Nuclear Family In Gary Soto's Looking For Work

A nuclear family is a family group that consists of the two parents and one or a number of children. It is also known as a conjugal or an elementary family. It is simply the contrast of a large extended family. An extended family is made up of several nuclear families. It is comprised of aunts, uncles, grandparents and their children. Nuclear families are centered on a couple which is married or lives together. The children in the family may be biological, adopted or any mix of dependent children. According to the American family they attribute the ‘perfect family’ as a nuclear family which in the eyes of the public appears perfect. It is important for any child as they grow up to have both parents and experience the family love from them and

The narrative is about a nine year old boy who just like other children wants to become wealthy. During summer, he gets these ideas and sets out to look for small jobs in the neighborhood. He earns about a quarter by running a few errands. He likes watching the television and is attracted to the life of the ‘perfect’ white families (Soto 11) He wishes that his family will be so. His current family is different and his sister seems not to understand why Gary wants his family to be similar to the whites. In the end, even after everyone has left, he still continues to search for a job. The narrator is attracted to the family that is portrayed on the American television. Money to him affects him in a great way. He does not enjoy his childhood like other children. His family has taught him that without money, they will remain poor with a low working class. He is desperate for the higher social class and wants to be rich. This is another example of how the media has impacted the lives of people in making them believe that the modern American nuclear families are perfect (Soto

The article tries to explain the relationships in extended families amongst different class and racial groups. In attempting to understand the differences, the authors explain that other racial families such as the blacks and the Latinos are more likely to have relationships which are closer than those of the whites. There is a claim that financial dependencies enhance these relationships. There is a myth that whites make a higher income than the minority groups making them more stable within their nuclear families (Gerstel and Sarkisian 12). Further in the article, Gerstel and Sarkisian prove that familial interactions are more related to class within the extended family than to the cultural differences. However, many people may talk about emotional support as being the main reason behind the strong bonds within the extended families but the authors differ (Gerstel and Sarkisian 87). The article portrays the notion that the minority families are more fragmented than white