One Big Happy Family :: essays research papers

The story that I chose to write about was "One Big Happy Family," by Anndee Hochman. The story is about a young woman whose family life seemed to be the American dream, for those of us looking in from the outside. Her family owned a house in the city like most of us and a house on the beach. The house on the beach was unique with its architecture anomalies, which made the house more a mix and match of parts than like her normal home in the city. The whole family, including relatives from afar, would gather there during the summer to spend time with each other. When in actuality behind her family’s unity, was a demand for conformity to her family’s way of life and thinking. The author finally realized that in order for her to find happiness she had to look within herself and learn to listen to her feelings. Once she learns this lesson, she will be able to break the bounds of her family’s conformity and find the peace of mind that she has always longed fo r. Several of the stories throughout this chapter discuss different myths of "One Big Happy Family," however it all seems to come back to the individual, and what they believe in. Anndee’s house is unique with its red picket fence, a bathroom with two doors, bedrooms surrounded by paper thin walls, and no bedroom doors. Also a glass panel window that was built into a wall that separated the living room from the kitchen. An added feature left behind from years of construction and now disregarded but adding to the overall character of the house. These unique fixtures and anomalies were what made the trip to the house worth the voyage each year from the city. They were thrust into an alien environment completely different from what they were used to. The whole house was set up with unspoken rules that they all abided by without question. The rooms were assigned to a particular family member, group, or couples. The topics of conversation were predictable and planned to the point that they all knew what would be acceptable answers and replies to each topic they discussed. After reaching adulthood Anndee began to develop her own opinions and thoughts that did not necessarily coincide with her family’s view. Anddee began to explore her own sexuality and discovered that she preferred the company of women to that of men.