Comparison between The Perfect Family, by Alice Hoffman, The School Sanctuary, by Lynda Barry, Dog Lab, by Claire McCarthy and Education by Jake WernerWhat we learn at home, at school, from our peers and from entertainment can have great effects throughout our lives. There is no perfect family, human being or society, yet we are able to live our lives enjoying peace and harmony. What we see on television can simulate a perfect family but, obviously, not everything we want to see is true. Not everyone can have the life everyone wants. While reading the essays “The Perfect Family” by Alice Hoffman, “The Sanctuary of School” by Lynda Barry, “Dog Lab” by Claire McCarthy, and “Education” by Jake Werner a realization occurred. These authors obtained comparable results. Two authors had similar writing styles while the others had contrasting styles. Alice Hoffman's "The Perfect Family" was about how she faced the adversity of growing up in a single-parent household. She never gave up believing in her mother and herself, which is why she is today. Alice Hoffman followed a simple strategy in writing her essay. In his writing style, he has included many details in describing his childhood story. It was from the introductory paragraph that I thought this story would be descriptive, in the sense of trying to bind us by sympathizing with her and the other families. Additionally, he provided images such as "Roses grew outside the front door... We had glass bottles full of fireflies and brand new swings in the back yard, and softball games at dusk."(page --) Usage of this the type of technique used in writing his essay gave a clearer understanding of what he is trying to do. He was setting the table. Additionally, he gave a brief history of what marriages should be like, how divorces were rare during that time, and what kind of work a wife should be engaged in. This technique was helpful in his essay because if he didn't include that story, perhaps the reader wouldn't understand the purpose of writing this essay, or might be confused about what is going on. A historical background can greatly help the reader understand what is going on and can answer some questions about why this essay was written.