Fierce Attachments by: Vivian Gornick

In the book that Brianna and I read, Fierce Attachments by: Vivian Gornick, we realized that religion can be a source of comfort and happiness. Our memoir starts off in the Bronx, around the 1950s. This is set in a busy apartment building where Vivian and her mother encounter different people and different experiences. Even though some bad memories were created within the apartment building, it still helped Vivian find a way to connect with her mother. In later years, the reader can see how Vivian and her mother's relationship slowly crumbles. In Manhattan, when Vivian and her mother are both older, they attempt to rekindle their relationship they once had. They take long walks together through the streets of Manhattan and reflect on their memories from the past. They both soon realize that the strong relationship they once established in the busy apartment within the Bronx will never be the same again.


Our Research Source
This source connects to our realization because it discusses the idea of how religion can positively impact someone's life as well as society. The first point they discuss in this source is how religion impacts a mother-child relationship. We can definitely see in our memoir how religion helped build Vivian and her mother's strong relationship. In our source, they say when mothers and their children share the same level of religious practice, they experience better relationships with one another. When Vivian and her mother lived in the apartment building within the Bronx, they both practiced the same religion which was Judaism. I think this is why many happy memories were created within the Bronx because they built a strong relationship through their similar dedication to Judaism. However, when Vivian decides to go against some traditional Jewish practices, we can observe how this weakens their relationship. Also, in our source, they mention how a community with similar religious practices can form a more hospitable and overall stable community. Religiously active men and women within a community are often more sensitive to others, more likely to serve and give those in need, and more likely to be productive members of their communities. This relates to our book and central idea because of the busy community in their apartment building. As I said in my synopsis, Vivian and her mother encounter many different experiences including problems where we discover a characteristic of Vivian's mother we didn't think existed. She becomes more generous, sympathetic and overall helpful towards her neighbors and leads them out of their problems through her wise advice. The apartment building community consisted of men and women who practiced Judaism and I think that's why Vivian's mother becomes more hospitable.