Charly Pilz

American Lit

C&C Essay

December 16, 2013

Avalon vs The Way the Family Got Away

Family, that's a strong word. For me, it means to feel secure, to have someone who

you can count on, who shares your problems. It also means to have respect for each other

and responsibility. No matter what, deep down, you have unconditional love for them and

if anyone tries to step on them, you'll be the first to stand up and defend them. It means

that you never let them stand alone, they come first. Family is a big theme throughout the

movie ‘Avalon’ and the book ‘The Way the Family got Away’ family is a big theme

throughout, both books have quiet few similarities as differences.

In the beginning of ‘Avalon’, the family is sitting together, grandpa is telling the

kids the story about the 4th of July, the day their family came to America, trying to build

themselves a better future in the land of opportunities. The family brought with them

many of their own traditions, including a strong family network. This can be seen

especially on Thanksgiving. Every year the Krichinsky family spends Thanksgiving

together, laughing, eating, reviving their memories of when they first came to Baltimore,

throwing food and just enjoying each others company. The turkey is not allowed to be cut

until the entire family is together, this shows family value and the need to be together as a

family. In ‘The Way the Family Got Away’ the family packs everything they own into

their car, put the dead body of their baby son into the trunk of the car, and flee across

America. They keep going to keep the family together. Although the stories of the book and the movie are quiet different, the theme of family and finding who they are as people

are two big themes in both, ‘Avalon’ and ‘The Way the Family Got Away’.

The strong family network in ‘Avalon’ is underlined by several generations of the

same family living under the same roof and important decisions about the extended

family being made by the family circle. The second and third generations of the

American side of the family are starting to search for their own America dream, which is

not very liked by Gabriel and his part of the family. Gabriel believes that now that Jules

and Izzy have started their own business, they all of the sudden thing they’re better that

the rest