"The Curse of Ancestry"
After reading the play True West, it was obvious to me that the family represented in the story was under a generational curse. Though it is not a very common subject that is talked about, it is very much true. A generational curse can be many different things, such as alcoholism, abuse, drug addiction, or divorce. Good generational curses also exist, but the only curses that are usually discussed openly are the bad ones.
In my life, I usually only hear my grandparents talk about generational curses, whether they're discussing another family's situation or our own family. I am constantly seeing examples of how true ancestry curses really are. These curses are repeated and continued so often that some people don't realize that it is actually happening. If your parents did something, or your aunt, uncle, or cousins did it, then it won't be shocking when you follow the pattern also. That's how the curse of ancestry works; something is repeated so much that you are tricked into believing that it's natural.
In True West, Austin has attempted to create his own identity through his creative writing and his accomplishments, but he still cannot escape the influence of his family. As much as he denies following the suit of his dad and brother, he ends up failing. Austin learns at the end of the play that he is exactly like the people he always denied most. A sophisticated screenwriter, Austin seems to have his life together in the beginning of the story, while his brother, Lee, is a drunken thief. In the end, Austin comes to terms with the life that was pre-decided for him.
Everyone is born into a family with "pre-existing conditions''. These curses can be small or huge. They can effect one family's structure, or they can effect whole groups or races of people. It has had effects on slavery and prejudice, and even whole countries can be based on ancestry curses, and the problems that follow them. The curse of ancestry is a chain with many links.
Biblical reference to the curse of ancestry:
"In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be sat on edge."- Jeremiah 31: 29-30
