Sections from Hard Times by Studs Terkel: week 5::
I just finished reading the week 5 reading, some parts of the book, Hard Times, written by Studs Terkel. This was extremely readable!What I got out of this week's reading was that the Depression wasn't all black and white. Everyone who lived in America during the Depression thought totally different things during the same time period. I had thought EVERYONE was poor and everything was horrible. Not really, the richer people weren't that affected by the Depression... and the poor people lost their farms, their houses, money. Terkel interviewed people from totally different backgrounds with totally different jobs during the time.
A common theme from the interviews of the poorer people were that there was some kind of connection, bond. "The hard times put farmers' families closer together... Sympathy toward one another was manifest. There were personal values as well as terrible hardships." (220) Oscar Heline, an Iowa farmer, said.
It seemed like there was more of a bond between the poorer people than the rich people. I think it was because they really had nothing to lose... The rich people (and more powerful people) still had some money (and power) which they needed to keep. Through these interviews it felt like the rich people had to be own their own and they were all against each other.
Another thing that was interesting to me was that it wasn't all black and white concerning who liked FDR or Hoover better. There was a real mix of who people liked during this time.
Also, it was puzzling and interesting to see what people remembered, what people thought were important, what they were doing at the time, and what they thought of other people.
I definitely enjoyed reading these interviews because I know that I love seeing into people's lives and the details and events that changed their lives.
posted by Cassie @ 2:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home