Childhood Struggles

Joe Amato’s Family Values started out a little boring, just listing things about his childhood. After I really started reading, I noticed that I can relate to this passage in some ways. Going through childhood struggles is a hard thing to overcome. His family was separated and not to close, just as mine. Then again, his story is very different from mine. He is an Italian immigrant with a convict uncle, and a grandpa with “broken” English.

You can tell that he had to overcome many struggles in life, and get past them, which he did. He overcame everything thrown his way, and went off to become successful. He gave many examples of the hardships he endured which shows what he really had to go through, and really opens you up to how he probably felt. Amato puts in such personal details that you can put yourself in his shoes and really see things from his point of view.

I think that technology has really shaped life, but also education. E-mail accounts are almost necessary, and books are rarely used for research anymore. The internet is a whole new way to live, and a lot of people can’t live without it.

I think that Joe Amato really shows that going through some rough times may be a challenge, but if you strive for what you want, you can get there. This is true for everyone, if you push yourself, you can achieve great things. Sometimes you just have to look at the bright side of things, and use the struggles as motivation. The struggles in my life push me to do bigger things and be a better person, and I think that all people should think this way. It ties into many of the other readings that show the theme of struggles making the writers who they are today, for example Carolina Maria De Jesus’ Child of the Dark.