Different Types of Structure
1 Nuclear family 2 One-parent family 3 Extended families 4 Joint families
1 Nuclear family
• It contains husband, wife and dependent children who eventually grow up and leave their parents, to start a nuclear group of their own. Nuclear families are mostly found in industrial cities.
Exercise
1 Does your relationship with your parents or family resemble any of these? Make a list of the similarities and differences. 2 What have you learned from the video? What do you think of marriage and family life?
2 One-parent family
• It consists of a lone parent, with his or her nevermarried dependent children, provided these children have no children of their own. Married lone mothers whose husbands are not defined as resident in the household are not classified as lone parents because evidence suggests the majority are separated from their husbands either because he usually works away from home or for some other reason that does not imply the breakdown of the marriage. Couples who are in fact cohabiting are counted as married.
Ask & Answer
1 What was the traditional British family like? 2 What is the major cause of the changes of family? 3 What are the new changes in modern women’s life? 4 What effects have the changes brought to British people's life? 5 What does marriage mean to the newly married couple?
Lyrics to A Father And A Son
• When I was your age I was just like you, And just look at me now; I'm sure you do. But your grandfather was just as bad And you should have heard him trash his dad. Life's no picnic, that's a given: My mom's mom died when my mom was seven; My mom's father was a tragic guy, But he was so distant and nobody knows why. Now, your mother's family, you know them: Each and every one a gem, Each and every one a gem.
George Eliot (cont.2)
• She used a male pen name, she said, to ensure her works would be taken seriously. Female authors were published under their own names during Eliot's life, but she wanted to escape the stereotype of women only writing lighthearted romances. An additional factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny and to prevent scandals attending her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes, with whom she lived for over 20 years.
4 Joint families
• It contains two or more married couples and their children living under the same roof. This type of family maximizes the labor available where land is not scarce. They are common only in rural areas in a limited number of countries. (e.g. India)
Lyrics to A Father And A Son (cont.1)
• When I was your age I was a mess; On a bad day I still am, I guess. I think I know what you're going through; Everything changes but nothing is new. And I know that I'm miserable; can't you see? I just want you to be just like me. Boys grow up to be grown men And then men change back into boys again. You're starting up and I'm winding down; Ain't it big enough for us both in this town? Say it's big enough for us both in this town.
George Eliot
George Eliot (cont.1)
• Mary Anne (alters (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist, and translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She is the author of seven novels, including Adam Bede 《亚当· 比德》 (1859), The Mill on the Floss 《弗洛斯河上的磨坊》 (1860), Silas Marner 《织工马南传》 (1861), Middlemarch 《米德尔马契》 (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda 《丹尼尔· 德龙达》 (1876), most of them set in provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight.
3 Extended families
• In extended families, two or more generationsparents, grandparents and children may live together under one single roof, sometimes with more distant relatives. This type of family provides a support network that allows orphaned children, infirm elderly people and other vulnerable individuals to be easily accommodated. It is most common in rural areas where a large family is vital as a source of labor for agriculture production.
Lyrics to A Father And A Son (cont.2)
• We fought each other day and night: I was always wrong; he was always right. But he had the power and he needed to win; His life half over, mine about to begin. I'm not sure about that Oedipal stuff, But when we were together it was always rough. Hate is a strong word; I want to back-track; The bigger the front, then the bigger the back; The bigger the front, then the bigger the back.