Family Unity
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
There are many drawbacks, as well as benefits, to belonging to a close family unit. S. Leonard Syme, author of "People need People", says that in order to live a long healthy life, a person has to be part of a close group. However Jade Snow Wong, author of "Fifth Chinese Daughter", feels that being part of a close group holds back an individual from doing what is right for them.
In his work "People Need People" Syme compares Japanese to American society. He does this by using research concerning social involvement and how this effects health. Even with factors such as cigarette smoking and high blood pressure the people of Japan have "the highest life expectancy in the world." Syme then goes on to say that in certain studies, researchers believe this is due to how socially involved the Japanese are in their community. In Japan, "people often go through school with the same friends, graduate together and work together" for a majority of their life. This "social network" is very valued in Japan so much that "employers try to move work groups together...