Free «The Rhetorical of Family Structure» Essay Paper

A family is a basic unit that comprises of people who are related by blood. Normally, there are usually different family structures depending on the number of the family members. The common types of family structures are nuclear family, extended family, step family and single parent family. While nuclear family only comprises of father, mother and the children, extended family is that one which has extended members who are usually relatives e.g. cousins and aunts. In all these types of families, each member usually has their role to play. Regarding that, in most families the father is viewed as the bread winner and he has to provide for the family with support from the mother. Moreover, there are values that bring the family members together. The common family values are belonging, flexibility, respect, honesty and responsibility. These values are ideal, since they are the ones that hold the family members together. However, if any of the family members fails to follow any of the stated values, then there would be an emergence of violence in most cases.

This paper analyses the family structures, family values and causes of violence in most families with consideration of rhetorical devices.

The Different Types of Family Structures

As noted before, there are different types of family structures. The difference in family structures results from the number of members in the family and the persons that are under that family. These are the various types of family structures.

Firstly, there is the nuclear family. Nuclear family is the most common type of family, especially in the urban areas. This type of family is the one that comprises of the father, mother and the children only. Normally, in a nuclear family there are no other extended members who live with the main ones. In the recent past, there has been an increase in the number of nuclear families, especially in the urban centers because of high living standards. The high living standard has made most families fear adding any other members in the family. Arguably, the nuclear families are easily managed, since there are no other members. With only the parents and the children, kids are raised in a favorable environment, since their parents are finally stable and provide fully for them (Cancian and Reed 23). This is unlike an extended family where they also support other members. In the recent census, it is believed that at least 70% of Americans live under the nuclear family structure.

Secondly, there is the extended family structure. Extended family is the one that comprises of other relatives who come in to live with the members of a nuclear family. However, an extended family might also include the members who decide to stay together so that they support each other. The common members of an extended family are aunts, cousins, grandfathers and grandmothers. Apart from the blood relatives, other marriage relatives might also make an extended family. Normally, the sole reason that leads to an emergence of extended families is financial problems. Poor living standards and financial constraints make the other members of a family seek refuge to a family that is better off. In that family, they are taken care of and supported financially. Basing on that, there would be always an increase in the number of extended, as long as the living standards are high (Chambers 61). Unlike the nuclear family, the extended family is not ideal for raising children. It has other members who also seek support from the parents of the former nuclear family making it hard for them to support their children fully. Notably, extended families experience more violence in comparison to nuclear family.

Thirdly, there is the single parent family. Single parent family is that one which only has one parent. Unlike the other families which might have the father and the mother, this type of family only has either the father or the mother raising the children. Initially, most single families resulted from the death of one of the parents, normally the mother during birth. However, today single families result from divorce and unwanted pregnancies. In the modern times, marriage is not viewed as a permanent institution and this has made people disrespect it and divorce anytime they want. Arguably, a single parent family is the worst for raising children. The children who are raised by a single parent are mostly assumed to be undergoing a mental torture, since they do not understand why the other parent is not there. This is because in these families the children do not get love from both parents and might grow up with negativity. Apart from divorce and deaths, recent research shows that unwanted pregnancies have contributed much to single families. They are the ones that occur out of wedlock and the parents of the child end up not getting married still.

Moreover, there is the step family structure. It is whereby the two couples who divorced from their previous marriages decide to remarry. Although these types of families have not been common, they are now on the rise because there is an increase in divorces today. Normally, the parents who are divorced come with kids from their previous marriages, they merge and decide to start a new family. Despite the fact that what most of these couples look for is a happy marriage, they end up being in stress, since most step families are usually not successful. In this family structure, what normally arise is indiscipline and favors.  Indiscipline arises from the children whereby they might not recognize their step parent as a member of the family. On the parental case, one of the parents may want to favor the children that they got from the other marriage.

Lastly, there is the grandparent family structure. The grandparent family is that one where the children are raised by their grandparents. Despite the fact that this is not a common family structure, a small percentage of grandparents raise their grandchildren (Stackhouse 48). There are various reasons that might lead to this family structure e.g. death of the parents, abandonment by the parents and instability of the parents. However, the children rose under this family structure face harsh times since their grandparents might not have enough money to provide fully for them.

The Family Values

As noted earlier, a family is a basic unit that comprises of family members. In most families, there are values observed by the family members so that they remain together. Without this family values, there would not be unity and love among the family members. These are some of the family members.

Firstly, there is the respect family value. Ethically, all the members of the family are expected to respect each other and by any chance if they do not, then that might be punishable or will result into violence. Arguably, respect is the most important family value. However, respect affects all the members of the family. Normally, most people assume that only the young ones are the ones to respect the older members of the family. However, it is more logical if each member respects the others so that they gain respect themselves. Despite the fact that the parents too need to be respected, they have to be a good example for the children by respecting them so that they set a good example. Moreover, there is always a thin line between respect and fear.

