REHUGO Analysis - Universal Truth

Emilia Perez

English 3 AP

Mr. Soeth

February 9, 2011

REHUGO Analysis – Universal Truth

A. “The family - that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to.” ~ Dodie Smith

Dodie Smith was an English novelist and playwright. Her works include One Hundred and One Dalmatians and I Capture the Castle. This particular quote is from her play, Dear Octopus, which starred Marie Tempest and John Gielgud in 1938.

“ The family is changing not disappearing. We have to broaden our understanding of it, look for the new metaphors.” ~ Mary Catherine Bateson

Mary Bateson is an American writer and cultural anthropologist. She is part of the International Leadership Forum and is president of the Institute for Intercultural Studies. Her works include Peripheral Visions – Learning Along the Way, Full Circles, Overlapping Lives: Culture and Generation in Transition, and Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom.

B. These two quotes are an observation on the set up of a family. What Smith means by calling family an inescapable octopus is that no matter how much a person would want to avoid family, whether it be out of embarrassment or anger, it’s impossible. Family is not something a person can just make disappear and deep down, not something a person would want to disappear. No matter the circumstances, a person will always want his or her family, even if that family is hated or mortifying. In the second quote, Bateson is explaining that family is no longer a mother, father and children. She is explaining that the perception of what a family is has to change to fit what families are now.

C. The two quotes perfectly describe the way families are today. Family is usually linked with embarrassment, and in some cases, with pain or anger. Yet despite all of the dysfunction, no one wishes to completely leave his or her family. A person whose partner or parent is abusive and alcoholic will always wish for the days where life was better. A teenager who has infuriating siblings or embarrassing parents will never really want anything bad to happen to them. But the perception of what family is has also changed; a family is no longer just blood relations. A family can be foster parents, stepfamily, or even friends and neighbors. Kids are no longer only raised by a mother and father; some are raised by a single parent, their older siblings, grandparents, or two people of the same gender. Today a family is simply the people who care and are there to rely on, no matter what.

Citation

Dodie Smith. “Family Quotes, Sayings About Families” The Quote Garden - Quotes, Sayings, Quotations, Verses. 2010 Nov 18. 2010 Feb 09. www.quotegarden.com/family.html

Mary Catherine Bateson. “Quote Details: Mary Catherine Bateson: The family is changing…” The Quotations Page. 2010 Feb 09. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/31229.html