POST 8: ANNE TYLER THESIS PROPOSAL

Lizbeth Ortiz
English / C Block
4/ 15/08

Anne Tyler and her view on Family

Family is something sacred. Nothing in the world can replace family. The perfect family includes the dad, the mom, the daughter and son. Family is a big part of Anne Tyler themes. Anne Tyler exposed the idea of the perfect family as a myth; here she reveals that the perfect marriage is also an illusion. The three books I was able to read, Breathing Lessons, Saint Maybe, and The Accidental Tourist. If you look at quotes from each book you will find something related to family.
Breathing lessons the novel deals directly with one day in the life of Ira and Maggie Moran, the day they travel to attend the funeral of Maggie's best friend's husband and detour to visit Fiona and Leroy. But in fact the novel covers their whole life together as each remembers the years they have known each other. Once again, Tyler takes family as a major theme, this time focusing on marriage. In Breathing Lessons, Tyler gives readers a picture of a good marriage versus a perfect marriage. Maggie and Ira Moran have been married for twenty- eight years. They stayed together for so long because of their children and realized everyday that they love each other. During that day I can’t say how many times Maggie looked over at Ira and fell in love all over again or how many times Ira agreed with his wife’s CRAZY request because he loves her. Breathing Lessons is a beautiful book to read and it brings the truth out of marriage. It is not all pink and roses.

In Saint Maybe everyone on Waverly Street agrees that the Bedloes are the perfect family, two friendly parents, three attractive children, a cat, a dog and assorted goldfish. Ian Bedloe, the youngest at seventeen, is a medium sort of person, a popular high school baseball pitcher. Ian's athletic older brother, Danny, marries Lucy Dean, the divorced mother of two small children, Agatha and Thomas. Shortly after the birth of baby Daphne, Danny dies in an auto accident. A few months later, the distraught Lucy dies of a sleeping pill overdose. Ian feels responsible for both deaths. Ian's pastor, Reverend Emmett of the Church of Second Chances, convinces him to quit college and care for the three children. There is also optimism at the beginning of the novel; the Bedloes are the perfect family partly because of their relentless optimism. Bee Bedloe, the mother, sets the tone for this optimism.

"There was this about the Bedloes. They believed that every part of their lives was absolutely wonderful. It wasn't just an act, either. They really did believe it. Or at least Ian's mother did, and she was the one who set the tone. Her marriage was a great joy to her, her house made her happy every time she walked into it, and her children were attractive and kind and universally liked." Chapter 1, pg. 8.

None of it is an act. It is a conscious choice Bee has made to look on the bright side of any situation, to be content with what life brings her. When her older son, Danny, leaves college to work for the post office, Bee insists he is lucky to have found his calling so young. When daughter Claudia quits college to get married and starts having children Ian hesitates slightly, but Bee insists she hopes she is happy with her choices. Once again the myth of the perfect family. On the first page, the Bedloes are described as the "ideal, apple-pie household" and their philosophy of life is "Don't worry. Everything will turn out fine." But Danny kills himself; Lucy dies; they are stuck with three children unrelated to them; and Ian takes religion seriously, dropping out of college to take care of the children. The Bedloes are not the perfect family after all, but they have a solid rock closeness and love that keeps them together and helps them overcome their trials.

In The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler presents an intimate portrait of Macon Leary, a middle-aged man coming to terms with the tragic death of his son. After his wife leaves him, Macon cuts himself off from the rest of the world. He becomes involved with an unconventional woman who helps him cope with his loss and take control of his life. On their way back from a vacation at the beach, Macon's wife, Sarah, informs Macon she wants a divorce because he has not been a comfort to her since the death of their son Ethan. Initially shocked, he begins to see her departure as a chance to reorganize the house. From my point of view there are three themes Family, Death, Order and Disorder. Death, since Ethan's death triggers the novels initial conflict. At first it leads to the end of Sarah and Macon's marriage. The past year had been miserable for both of them, when everything either of them said was wrong. When Sarah admits, "Now that Ethan's dead I sometimes wonder if there's any point to life," Macon responds, "It never seemed to me there was all that much point to begin with." This distrust sets off Sarah's decision to leave Macon. She feels he is not grieving as much as she and he is not providing her with the comfort she needs. Macon looks for someone to blame for Ethan's death, including Sarah and himself. Order and Disorder could also be another theme since Ethan's death coupled with Sarah's departure throws Macon into a state of disorder that he desperately tries to change everything in his life and instead of organizing it he is just making it worse.

These three books really help us understand the concept of family. Family and marriage is something sacred and should be taken seriously. I learned a lot from these three books. In Breathing Lessons I learned that marriage is a really tough road but if you always try to look on the bright side that just might get you by. In Saint Maybe the fact that the Bedloes were considered the perfect family I came to realize there is no such thing. You could try to have a perfect family but know that you will never get close. I also learned not to let myself guide with what I see on the outside because it could be the complete opposite on the inside. In The Accidental Tourist I learned a whole lot of things. With Ethan’s death Macon and Sarah let themselves grow apart instead of uniting together in such a difficult time. Macon seemed to have a different way of showing his grieve than Sarah did. It is always important to know that your partner is completely different and they will show and handle their emotions in a different way. Marriage is going to have a lot of difficulties and it is important to stand strong together during those times because that is what will make your marriage and bond twice as strong.