Response Blog 6/28/10

I am responding to Kristen's blog from 6/24/10

Kristen wrote:

"One of the first sections that really caught my attention read, “It was somewhere during those early years that I began confusing us with the Adams family” (34). To me, the Adams family was a terrifying piece of popular culture. I hated watching it, and their family dynamic made me uncomfortable. I was so interested to see that this young girl was identifying with this completely unusual family who was so far outside of social norms. Within the context of this class, I noticed that Alison’s comparison followed a certain narrative of assimilation. Her family was so strange and unusual that they seemed to embrace their nonconformity, rather than attempt to change. They were assimilating to the culture of being an outsider. I think that this family agreement to be different is seen throughout the rest of the novel through her parents’ marriage, Alison’s disappointment in her father outshining her when she announces her sexuality, her father’s strange death, etc."

I really liked the quote she chose in her first paragraph, it was one of the lines I considered in my initial blog. While reading Alison's comparison to the Adams Family, it kind of creeped me out. I couldn't understand why someone would take comfort in the fact that her family was so odd, but once I really thought about it, I think she was just trying to find something to identify with. I find that a lot of times in today's society we are looking for something to compare ourselves to in hopes that we find similarities in other people and situations so we feel less like outsiders. I think she was so comfortable in making this comparison because it made her feel not so alone. I think she was more at ease explaining her own life because of the fact that someone else's family was just as dysfunctional.