Throughout this course we’ve examined Appalachia as a separate and distinct region within the United States. The question of whether it’s a subculture or a colony is rather muddy at best. The Oxford Dictionary defines subculture as: “A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture”. While this is true of Appalachia to some degree, the problem lies within its geographical area and the large number of subcultures that live in that area. Central Appalachia is comprised of mostly Scots-Irish descendants for example, while Northern Appalachia had many Germanic and other Slavic settlers. This produces a problem in defining Appalachia as a subculture, specifically because no
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Professor Duncan, for example, is speaking to Lydia about the school when he says: “…a man is a mighty formidable impediment when he can burn the very school building and not be brought to justice” (Dykeman, 255). Earlier, Gib had said of Ham: “he’s selling to Clay Thurston’s sawmill all the fine lumber on the land he owns; then when it’s cleared he’s planting the ground to tobacco…” (Dykeman, 228). These are perfect examples of the control the capitalist ideology has over an indigenous population. Education, which brings with it the ability to rise above circumstance, is subjugated and the elite raze the land for its resources. The worst part is that even characters like Ham are prone to exploitation, as I’m sure the wood that he sold and the tobacco he grew brought much more profit to the companies that bought form him. These resources were then delivered outside the geographical region, for the enjoyment/betterment of people unrelated to …show more content…
The coal camps, the company store, the brutalization of the workers, all are aptly described within the book. Rondal Lloyd describes a conversation between he and C.J. Marcum: “‘They ain’t never going to let you out of debt’ he said. ‘They’ll keep right on no matter how much coal that boy loads’” (Giardina, 20). The job of the coal company was to produce as much as possible and they cared nothing about who worked for them. People were expendable, it’s much like the philosophy the West has with 3rd world countries in the present. No one cares that Bangladeshis are dying in clothing factory fires as long as we all get out three-dollar t-shirts. In Chapter 8, the killing of Johnson was an example of the complete control the coal companies had over the labor: “‘We’ve had our eye on you for a while, Lloyd,’ Denbigh said. ‘…now you’ve brought this union nigger here’” (Giardina, 82). Law enforcement was owned by the coal company, no one could have done anything to prevent what happened. The entire community, and hundreds of other communities just like it in Appalachia, was subverted and used to drain the region’s resources for the utilization of
Professor Duncan, for example, is speaking to Lydia about the school when he says: “…a man is a mighty formidable impediment when he can burn the very school building and not be brought to justice” (Dykeman, 255). Earlier, Gib had said of Ham: “he’s selling to Clay Thurston’s sawmill all the fine lumber on the land he owns; then when it’s cleared he’s planting the ground to tobacco…” (Dykeman, 228). These are perfect examples of the control the capitalist ideology has over an indigenous population. Education, which brings with it the ability to rise above circumstance, is subjugated and the elite raze the land for its resources. The worst part is that even characters like Ham are prone to exploitation, as I’m sure the wood that he sold and the tobacco he grew brought much more profit to the companies that bought form him. These resources were then delivered outside the geographical region, for the enjoyment/betterment of people unrelated to …show more content…
The coal camps, the company store, the brutalization of the workers, all are aptly described within the book. Rondal Lloyd describes a conversation between he and C.J. Marcum: “‘They ain’t never going to let you out of debt’ he said. ‘They’ll keep right on no matter how much coal that boy loads’” (Giardina, 20). The job of the coal company was to produce as much as possible and they cared nothing about who worked for them. People were expendable, it’s much like the philosophy the West has with 3rd world countries in the present. No one cares that Bangladeshis are dying in clothing factory fires as long as we all get out three-dollar t-shirts. In Chapter 8, the killing of Johnson was an example of the complete control the coal companies had over the labor: “‘We’ve had our eye on you for a while, Lloyd,’ Denbigh said. ‘…now you’ve brought this union nigger here’” (Giardina, 82). Law enforcement was owned by the coal company, no one could have done anything to prevent what happened. The entire community, and hundreds of other communities just like it in Appalachia, was subverted and used to drain the region’s resources for the utilization of