Secondly, honesty is another vital family value. Honesty in a family comes handy with respect. Logically, if there is respect among the family members then there would probably be honesty. Honesty is the value that creates a strong bond between all the members of the family. Normally, after acquiring information from a member of the family, the bond tightens, since they trust each other. However, honesty also goes handy with secrecy in the family (Dana 393). Whenever people are honest and decide to the say the truth, they expect you make it confidential so that next time they would still feel free to tell you what they had to. Although, when there is no secrecy in honesty, then the bond between the family members cannot last. Normally, if someone becomes honest and gives some information but it is not kept as a secret, then the next time they would not be free to share the information.

Thirdly, there is the forgiveness value. Forgiveness is the tendency of doing away with anything bad that a person has done to you. This is also an ideal family value, since the members of a close family cannot live with grudges. All family ethics advocate for forgiveness among the family members to ensure that there is unity and togetherness. The members of any family must understand that everybody makes mistakes and this is the reason why there is need for forgiveness. When one member of the family does anything bad, they need to be forgiven and be warned to repeat it. However, most people tend to hold grudges when they are wronged. When they are asked for forgiveness, they simply say that it is okay but inside them they are not vat ease with the person who wronged them. This is a serious issue in the family and might make the members of the family to lose respect towards each other. The family members must however understand that forgiveness is a choice and a person cannot be forced to forgive. Despite that, they should try and let the person who is wronged take their time and decide when they will forgive.

Moreover, responsibility is also an important family value. It is the act of showing that you care and you can take charge whenever something goes wrong. Responsibility value just like the other values, applies to all the members of the family be it the young ones or the old ones. It is logical that all the members of the family must be responsible if the family has to move forward without a lot of issues. However, the sense of responsibility among the parents and the children tends to differ. In the structure of the family, it was noted that the parents are the providers of the family; this means that they must be responsible and ensure that the children are satisfied. In any family, the parents must provide for the children’s basic needs so that there are no emerging issues where the children blame the parents. This implies that the parent’s main responsibility in a family is providing basing needs and wants if they are able. Moreover, the children also must be responsible. Responsibility among the children is more of obedience. At a tender age, the children are taught how to perform small house chores and this is where they normally show their responsibility. The children must ensure that they help their parents while at home.

Violence in Families

Violence in families addresses both verbal and physical violence among the family members. When there is a disagreement among the members of a family, then there might be eruption of either physical or verbal violence. Ethically, violence is wrong among the members of a family. There are various reasons that might lead to violence among the family members.

Drug and alcohol is among the major causes of violence among the family members. Drugs and alcohol change the normal functioning of human body and this might make them violent. Normally, this is caused by the fathers and sons of most families. When the father gets drunk, he might end up disagreeing with the mother and violence emerges. Despite the fact that this is a family issue, it is punishable by the law if any person gets drunk and causes violence.

Additionally, financial constraints also cause violence among the members of a family. This is whereby one of the parents is not financially stable and cannot participate in providing for the family. Normally, this issue affects the father of the family since they are the once who are regarded as the bread winners (Weber 8). When the father lacks the potential to provide for the family, he gets pressure from both the children and the wife. Obviously, much pressure would come from the wife since she wants the man to help her provide for the family. On such occurrences, violence is likely to emerge in the family since the father feels that his situation is not understood by the other members of the family. If the wife continues nagging him, he may decide to hit her and that turns violent.

Moreover, history of abuse also causes violence among the family members. History of abuse refers to the children who have grown up being abused or witnessing violence. Arguably, such children grow up with that violent nature in them and it affects their futuristic lives. This is yet another cause of violence in families. The best example is a child who has been abused physically all through their childhood. When such a child grows up and gets their own family they might carry this to their children. This is because such children grew up knowing that the best way of solving issues is by hitting others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a family is an important unit in everyone’s life. At least everybody has a family where they come from. There are different types of families depending with the persons in it. Among them, the common types of family structures are nuclear family, extended family, step family, single parent family and grandparent’s family. While nuclear family is the one that only comprise of father mother and the children, extended family has other members who are relatives e.g. cousins, aunts and uncles. The step family is the one that two divorced parents come together and for a new family with the children from their other family. Family being an important unit, there are values that run the family. The common values of the family are respect, forgiveness and responsibility. Ethically, all the members of the family are expected to respect each other and by any chance if they do not, then that might be punishable or will result into violence. Additionally, all family ethics advocate for forgiveness among the family members to ensure that there is unity and togetherness. The members of any family must understand that everybody makes mistakes and this is the reason why there is need for forgiveness.