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Ezequiel Pagan Patrick Williams English 111 16 October 2014 Family Value and Truth Family in society is a social structure. Family plays a key role in human life because it can give people a sense of home, or a loving and supportive group. In most cases when people think of families they think of having a mom, dad, brother, sister. However, nothing in life is perfect. Today, we have separated , same sex, extended, and blended families. Society tries to explain these more contemporary families but has a harsh way of doing so. In the essay, Stone Soup, by Barbara Kingsolver, she discusses how society views families and in the essay, Family Values, by Richard Rodriguez, he talks about American family values. Both
Kingsolver writes, “to judge a family...by its tidy symmetry is to purchase a book for its

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cover.” (150). We do not know the content in the book, just as we do not know the relationships in a family. She persuades us to be positive in the development of our families because their health depends on what we let into our family. “Generosity, a resolve to turn bad luck into good, and respect for variety—these things will nourish a nation of children. Name­calling and suspicion will not” (Kingsolver 152). Families should allow positive things into the family and blossom into goodness instead of having negative things be allowed in and cause turmoil. Kingsolver wants to reader to know families appearances may change but they remain a family. Rodriguez takes this point and measures how in todays society people do not value the importance of family. Rodriguez’ message to the reader is how American values can change a family and its values both negatively and positively. He also discusses how American values can make people forget what a family is supposed to be about. Unlike Kingsolver, Rodriguez grew up without having any problems with family separation, but, instead, he had internal conflict about coming out that he was gay. Rodriguez writes, “There are families that do not accept. There are children who are forced to leave homes because of abortions or homosexuality”(Rodriguez 236).