Family Theme Analysis

After Michelle gives birth to her first child, Jason, she gradually releases her hope of having the “perfect” nuclear family—or even a dysfunctional one that looks perfect on the outside. What stands in the way of Michelle’s vision of the perfect family is Des: Michelle’s boyfriend and Jason’s father. With four criminal charges to his name and no more paroles, Des is headed to prison in a matter of days, effectively forcing Michelle to become a single mother. But by the end of the story, Michelle isn’t begrudgingly resolved to this fate; instead, she actively welcomes it, realizing that neither she nor Jason really need Des, so losing him isn’t a loss at all. Charting Michelle’s shifting understanding of what makes a good family, “Five-Dollar Family” ultimately suggests that a family doesn’t have to align with the image of the stereotypical nuclear family to be fulfilling, strong, and meaningful.

Throughout her pregnancy, Michelle clings to the idea that she can (and should) have a stereotypical nuclear family, and specifically that Des will step into the role of loving father and steady partner. During her pregnancy, Michelle would “browse mistily” through the greeting cards at the store, lingering over the ones “that showed guys with their shirts off holding little vulnerable babies, expressions of adoration on their faces.” The word “mistily” suggests that Michelle was teary-eyed while looking at these cards, emphasizing her deep longing for Des to be the kind of tender father depicted on the cards. In addition, the fact that these men are on greeting cards suggests that they represent an ideal image of fatherhood: handsome and masculine, but gentle and loving. And indeed, Michelle’s narration goes on to note how she hoped “that that adoration would kick in once Des saw the baby and she saw Des with the baby.” With this, Michelle implies that she doesn’t adore Des—or at least not in recent times—but that rather than part ways with Des, she wants their relationship to be reinvigorated so that they can preserve their family unit.

Even as it becomes clear to Michelle that Des doesn’t have the capacity to be the kind of father or partner she longs for, she remains hung up on preserving the image of the perfect family, as seen through her preoccupation with their family portrait. Michelle’s assumption that her baby will look like the cute, cherub-like one on the front of the baby-oil bottle—and her “startl[ed]” reaction when her baby doesn’t look like this—is an early indication in the story that Michelle is preoccupied with looking like she has the perfect family.

Later in the story, when Michelle notices a poster advertising family portraits, she becomes obsessed with having the perfect family photo of her, Des, and Jason. For instance, she instructs Des to go out and buy something for Jason to wear, stressing that she wants Jason to “look really good.” She also methodically plans out exactly how she wants each family member to be posed—Des with his arm around her, giving off the appearance that they’re a happy, loving couple—and she fantasizes about framing the picture and sending it out to friends and family. By this point in the story, Michelle disdains Des, seeing him as immature and incapable of changing his ways. But she nevertheless wants this picture that makes them look like a tightknit, happy family to have “The feeling sealed, at least, like evidence.” In other words, she wants this perfect family photo as proof that she once had something like a nuclear family unit, even if it didn’t last.

But by the end of the story, Michelle realizes that she and Jason already are the ideal family, and that they don’t need Des at all. Neither of the two family portraits turn out the way Michelle had planned: in one, Jason is wearing the tiny leather jacket that Des bought him, which Michelle hates. And in the other, Jason is kicking and screaming, startled by the camera flash right as the picture is being taken. But the story implies that the botched photos free Michelle from her preoccupation with making her family look perfect.

This is in large part because Jason’s cry in the second photo is what triggers Michelle’s let-down reflex, which finally allows her breastmilk to flow (something she’s been waiting for days to happen). As Michelle scrambles to feed Jason, she faintly hears Des protesting that she shouldn’t breastfeed in such a public place. But to her, Des’s voice sounds “like someone you’re hanging up on, going small and high-pitched and distant as you put the phone down.” With this description, the story’s focus literally zooms out from Des and Michelle’s dynamic (which has been the topic of much of the narrative) and instead foregrounds Michelle and Jason, suggesting that Des is no longer a necessary part of the story or the family. Now that she can feed her baby, Michelle realizes that “She’s got everything this baby needs, now. And he’s twisting his head, searching for her. He knows it too.” Michelle and Jason lock eyes, and she imagines his eyes are saying to her, “it’s you,” and that her eyes are saying back, “yeah, it’s me.” By zooming in on this silent exchange between Michelle and Jason, the story suggests that the pair have solidified their connection as a family unit. “Five-Dollar Family” shows that it’s Michelle and Jason’s close, loving relationship—and her commitment to taking care of him—is enough to make them a family, even without Des.