Portrait's Contribution

A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man presents more difficulty when attempting to answer the question of how the family unit has an effect on society. Stephen does not seem to enduce profound changes in society as a whole, however, in his immediate surroundings his actions have an impact. From there, it becomes further unique with the knowledge that he goes to a boarding school, and much of the time he is in the boarding school/college setting. Although there are significant instances where is parents and siblings are presented they do not seem to play as big a role in his upbringing as do the priests and prefects who suurround him. Therefore, however, one must consider his parents' decision to send Stephen to boarding school an element of the family unit. It appears possibly as a separation of the family unit. Now his actions and affects on his surroundings can be attributed/compared to his family life.
Throughout the novel, Stephen travels through a series of transformations and realizations. His serch for significance and purpose coarses through the entire novel, and his artistic passion results. Throughout, his journey, his relationship with his parents appears strained. He is the oldest, the one who his parents invested their very best in. He obtained the opportunity to attend school in preparation for the priesthood. However, his ideas and desires end up differing from those of his parents. His mother, who prays that he becomes the priest she envisioned and his dad who lives in the past seem simply disconnected from him. This possibly results from the disconnection between them in vacinity. Just as their ideas differ, their residence differs as well.
From this disconnect, anger rises. Stephen expresses explicitley near the end of the novel his dislike and anger towards his mother. Furthermore, during the chapter 2, Stephen reveals that he detests his father's focus on the "good old days," the past. Stephen even finds his fathers discussions immature and shallow. This disconnect with the family unit, a place to feel secure and accepted, may be a portion of the reason behind his consistent battle between lustful desires and religious piety. Without a secure place to claim his identity he battles with the extremes. Even though a unified family would not remove the struggle to find meaning in life, it might have provided a safer place to search in. That may have prevented him from experimenting with such extremes.
Furthermore, growing up with his family in a possitive environment, may have increased his appreciation for people. It seems that throughout the novel, he expresses various anger with his peers. A possitive relationship with his parents and a unified family may have reduced his distaste for others.

Beloved's Contribution

Family appears as a distorted concept in the environment presented throughout Beloved. Slavery in America supplied an environment where African Americans grew up without any kind of family. The women were bred and the males sold as breeders. Children sold without even knowing their parents. Baby Suggs had 7 children all of which were taken from her except for Halle. She expressed the grief in giving up her children and the mountainous joy in living with Halle- having him present in her life. Furthermore, the relationship between Sethe, Halle and their children proves of utmost importance. Through their relationships, or lack of, tragedy and joy results. By Sethe severing her relationship with Beloved when Beloved was a baby, their relationship becomes toxic- smothering and almost killing Sethe as well as Denver. On the other hand, Denver's relationship with Sethe, although strained, provides an essential source of love for both characters. Contrasty, Paul D.'s family is ripped from him causing him to "love thin." His heart is rusted shut, his feelings bottled up. Without a family, there appears no safe place, no refuge to call home. Such was the dilemma for the majority of the slave population here in the United States. The family unit was simply absent and if it did exist it was broken.
Therefore, when observing the characters' effects on society their family background must be considered. First, we must look at the overall societal effects of slavery and the individuals coming out of slavery such as division, hate, fear, poverty, insecurity, crime, and lack of education. While not all of these can be contributed to the lack of the family unit, it must be considered as a feasible contributor. With no family, their is no security, no source of encouragement. With no security, fear and insecurity arise. With fear and insecurity, crime protrudes. Similarly, with no family and a divided society to begin with, education lacks. With a lack of education, poverty and crime result. Society disintegrates if the family disintegrates. Noticing specific examples from Beloved, Sethe had no real motherly figure (she was in the fields all day and soon hanged). Therefore, her methods of handling, caring, and protecting her own children tended toward the extreme (murdering Beloved to keep her from slavery). She acted more as an animal than as a human. "You have two legs, Sethe, not four." Baby Suggs did have a mother figure (because she came over from Africa) and appeared successful in raising Halle (the only son she was permitted to raise). Furthermore, she acted as a mother, caring and loving, for the freed African Americans and they loved her for it. Paul D.'s thin love (resulting from his enslavement as well as his absent family) leaves him searching and unsettled. Such insecurity leaves him hardened yet fragile. He doesn't trust many others and moves around regularly. He even refuses a home when it is offered to him after he leaves Sethe. However, when he finally finds a place to settle down, he concurrently finds a family to become a part of. His rusted box of a heart comes to rest only after he finds a place to call home.

The Stranger's Contribution

The character active in Meursault appears a consequence of his upbringing and family surroundings. Therefore, one must observe the family elements when considering Meursault's personality and compare that to his contribution to society. It is clear from The Stranger, that Meursault had no father figure in his life. He comments that he never knew his father. Furthermore, it appears possible that Meursault's current personality resulted from losing his mother to the "old peoples home." This logic comes from the quote on page 41 where Meursault presents, "When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that (moving to Paris). But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered." From this, it seems that Meursault did not always exhibit the personality that is evident in the book. There must have been an event that forced him to give up "his studies." One possible event was losing his mom to the old people's home. If that was such a traumatic event that it changed his entire personality, then it would also explain why he appeared so indifferent at his mothers actual death. On page 44, the novel reads, "It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed." If nothing had changed with Maman's death then the major change and loss of her must have occurred when Meursault lost Maman to the home. Thus, losing his mother to the home resulted in a drastic change in personality giving him the characteristics presented during The Stranger.

Therefore, as one observes Meursault's contribution and affect on society, his family history must be considered. We see during the novel that Meursault's personality of indifference brings about both positive and negative results on society. His personality of indifference appears evident on the last pages of the book when Meursault comments, "I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself- so like a brother, really." Furthermore, Meursault says, "I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs got in the way of my feelings." (p65) On one hand, this personality appears to have a positive result in society. He does not pass judgment on others. He is honest in everything he says. He lives in the moment. On the other hand, his personality presents dangers for society. His indifference prevents him from connecting on a deeper level with others (besides physical). " I told her it (love) didn't mean anything." Furthermore, this personality type prevents him from feeling any real remorse or following a strong moral code. Through the language used, it seems that Meursault killed the Arab by chance or "because the sun made me." Such a personality that can be persuaded so easily is also a danger to society as much as it is a breath of fresh air. That is why he is condemned to death.

In conclusion, it appears that the lack or loss of parental figures can result in personalities that develop defense mechanisms to protect against the hurt of loss. These defense mechanisms may appear in the form of detachment or indifference so as not to feel let down. When one doesn't really care about anyone or anything how can he or she feel hurt. Therefore, with the loss of a parental figure, it seems possible that detachment may occur resulting in both praiseworthy and detestable actions. Familial loss can be dangerous for society.