Example of essay on divorce and family

John Updike’s “ Separating” is perhaps of the most common short stories written about American culture and family. In “ Separating,” Updike’s central focus is the separation of a couple that has enjoyed everything good and has almost realized the beauty of American dream. The central theme here is the tantalizing and often grotesque ideas of separation, rejection, and the sad things that come out of such desolation. In short, “ Separation” is about the unfulfilled American marital dream. Similar in theme but distant in tone is Major Sullivan’s: My Very Dear Wife,” in this epistle, Major Sullivan a war hero from Rhode’s Island pours out his hear to his wife while leading his battalion to the American Civil War of 1861. The story is about patriotism, love for the nation and also family. Perhaps family life is the most poignant of all the themes present in the story. The reason is because of the pervasive mention of his children and his cry for a better fatherhood for his children: however because of his love for the nation and for the values that he stands for, Major Sullivan chooses battling for his country over raising his sons.
A contemporary version of moral marital stories is told by Kate Chopin in the story “ The Storm”. Here, Kate narrates about infidelity and sexual tension. Character Bibi, son to Bibinot and Calixta and Bibinot talks about the looming storm, a symbolism of cheating. Calixter is worried about a passing storm that seems to relate to the idea of divorce arising from infidelity. In the long run, the strom passes and the institution of the family is saved. In the article, “ Divorce and Our National Values”, Peter Kramer of New York Times argued that the American idea of capitalism is itself a threat to the institution of family because it promotes the idea of self interest. Self interest thus engulfs the functional aspect of family, the (economically) weak wife and the mother, is often the victim.
Fatherlessness is a social problem brought about by the breakdown of traditional family setup. The victims of these social phenomena are young and innocent children with little or no power to change the situation that they face. Fatherlessness is harmful to the children for three reasons. First, fatherlessness causes poverty. This leads to stress on the available resources forcing priority for the most basic of needs. Important services such as education and character development are traded off for the sake of survival. Second, fatherlessness strains single mothers by bestowing them the responsibility of being both the dad and the mom. While single mothers do a good job in bringing up children, fatherless children are most likely to lack the masculine values that fathers impart on kids. Third, fatherlessness breaks family structures thereby making male children to feel the urge of playing the role of the absent father while still too young to do it. This perhaps explains the reason for the high rate of school dropout and underperformance amongst fatherless males. For the girls, fatherlessness creates a feeling of wanting to be loved by men or a strong hatred towards men.
Scholars argue that the problem of fatherlessness can be solved with unrelenting participation of a non-custodial parent in the absence of a legal or paternal father. The presence of the father figure is influential in the development of the child’s cognitive development. The involvement of a child’s mother and father in his or her life is optimal for the child’s development; however, in the absence of the father, a relationship with a non-custodial could be vital for the child’s growth.