"HEROES OF THEIR OWN LIVES." (LINDA GORDON).   Term Paper ID:28762 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Analysis of book on the politics & history of family violence in 19th & early 20th Centuries. Author's thesis.... More...

5 Pages / 1125 Words 1 sources, 10 Citations, MLA Format $20.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Analysis of book on the politics & history of family violence in 19th & early 20th Centuries. Author's thesis. Paper Introduction: Resurrecting Victims of Family Violence: Lessons from the Past To many people today, the term “family violence” naturally conjures up images of brutality against spouses and children that occurs within the family setting. However, in Heroes of Their Own Lives: The Politics and History of Family Violence, Linda Gordon challenges this perception by demonstrating that the term “family violence” is a dynamic concept that alters throughout history. According to Gordon, family violence “has been historically and politically constructed,” dependent upon the prevalent perceptions of the times and the power struggle that occurs within the family in response to its environment (2-3). Throughout the book, Gordon successfully illustrates how the changing perceptions of the times exerted an impact on the w Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. They were not only victimized by their husbands, butalso deserted by agencies and other people. In the chapter on single mothers, Gordon points out the inherentconflict and complexity in the child protection policies of social workagencies. While I was saddened and touched by the women andchildren who were victimized by family violence, I was also angry at thelack of assistance offered to them. For example, during the 19th century, the involvement of upper-class women influenced the child protection movement of its era. The exploration of the dramaticshift in attitudes between the period she describes and the contemporaryperiod would have contributed significantly to her effort in assessing thehistorical and political influence on family violence. The twochapters, one on single mothers and the other on incest victims, areoutstanding for their detailed and in-depth portrayal of the dilemmas ofthe victims. Overall, Gordon has written a clear and interesting book. Gordon's celebration of sex delinquentgirls who end up becoming prostitutes after escaping from incestuoussituations in their family may sound strange or controversial. During my reading, I experienced awhole range of emotions. In her attempt to incorporate chronological, sociological andpsychological information in this book, Gordon often provides a cursorydiscussion on different issues that deserve greater consideration. Gordon's discussion accurately captures thedilemma of single mothers throughout the early part of history andappropriately elevates them to the heroic status for their endeavor tosurvive and fight for their children. If the violence had occurredduring the 19th century, the social workers would recognize that Mr. Amatowas a violent man. Unfortunately for Mrs. Amato,the Progressive era sought to suppress incidents of family violence inorder to project the image of the ideal two-parent households. Forexample, in her discussion on misbehavior, Gordon asserts how children werepunished for different forms of misbehavior in different historicalperiods. Perhaps, Gordoncould have offered a more in-depth analysis by focusing on fewer types ofchild abuse. Gordon's discussion of Mrs. Amato's story captures vividly howeach historical period defined relationships between Mrs. Amato her husbanddifferently. From my volunteer work withdomestic violence, I know that current notions of family violence areconsiderably more supportive of women. Furthermore, the chapters lack a structural unity that links all ofthem together. Socialworkers interpreted Mrs. Amato's complaint as mutual marital violence thatneeded to be resolved between the two parties. Her"unsentimentalized" style further heightens the tragedy of many of thevictims depicted in her book. The lack of a detailed discussion of these casesalso undermines the vividness and dramatic impact of these individuals. Instead ofproviding them with economic assistance, they insisted that the parentscontrolled and disciplined their children by corporal punishment, ifnecessary (Gordon 74). With her case studies, Gordon also manages to demonstrate how thesocial environment of the times affected the power relations within thehouseholds. Throughout the book, Gordon successfully illustrates how the changingperceptions of the times exerted an impact on the way social workers helpfamilies. Gordon's interpretation of the tragic impact of incest on womenreflects the power relations within the family structure. However, the book is lacking in its organization in several ways.Although Gordon's case studies play an integral role in illustrating herarguments, they are inserted arbitrarily into her discussion. New York: Viking, 1988. During the Depression,the complaint would have been completely ignored because the emphasis wason offering economic relief to families in crisis (Gordon 2 -3). Resurrecting Victims of Family Violence: Lessons from the Past To many people today, the term "family violence" naturally conjuresup images of brutality against spouses and children that occurs within thefamily setting. However, they would only help Mrs. Amato either byreforming the husband or taking the children away. The photographsincrease the dramatic quality of the book by giving the case studies ahuman face. However, herconception of these girls as assertive individuals who have rejectedvictimization and "self-destructive obedience" demonstrates theperceptiveness of her analysis (Gordon 244). In most of her chapters, Gordon is extremely effective in proving herarguments with her interesting case studies and clear analyses. The professionals, believing that theycould prevent and rehabilitate the families, usually placed the blame onmother for their failure to take care of their children. However, during the Progressive Era, thereplacement of upper-class women by professionals transformed the prevalentattitude towards families in crisis. From 191 to 1916, Mrs. Amato sought help from agencies inorder to escape from her husband who not only did not support herfinancially, but also physically abused her. For example, Gordon could have created a common thread bystarting each chapter with a case study and its evaluation. More than asexual act, incest captures the reality of the patriarchal structure withinthe family in which the father possesses unchallenged authority over allmembers of the family (Gordon 233). Although social workers wanted to help families that weredeserted by their father, they also believed that they should not assistfathers who had failed to live up to their responsibilities (Gordon 1 ).Furthermore, the contradictory attitudes towards single mothers in theearly 2 th century further thwarted these women's attempt to alleviate theplight of their families. Instead, they were usually punished for"normal childish behavior" such as crying and destroying books in the early2 th century (Gordon 185). Work CitedGordon, Linda. In spite of these criticisms, I enjoyed reading this book because ittook me back to the times when women were not allowed to forge anindependent existence. Although she covers her subject area comprehensively, Gordon'sdecision not to discuss contemporary perceptions of family violence takesaway from her discussion of family violence. According to Gordon, family violence "has beenhistorically and politically constructed," dependent upon the prevalentperceptions of the times and the power struggle that occurs within thefamily in response to its environment (2-3). Heroes of Their Own Lives: The Politics and History of Family Violence. Fourth,she demonstrates tremendous objectivity by presenting various perspectiveson the same issues, thus enhancing the reader's understanding of the topic.Fifth, the inclusion of historical portraits of various victims enables thereaders to see the impoverished condition of many families. They wereextremely sympathetic towards the plight of the children and wanted toalleviate their sufferings by providing a variety of assistance to bothwomen and children (Gordon 32). Books like this one make meappreciate the effort of women of bygone generations, which has enabled meto enjoy my freedom and independence. Forexample, her chapter on "Child Abuse and Social Change" consists of manyshort sections on different types of child abuse (168-2 3). However, in Heroes of Their Own Lives: The Politics andHistory of Family Violence, Linda Gordon challenges this perception bydemonstrating that the term "family violence" is a dynamic concept thatalters throughout history. During the 19th century, parents punished children for runningaway and committing crimes. Gordon also reinforces her main thesis by comparing and contrastingthe different periods in each section to illuminate the changes. Often thecase studies are placed one after another without detailed discussion aboutthe individual studies. Because the changing society led to childrenspending more time in the homes, young children no longer had theopportunities to commit crimes. Gordon has certainly contributed to myawareness of family violence by resurrecting these individuals. Third, when she includes historical andpsychological terms, she defines them in simplistic layman's terms. Women who did not work faced the humiliation anduncertainty of collecting public assistance. First, byusing case studies and comparisons between chronological periods, Gordonhas succeeded in creating an interesting, perceptive and informative book.Second, her writing is clear and easily understandable. However, women who worked hardto support their families were condemned for neglecting their children andimmorality (Gordon 112). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.