English Paper Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

English Paper Final - Essay Example A Marxist society is always in a process of being created, and this occurs through communication and negotiation (Giddens et al, 2003). When the family breaks down, these important functions no longer occur. Social order becomes confused either because they were never understood to begin with under the functionalist perspective or because there is no communication or negotiation under the Marxist perspective. This sort of breakdown can be discovered in many recent examinations of American family life such as that included in Katie Arnoldi’s fictional novel The Wentworths. As is shown in The Wentworths, for reasons of pride or competition, today’s society typically allows for little real connection between family members which makes it difficult for us to truly communicate with one another. Katie Arnoldi’s book tells the story of a small family in Southern California struggling to overcome the division and dissension of the postmodern lifestyle. Although the family is not the worst family to be found anywhere, it is highly dysfunctional. The Wentworth family consists of August Wentworth, who is an aging man who has always been something of a playboy and is only just beginning to recognize that this lifestyle is no longer fulfilling. August is married to Judith, who has become obsessed with keeping her body looking like a 20-year-old despite the fact that she has three children already well past that age and with keeping everything exactly the same. At one point in the book, her entire day is destroyed because of a missing pair of silver serving tongs that are not where they belong. August and Judith have three adult children. The oldest is Conrad, who remains single and is a high-powered lawyer in L.A. He also is sexually deviant, engaging in masochistic activit ies and consistently choosing to sleep with women who resemble his mother. Becky is the