Part 1 of Essay
Dysfunctional family relationships form the basis of many Canadian short stories. Often, tragedy is the end result of severe family breakdown. In other cases, personality defects are directly traceable to poor family dynamics. In the stories “Hurt”, “Fall of a City”, and “The Sound of Hollyhocks” there were very pro ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... 193) This lack of rules or an authority figure demonstrates the dysfunctionality of this family. Also, Stevie’s father was a violent alcoholic. Skip observed that somedays Stevie’s father would be “...pounding on the walls with his fists and swearing and crying all at the same time...” (pg. 195) The parent/child role reversal , the lack of structure, discipline, and authority in the home and the violent episodes demonstrate the degree of dysfunction in this family. “Fall of a City” depicts the dysf ....