Essay from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Stuttgart (English Department of Literary Studies), course: Proseminar, language: English, abstract: The following essay will examine the contrast between friendship and the construct of family in Arturo Islas’ novel "The Rain God". In the story the reader is confronted with the comradeship between the characters Juanita and Lola. Their friendship endures a really difficult situation, Lola's adulterous affair. Additionally, there is this construct of family which is highly dysfunctional and held together by only a few members. The course of the narrative shows that friendship becomes of higher value than family relations. The short essay explores this by analyzing the characters and how they are represented in relation to one another.