A Nontraditional Family Natasha Borden College

Most Canadians when asked what the traditional family looks like will tell you that there is a mother, and a father, and their children, living together, and providing for each other. This is the standard, and simple, image of a family. Joan MacLeod takes the traditional family unit and gives it a modern, and some would say, more realistic , tweaking, twisting, and repackaging for today's society. In her play Toronto, Mississippi she creates a family unit consisting of, Jhana, a mentally handicapped girl, Maddie, her overprotective mother, Bill, their male boarder, and King, her mostly-absent father. Each character plays a nontraditional family role and Bill even takes on multiple roles. It is a complicated family situation. This family may be full flaws but it is also full of love and loyalty. Each character sincerely cares about what is best for Jhana and they each show it in their own way. They are not organized into the traditional roles but they each give Jhana a gift that comes from the heart.

Jhana's mother, Maddie, is the provider for, and the protector of, the family.As a single mother she has taken on, not only providing for Jhana financially by working full time but also making sure that Jhana is protected from the...