Domestic Violence In J. D. Vance's 'Hillbilly Elegy'

In America today, there are many children who live in a household that could be considered a foreign nation to another child who lived is the same neighborhood. In the book Hillbilly Elegy, author J.D. Vance gives the reader an inside look at growing up in the Appalachian Hillbilly culture that deals with not only poverty, but domestic violence as well. Vance also explains how he overcame the stereotypical “hillbilly” lifestyle into maturity. Vance explains how he grew up in an atmosphere that is not ideal to achieve the American Dream. Vance’s mother was in and out of marriage quicker than Vance could comprehend. She also suffered from a drug problem that affected Vance and his sister’s domestic life. Vance’s father was absent from his life …show more content…
Vance was passed around amid family members and nearly ended up in foster care with his sister. Vance’s mother married/dated many men, for brief time periods, and brought them around her children. Vance never had a father figure (aside from his grandfather) who was persistent in his life. Having a mother that moves from man to man, and introduces these men to her children, causes emotional trauma that affects the children well into their adult life. Later in life, when Vance was interested in women, he was nearly scared of committing to a relationship. This was due to his mother’s inability to stay committed to one man and/or the ability to choose which men should and should not meet her children. Vance was scared that his relationships would never last and he would never find the love he desired. In the end, he was able to find a woman, Usha, who was able to demonstrate to him what a genuine relationship was intended to …show more content…
Vance’s meticulous narrative of the Appalachian Hillbilly regime true for all members of this cultural group that lives in America? Probably not. There are individuals that live their life accepting the cultural classification as an Appalachian Hillbilly and do not live within such a dysfunctional family that could be considered psychotic. Not all moms that live in the Appalachian Hillbilly culture have drug problems, not all dads in this area leave the family, and not all hillbilly grandmothers have an intense violent side that scares the neighbors. These descriptions are specific to one family, not the entire community of the Appalachian Hillbillies. Is the reality that this happens no matter where someone was raised? Indisputably. Lifestyles like Vance’s transpire in urban and rural areas all over America today, no matter the location and income level of the family. There are mom’s that have drug problems in Houston, there are dad’s that leave their families, even if the family has an upper class lifestyle, and there can be violent grandmothers who live in a small quiet suburb. The reality is; people who live in areas such as the Appalachian area, do have a higher tendency of having a dysfunctional lifestyle because of the poverty, but this is not the only community in America that faces the challenges with this issue daily. It was unquestionably a miracle that J.D. Vance was able to conquer the lifestyle he dealt with while growing up, and was able to graduate