i was asked to analyse the validity of the observation by morrison on the suggestion that parents who emerge from histories of oppression might reproduce that degradation wihin the family unit.

I think we carry our histories in different ways. Certainly, parents who dealt with oppression would affect the family unit. In what specific ways, I’m not sure. You should check out the graphic novel MAUS by Art Spiegelman. The father is a product of ww2 and the holocaust. He certainly caries his pain into his family life. Here is a bookrags link below:

http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-complete-maus/#gsc.tab=0