The family meadow

I believe that in this extract the author accentuates the different backgrounds of the family members. While reading the story I’ve noticed that the family is not that united and close as they pretend to be and John Updike gives a lot of arguments for it. They don’t really have much in common if not taking into consideration this tradition of getting together in this meadow, and I assume that they don’t even like each other, they aren’t interested in this meeting, but it is a tradition they don’t want to break.

The author gives the scene of eating to show that there are things that unite them (as well as taking the picture) but apart from that they are very diverse. After the lunch all of them start getting ready to live, the only thing that is left is the annual picture.

Even the kids are subjects to this atmosphere: starting their games, their spirit gradually fades out. The adults who take part in these activities in fact are interested in something else (the pilot, for example, is interested in Karen’s tight jeans).

And the worst thing is that this actually represents the American family pattern: kids leave their family houses and reunite with their parents only on great holidays suck as Thanksgiving or Christmas.