Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
Anne Tyler
The lasting effects of how a dysfunctional marriage plays a role in the adult lives of the children that were affected by it, specifically isolating Cody Tull.
Corey Weber
November 6, 2016
In Anne Tyler’s Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, one of the traits we see is the recurring idea of a dysfunctional marriage. This very idea is continually presented throughout the book, showing how multiple characters are affected by the same situation and how that circumstance changes their view on the world. We see this dysfunctional marriage appear in the beginning with Pearl Tull, contrary to popular culture at the time of the novel, left by her husband to raise 3 young children (Cody, Ezra, and Jenny) on her own as a single mother. The fact that their father, Beck Tull, deserts his family at such a young age of the children causes many issues throughout the relationships of the family members and those who become involved in their lives. As the children grow, we watch them evolve and make decisions, decisions that seem to be the exact opposite of what Tyler presented of their wants independent of each other. We see this most prevalent in Cody, where he is as absent from Luke’s life, as his father was in his. As we continue to unfold this book we find how the effects of a broken marriage take a toll on the relationships within a family. For young children, this can be devastating to the relationships they will have when
Divorce causes many problems for children and has many implications. Psychological implications include mental health problems and behavioral problems. Social roles are turned inside out and upside down. Children are often pulled in many directions. In the United States divorce is very common and often leaves children confused and without options. Many turn toward violence, crime, drugs, and isolation. Studies show how adults can reduce the tension for these children. Other
The major distress in the film is, in my opinion, emotional distancing of the couple. It is inevitable that the emotional distancing can produce anxiety and imbalance of the relationship that lose its homeostasis. Although emotional cutoff tends to manifest through multi-generation of families according to Bowen Theory, distress caused by emotional cutoff in a family or a couple is as significant as distress caused through multi-generations of families. In reference to the film, the major conflict is the
Stranger in a Strange Land is a book written by Robert A. Heinlein that completely throws away the social mores of the late fifties/ early sixties society. The book opens with a ship returning from a trip to Mars with an interesting passenger, a man, Michael Valentine Smith who was the son of a previous voyage to Mars that was believed to be entirely dead. This was a human raised by Martians, who are an ancient race that has various powers that are discovered later in the book to be possessed by Smith through his knowledge of their language. When Smith gets to earth the U.S. government, under the pretense that he is not well sequesters him away in a hospital. Smith is spirited away by a nurse and her reporter friend. Smith is taken to
Three people from three different backgrounds all with their own unique stories. It is amazing how diverse the world can be. Despite being so different these three people are all vastly similar in the methods they use to sway an audience. Daniel, the writer of The Necessity believes that parades are essential. This very simple display of culture allows normal everyday people the chance to escape from their deeply depressing lives and show a bit of pride. Fong, the writer of Rice for Thanksgiving has a particularly interesting reflection on his family history. Despite the troubles they went through due to discrimination he still believes in the melting pot that is America. Chelsey the writer of Taking the Bus talks about how her experiences with new and strange people on the bus have changed her outlook on life. The interactions with these people give her some perspective on how her life fits in in the grand scheme of things. All of these stories are different yet they all do one very similar thing. They use the human capacity for sympathy as a means of swaying the reader.
Often times, when a family decides to have children, those children are usually a priority. In order for a child to lead a healthy, functional life, a family needs to be strong. When a family becomes dysfunctional, the most effected are the children. However, sometimes as the child grows up. They see past the dysfunction and forgive the parents for the problems they had caused in their children’s lives. In the novel, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls she describes a unique dysfunctional family story. The Walls family have lived through constant struggles, and ran into new situations every day. Rex and Rose Mary Walls, the parents of their children Jeannette, Brian, Lori and Maureen, chose to live in poverty bringing their children along
My initial reaction to the Madsen-Walker family was sadness. I feel bad for James having to go through the divorce and then bullying at school. It made me wonder where does James feel safe. In addition, I’m curious to know if the school provides any counseling to children when their parents are getting divorced or if the parent would have to seek this out. James’ family is a blended family home (Amatea, 2013).
While both authors stand on the idea of marriage changing in roles, Hope Edelman in “ The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was,” inserts her view about marriage in her own experience that shows her attitude on marriage mainly through her husband leaving all the responsibility toward her. When parents are not there for their kids, often times kids feel unattached with their parents creating a weaker bond. Edelman’s frustration came from having a dream of marrying happily to having it demolished.
In Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Anne Tyler tells a story of the dysfunctional Tull family, being made up of Ezra, Cody, Jenny, and Pearl their mother. Pearl is the definition of a perfectionist, and her husband, Beck, abandons her when Cody, the oldest of the three, is only fourteen years old. This leaves Pearl the responsibility, as well as the stress, of supporting all three children on her own. The lack of a father figure in the family affects all members of the Tull household somewhat differently, each displaying their own unique struggles and issues. Most of Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant consists of each character resolving this issue, healing from being hurt, and growing as individuals. Ezra’s issue that we watch him heal from is being unable to relate or connect to others. Ezra’s healing is defined by his journey to the realization that he is able to connect and relate to the feelings and emotions of others, thus for a majority of the novel he is unaware of his true abilities.
They say that opposites attract and this holds true for the relationship between William and Hester as they learn more about one another. The husband and wife came from different upbringings. William is born with a strict father among the “Back Creek Folk”, while his wife is considered “one of the Gap people” with flexible, supportive parents. The way their parents raised them influences the way they act. William is a hard worker who speaks very little, but his wife Hester does enough talking for the both of them. Hester is a strong woman and manages the family farm very well. She is able to make decisions quickly without William’s input. The farm is considered to be most prosperous in Mcpherson County. The couple’s three sons work on the
In Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler, Pearl a mother of three kids, Ezra, Cody and Jenny try to navigate through life without her husband who left her. Cody the eldest of the children is reckless and short tempered. Ezra the youngest has a likeable personality that everyone enjoys and he constantly attempts to keep his family together. Cody being the eldest always felt that he should have been given more or the same amount of attention than his siblings. Pearl makes efforts to try to be the best mother that she can but she blames herself for her kids relationships with one another. Pearl loves all her kids but her actions tells her kids otherwise which creates ill will between her kids. The decision for Pearl to love Ezra more than Cody drove them apart causing Cody to attempt to destroy Ezra instead of being a older brother to him.
Megan is a member of a single parent household following her parent 's divorce when she was young. As Megan grew more comfortable with me throughout the semester, I was able to gain insight from her about the characteristics of a family who has gone through the divorce and remarriage process. In class, we spent a great deal of time discussing the topic of a change in
Rainbow Rowell, in Eleanor and Park, tackles the issue of divorce and blended families. When looking at Eleanor’s life we can see how this issue affected her. Eleanor had decreased self-confidence, trust issues, social instability, confusion about the future, fear of rejection, and loss of her paternal relationships and figures (Rowell, 2013). This issue of divorce is so prominent in the United States and affects one million young adults every year (Block & Spiegel, 2017). Divorce can affect all family members of all ages, yet young adults are at such a pivotal age of development that the effects affect who they are becoming as a person.
Almost never is anything written about the underlying social implications of marriage and relationships. It is worthwhile to note that this story quietly shows that in the exclusiveness of marriage, certain "outside relationships" can either cultivate or destroy lives depending on the relationship shared by a married couple. A lot of troubled marriages continue to crumble because spouses fail to try to solve their problems. However, this is not to say that marriages are an easy undertaking.
Kingsolver is a divorced woman and understands what society means by the phrase “a broken home”. She believes that having an extended family or divorced family opens up a door that leads to new things in the family. She uses the tale called “Stone Soup” to talk about how having a family is like having “a big empty pot”(Kingsolver 152) and about how when one adds new things to the pot it can lead to a happy family. Kingsolver uses the first person point of view to let the reader have a more personal connection to the essay. She allows the reader to know what she thinks and how she feels. She writes, “ I dare anybody to call this a broken home” (Kingsolver 147). The reader knows how emotional she is about the subject of broken homes. Also, the tone of the essay seems to be a hostile towards anyone who says that the family is a broken home. The diction of the essay uses both conversational and formal language to connect with and inform the reader. She uses words like “blended families” (Kingsolver 148) to introduce the reader to different family labels. She uses phrases like “bless their hearts” (Kingsolver 149) to be more conversational and motherly. Kingsolver uses anecdotes and imagery to help solidify her ideas. She remembers Andy’s soccer game and how the cheering family brings to life what a real family is. Kingsolver tries to persuade the reader that
An opposing viewpoint contradicts my perspectives on the detrimental impacts divorce poses for children and adolescents in particular. Certain theories suggest that divorce is necessary and beneficial in providing relief to children who experience negativity and depression as a result of conflict within the family unit. This argument maintains that divorce does not harm children, who in fact engage in delinquent acts whilst cohabiting with their struggling parents in a violent atmosphere.