The Perspective On Single Child Families

Submitted By Juliette-Wahl
Words: 643
Pages: 3

Juliette Wahl

Baxter

Comp. 1

3, March, 2015 The Perspective on Single Child Families

As both of these essays convey the life of having one child, both have different views in life and expression on how they feel on having one child. The two essay's used were by authors Joan Didion and Bill Mckibben. One expressing through family life and the other through beliefs and the thoughts on having one child.
In Didions essay she has such themes of belonging, family, and home telling us the story of taking her daughter, “home” to celebrate her birthday without the husband. The,“home” she refuses us to is the house she grew up in with her family. The essay shows us her personal issues as she goes through her memories and compares and contrasts her life with her husbands and there child. Which was quite different then her life growing up. Didions tone is sad and frustrating with with a bit of bitterness. She uses words like, “uneasy, troublesome, different, degradation,rejection,dread,abandoned..”
She keeps us deep within her tone the entire time. In her ending she explains she wants her daughter to grow up custom to being around family, but with just them its a different “home” lifestyle.
In McKibbens essay his theme has religious and informative views on having one child. He writes justifying his reason for having only one child. He also explains that its also fine to just have one child. He loves his daughter whole heartily but him and his wife thought their daughter would suffer from lack of siblings. Doing his research and using expert opinions. He came to the conclusion of “no,” meaning its fine to just have one child. Being a Sunday school teacher he used his religious views explaining why its ok to have one child. He believes having one child benefits and helps him through time, money, and energy, (because having more than one child would take all that away.) He also goes through many expert opinions such as John Ryan, an American Catholic theologian, argued that being one of eleven children that they dealed with being poor from having so many people in the family. He goes so to say, “forms of discipline necessary for the successful life,” (299). McKibbens argues back that with small families you could become to rich which could be worse than poor (299). In later text he begins to doubt either side and