Good morning! My name is Rebecca Goetze. I am very proud to be here in order to have the chance to present my exhibition and to demonstrate my ability to research and argue an important issue.

In our English class, we have been examining and discussing the American identity and voice through the literature we have read and analyzed. As an extension of our class studies, I have chosen to present my views on the important topic of divorce which relates to the American identity and voice because divorce affects not only the two individuals getting a legal separation, but also those surrounding them. Divorce is the process of a married couple who no longer wish to be together. Divorce has become more and more common as social and religious beliefs have died down. There are many reasons for divorce. Some are justified and for the best. However, divorce often hurts more people than it helps. Families are broken apart and friends are confused as to who to support. Even one person in the couple could disagree to divorce, but sometimes it’s the only answer. Sadly, couples often rush towards divorce before even trying to divorce before even trying to work things out. This is a grave mistake. Family is one of the concepts America was built upon. For example, in the novel April Morning by Howard Fast, the main character Adam would not have gone to fight without wanting to prove to his father his courage. He wanted his father to love and approve of him. Had his family been separated, Adam might have cared less about what his parents thought and tried more to do of what he wanted for himself. Divorce should be the last resort, lest our country become a land of broken families and broken hearts.

There are some cases where divorce helps everyone, but not many. One example would be an abusive husband that mistreats his family. The wife wants out of the marriage and to take her children with her, to keep themselves safe from violence. Nevertheless, if the husband is able to be rationalized with, I feel the couple should go into counseling. Things might be resolved and the family could look into recovering. However, should the husband continue with the abuse, divorce would be the only chance for the family to escape and live happily. Another case would be where a couple fell out of love, or absolutely couldn’t stand each other. Again, I would recommend the pair try to work things out as well as possible, but I know that you couldn’t ever force two people to love each other. If they feel divorce is the only option left, they should go for it. On the other hand, if the couple has children, they should try to stay together. It’s not fair for the children to have to watch their family spilt apart simply because “mommy and daddy don’t love each other anymore”. Families are what help the children grow into adults. They love, give each other care and help shape their ideas and concepts of the world. But if a family splits, their whole world is turned upside down and they begin hearing two different things from their separated parents. They didn’t ask for the love to fade away. Some ways to prevent this from occurring is for the couple to make sure they are in love, committed and ready before having children. That way, if they fall out of love they won’t have to worry about hurting anyone else.

Divorce should be the last option considered, after going through many processes and trying their best to solve their differences. From a child’s point of view, divorce is horrible. One moment they are all one big happy family, the next moment dad’s going away and they find themselves with two houses, two rooms and sometimes even two lives. What’s worse is sometimes the parents absolutely hate each other. Some kids are lucky; the divorce is calm and the parents are still friends. But the others, their parents fight over the kid, money, property, the past and anything else in-between. Then, the parents start using the child. They use him to get money, to get the other parent to cooperate. This isn’t fair to the child! The child gets used just because the parents fell out of love and now hate each other. Children are one reason why divorce should be considered last. The couple should try to stay together for the child, for their sake. No one wants bitter feelings in the family.


Divorce is a way to get rid of problems that two people cannot sole together. It shouldn’t be a way to escape the issues without trying to figure them out. Commitment is serious and should not be taken lightly, in the same way as raising children. One would need to be responsible and realistic about the idea of marriage and children. Not just anyone can hold a relationship, and that is understandable. Today’s marriages reflect the fast-paced world of today. People get married for the sake of marriage; they think it’s what they need to complete their life. People need to slow down, smells the roses around them, and find someone they’ll be able to love for years to come.

Yes? No? Maybe so?