Themes and message

Hope

An important theme of the short story “Better Homes and Gardens” by Catherine Moffat is hope. Although they encounter many difficulties, the family still hopes to have a normal life.

All the family members have an optimistic view of their situation and try to see the good side in what they are doing. For example, even though they do not have soap and need to scrub their body with sand, the father presents the situation to the children in a positive light: “ 'Lots of women pay big money at the day spa for a salt scrub,' he says. 'Here we can get it for free' ” (l. 16). He is also hopeful regarding the future of his children. He believes the family will get a house of their own (l. 55) and that his son will have a regular life and pursue romantic relationships in the future (l. 51).

Grace is a child who does not fully understand the difficult situation of her family and is able to take joy in everything she does. The narrator is more mature than his sister, but he is still hopeful. Although it is getting harder for him to be included by his schoool mates (l. 85), he still pursues his education (l. 17) and hopes to become a chef when he grows up (l. 49).

The hopeful theme of the story is also reflected in the ending. Even though the narrator cannot find his father and feels very scared, he still remains positive and hopeful, trusting that everything will turn out all right: “Everything is going to be okay. Dad will find us soon I know; and tomorrow, tomorrow Grace will have wings” (ll. 148-149).

The TV show Better Homes and Gardens also offers an aspirational way of living and improving one’s life. In some ways, the narrator achieves this by c...