Home: Warm, Bond
Elaine Tyler May’s book Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era explores the reason postwar Americans approached marriage and parenthood with greater commitment and enthusiasm than their parents and children did. It is common for wars to have lasting impacts on the society, especially to those who engage in the war. The American situation was peculiar considering that the country took a leading role in the World War II that ended up defining the fate of the country as a world superpower. As the most valued social fabric, the family had a bigger role to play during the war. The author notes that gender roles changed a great deal during the war and this spurred postwar families to view marriage in a different way. …show more content…
The author’s argument is convincing because it encourages families to stand together after tough times, which is the only way the society can progress.
While May has escaped certain touchy issues in her analysis, the book has proven to discuss the real issues as they were without fear or favor. First of all, May takes the stand that the domestic containment witnessed after the war was primarily due to the fear that struck Americans after the devastating effects of the war. Precisely, Americans had suffered much during the war; therefore, they were not ready to welcome similar tragedies in the future. According to May, the home was viewed as the only unit within which people could contribute to the achievement of a secure and fulfilling life because this is all that postwar women and men had wanted for a long time (May 14). Here, the author encourages people to solve problems at home instead of looking at what takes place outside or expecting outsiders to intervene in the domestic problems. Therefore, where the home is peaceful, the whole society becomes peaceful. This way, there would be limited chances of having people engage in political activism that has been known to cause tensions in the society and eventual
Elaine Tyler May’s book Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era explores the reason postwar Americans approached marriage and parenthood with greater commitment and enthusiasm than their parents and children did. It is common for wars to have lasting impacts on the society, especially to those who engage in the war. The American situation was peculiar considering that the country took a leading role in the World War II that ended up defining the fate of the country as a world superpower. As the most valued social fabric, the family had a bigger role to play during the war. The author notes that gender roles changed a great deal during the war and this spurred postwar families to view marriage in a different way. …show more content…
The author’s argument is convincing because it encourages families to stand together after tough times, which is the only way the society can progress.
While May has escaped certain touchy issues in her analysis, the book has proven to discuss the real issues as they were without fear or favor. First of all, May takes the stand that the domestic containment witnessed after the war was primarily due to the fear that struck Americans after the devastating effects of the war. Precisely, Americans had suffered much during the war; therefore, they were not ready to welcome similar tragedies in the future. According to May, the home was viewed as the only unit within which people could contribute to the achievement of a secure and fulfilling life because this is all that postwar women and men had wanted for a long time (May 14). Here, the author encourages people to solve problems at home instead of looking at what takes place outside or expecting outsiders to intervene in the domestic problems. Therefore, where the home is peaceful, the whole society becomes peaceful. This way, there would be limited chances of having people engage in political activism that has been known to cause tensions in the society and eventual