Achieving Goals in The Corrections by Johnathan Franzen Essay -- essay

Jonathan Franzen is the author of many books such as The Twenty-Seventh urban center and Strong Motion. He is probably best known for his book, The Corrections. This book master(prenominal)ly explores a variety of themes such as adversity and resilience, family unity and coming of age. The main characters are members of the Lambert family, who live in the Mid-West. Although each character is at a different stage of their lives, all of them are going through hardship. Gary, the eldest son, is the only child with a family of his own. By taking on most of the responsibilities, Gary is having trouble running his own family while experiencing clinical depression. Chip, the middle child, lost his suppose as a university professor and is working for a criminal warlord in order to make a living. Furthermore, the parents of these children are facing difficult time nerve-racking to reunite the family. Enid, the mother, suffers from harassment and distress in an attempt to bring all her ch ildren home for one last Christmas. Although the situation seems abnormal, it can actually be seen to be that of a typical family in America. In his novel The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen uses point of view to reveal that everyone can achieve their goals in spite of of their difficulties.Although Gary appears to have a clear view of his life, it is through the use of his and other characters point of view that Garys ability to achieve his goal in spite of his difficulties is shown. One of Garys main problems is his clinical depression. For instance, when Garys wife says to him Im tired of living with a depressed old man, (Franzen, 184) Gary knows that he is going to have trouble bringing his family certify to St. Jude. With disapproval from two of his sons and wife, Gary feels that... ...her goal regardless of other peoples criticism. Once again, through the use of point of view, the author reveals that goals can be achieved despite difficulties.As it can be seen, Jonathan Fran zens use of characters perspectives reveals that everyones objectives can be met in spite of their obstacles. Point of view is one of the best shipway to express a characters difficulties as readers can gain insight to his/her thoughts and feelings. At the same time, it is also possible to show a restraint that one faces through another persons point of view. Whether it is a mother who has little control over her family, a son that takes advantage of his buzz offs paten, or a man who has lack of vision about life, everyone has common aims. There are many barriers that distance people from their dreams, but difficulties testament always be part of the journey to reach ones goal