation
All In The Family
III - Conclusion Introduction
Familial relationships go beyond blood relativity, as most cultures would consider. We consider some people in our lives as a family member despite not having any biological relations. Instead, we value the bond that has allowed us to feel as comfortable as a family member to each other. In most cases, biological families would welcome these non-biologically related people as part of the family because they feel like among the members. However, just like how we treat other people as family members, it is also possible to make our family members like other people. In the stories Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and L'assommoir, the families' relationships are disturbed by other people who are either a biological member or not. In this paper, let us look at how the theme all-in-the-family plays in the family members' narratives. Let us discuss each character's treatment of each other, whether they are a family or not.
Body
The Cold Shoulder
It is a typical scenario for families to have cold wars and physical fights because they signify the comfort level that the members have for the family. Siblings often fight over the TV remote control, bag of chips, or who will use the shower first. Parents would have little fights over why the other forgot to flush the toilet after use. There will always be miscommunications and misunderstandings in a family. Still, it is normal because we could comfortably confront our family members about our concerns or discontent - something we would not be able to do with anyone outside the family.
However, comfortable misunderstandings in a family have limitations that, if cross over, may lead to serious family issues. It means that even relationships are bound to break if we let family issues go on without resolve. These issues may be about personalities, trust, ideologies, finances, or plans. From these aspects, there will come a time when families would quarrel. Although it usually happens, it is unhealthy if the issue starts to disrupt the family. Take, for instance, the family of Gervaise Macquart in L'assommoir. At the beginning of the story, the family's financial status introduces the kind of state they are in as a family (Zola, 1998). We could not blame their unfortunate position because they may be victims of the social system that makes the poor poorer. However, it is from their financial instability that problems would start to rise and cause more problems.
As a laundry worker, Gervaise would not support the family with four mouths to feed (Zola, 1998). Being financially incapable is already frustrating as it gives anxiety for future expenses. Add to Gervaise's defeat against life is her husband, Lantier's abandonment of the family (Zola, 1998). Everyone must be familiar with this scenario: the husband leaving the family for another woman due to unsatisfactory conditions. If not our families, we may know one or two families who have experienced such familial disruption. Parents breaking up because of financial issues and third parties are no news anymore because t...