Coping With Dysfunctional Families

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the family structure in Anne Tyler's novel "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant", Roddy Doyle's "Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha" and Nino Ricci's "Lives of the Saints". The paper explains that because of a lacking or dysfunctional family structure, the children of the Tyler and Doyle novels become mired in loneliness and isolation. The paper contrasts this to Ricci's young protagonist who still manages to emerge as a resilient narrator, because he looks positively at the difficulties he experienced.

From the Paper:

"In Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Cody, Ezra, and Jenny are abandoned by their father and raised by a difficult mother, Pearl. Pearl finds it difficult to emotionally cope with her husband's abandonment, because of the financial stresses of her circumstances and the fact that she has no real friends or family members willing to help her survive. Her children grow up to become functional members of society, vocationally, but their family lives are fraught with difficulties. Even as Pearl lies on her deathbed, the family has difficulties communicating."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Doyle, Roddy. Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha. New York: Penguin, 1995.
• Ricci Nino. Lives of the Saints. Cormorant, 2003.
• Tyler, Anne. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. New York: Ballantine, 1996.

More papers on Coping With Dysfunctional Families:

• Essay # 65221 : "Poverty and Family Stress"
• Book Review # 66063 : "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"
• Research Paper # 57303 : "Child Abuse and Anti-Social Behavior"

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