Cheaper by the Dozen - Theme Writing

Kaylee Donahue 3-26-12

Cheaper By the Dozen Theme Writing

In the original and the remake of the movie Cheaper by the Dozen both families have similar qualities. They both have 12 children, move to a different town and have to face the facts of going to school and getting stares from being with a family of 12. In the movies, the Bakers and the Gilbreth's do similar things. They both have to learn how growing up with 12 is not as easy as it looks. In this day in age you don't see many people with a family of 12 and if you do it's looked at a whole different way.

In modern day you don't see many families with 12 children. For instance you need to have money to have 12 children because it 12 times the food you would make instead of just one child. With the economy being as bad as it is today, it is nearly impossible to take care of 12 children and maintain a stable home life. In today's day, you may only see 12 children in a family that is religious or a farming family that needs the help. Modern day, 12 children are not very common.

Tom and Kate Baker start their life with their children in a small shack in Midland. When Tom is offered a higher paying job, he cannot turn it down because the money would help with all of his children and he could buy a bigger house. The Bakers see that the money is tight when middle daughter Lorraine always complains of Nora's (oldest daughter) hand me down. Sara who is younger than Lorraine is tired if getting hand me downs too, because she doesn't like all the pink, and girly stuff; she is more of a tom boy. If the Baker's had more money they could have hired a maid or servants to come help them, when Kate and Tom were away.

When the family moved from Midland, Tom had his opportunity for money, now it was Kate's turn. When Kate goes away to fulfill her dream and career, Tom say he can handle all the kids, cooking, and cleaning but little does he know he is in over his head. Tom knows he needs to stand behind his wife and support her but juggling a family of 12 and a winning college football team is a lot harder then he thought. Tom soon comes to realize he cannot take care of a family of 12 and his job alone, so he was forced to make a decision that would be life changing.

When the original movie came out, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were a wealthy family from Providence Rhode Island. When they lived in Rhode Island it was more common to see a family of many children because it was more open and more farms and everyone had big families in the country. Once the Gilbreth's moved to Montclair, New Jersey they were getting funny stares when they pulled through town with all of their children. When they all got settled into their new home, Lillian and the girls never left the house. They were to