The Lockwood family—Dr. Paul Lockwood, Sr., Mrs. Caroline Lockwood, Barbara, Paul, Jr. and Tom—is closely knit. They work together and care for each other. Family cohesiveness and deep filial love are strong themes in A Member of the Family. They share a deep love and respect for each other, handling anger, disagreement, jealousy, pride, and loyalty appropriately. This nuclear family can be a good role model for young people struggling for normalcy in their lives and in relationships with family members.

The major conflict is person-againstself. Tom struggles to make necessary decisions about Precious that are very difficult because of his love and devotion to his mother as well as Precious.

Frequently people must make choices in their lives that are for their own good and the good of those they love even though the choices go against what they...