Bone Post 2- Familial Roles Represented

The structure of this family seems to be repeatedly broken apart. A continuous structural break seems to be Mah's relationships with men.  Mah's first husband, Leila's biological father, is no longer in the picture... and Mah married Leon for his green card.  Despite this Mah and Leon are separated, still married but living under different roofs.  It seems that their relationship was never a completely strong one, and Leila even tells the reader that her mother did not marry Leon for love.

The biggest event that tore the family apart was Ona's suicide, which made the final tear between Mah and Leon, and tore the entire family apart.  Nina is also gone, although in a different sense, and she and her parents do not speak (they disowned her when she told them she had an abortion).

Relationships between siblings are highlighted in some ways, as Leila interacts with Nina and speaks about both her and Ona.  Leila feels guilty over Ona's death and wonders if there is anything she could have said or done to prevent her from committing suicide.  Though no one in the family speaks of Ona as time goes on (towards the beginning of the book...) it is clear throughout the narrative that Leila feels some responsibility for her sister's death as she states, "I went over every moment I had with Ona and tied to find my own failure" (103).  Nina and Leila have a strained sort of bond, they deal with their grief differently, lead very different lives, and regard their parents in diverse lights... Nina refuses to lie and pander to them, and accuses Leila of always taking their side... Leila admits herself that she does when thinks of the time she saw Ona crying and yelled her for ruining her dress rather than asking her what was wrong, she even asks herself "why was I more concerned with Mah than with Ona" (133).  It seems that Leila finds more conflict and struggle in thinking of her relationship with her sisters than a sense of comfort and strength...  Though relationships between siblings is certainly a part of the narrative it seems that the relationship that takes the forefront is that of Mah and Leila.

This is a very broken family, and for strong and devastating reasons.  I am not sure that any reconciliation is found since the story moves backwards and the beginning chapters do not show a reconciled, accepting, and peaceful family... ... but towards the end of the book Leila finds comfort in the idea of love and something Leon told her long ago: "what we hold in our heart is what matters.  The heart never travels" (190).  I think that this can be applied to many of the losses in the book, Ona's death, Nina moving away, Leon's repeated absences... though it doesn't make it easier or better, it seems to provide some comfort to Leila... and adds to the readers' understanding of this broken family.