12. What was wrong with the relations in the Sponson family? What us the message of the story “Breakout”?

Tom Sponson seemed a thoroughly successful and happy man, having a well-paid job and a friendly family. His children did well at school and university and seemed to be affectionate. His wife was also a successful woman; she gave Tom a kiss every morning and every night, and their life seemed to be quite nice and flawless.

But in fact, it only seemed so. Tom felt there was something the matter with his family. He admitted he was not satisfied with his family life at all, for his wife was too busy to take interest in him: she was busy with the children, her parties, shopping, doing housework, her tennis and friends – everything, but not him. His children were preoccupied with their own friends and school, and didn’t appreciate their father as he wanted to. After all, Tom was no more was able to continue living that way and just…followed an impulse and broke out!

To my mind, the situation in Tom Sponson’s family is rather typical - a lot of families face the same problem. The relationships in his family are not that healthy and the atmosphere is not too sincerely affectionate. As far as Mr. Sponson’s attitude to his wife and children is concerned, I don’t approve of it at all. I don’t feel like defending him and trying to account for his attitude and behaviour, because in my opinion he is to blame as well as the other members of his family for what happened.

Mr. Sponson said he was like a nuisance for his domestics, he perceived the children were embarrassed of him, and the wife was only preoccupied with her own hobbies and friends; he also felt he was working very hard for very little, which meant his hard work was not appreciated at all at home, and the wife and the children only consumed the money he brought home without paying their own price which in its turn could mean love, attention, care and so on.

But was it really so? Was it only his wife and children who were the matter of all the troubles? I’m sure it wasn’t. The problem had been growing for years because of their mutual inattentiveness to each other; they stopped appreciating each other, stopped realizing they were all one family, a unit, essential parts of each other. They yielded to routine, and that was their common sin, their mistake which had led to the present state of affairs. Because inattentiveness and separateness made them feel strangers to each other: the children didn’t feel Mr. Sponson their father because he spent too little time with them, working hard; his wife transformed their love into some kind of duty: she just gave him a kiss every morning, and that was all her love and considerateness. And what did he do himself to save their family life? Did he really think working hard and bringing money was enough? I can’t stand this common men’s opinion that the only family duty they should do is bringing money. Besides being a breadwinner, men should be as affectionate, as attentive and caring as the other member of the family, because it is love and care that is the basis of family life.

That is why, I think, it was not only his wife and children’s fault. It was their mutual fault. Probably, they made that mistake unawares, but still they were all to blame.

To my mind, the message of the story is the following. We often wait for something which will come and save our life, which will bring happiness and joy. It is especially true for a family life. Married couples are often disappointed by their mutual life just because they don’t realize that it is they themselves who are to create their own happiness. But it is not the right way to live, to associate with people, with close one, especially. Let’s do something instead of waiting. Let’s try to overcome all the difficulties instead of escaping. Let’s restrain impulses, be anxious about people you love you, be more attentive, affectionate and considerate, after all. That is the key tp a happy family life.