Two noble samurai stand only a few feet apart, blades at the ready, blood would be spilled and honor satisfied. Although his mother was a simple commoner, a fisherman’s wife, he permitted no one, not even his master, to call her – fat. This scene, set in an anime or manga brings forth feelings of excitement and glamorize what would surely be a deadly and honorable encounter over a simple insult. It would be comical if not so sad that this is how J.D. Vance and his characters see themselves in Hillbilly Elegy, honorable backwoods knights, defending themselves and their kin from threats as simple as a “Yo Momma” joke to outright assault and murder. That somehow, their lack of trust in legitimate law enforcement justifies a man being shot
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It is odd Vance chose to glamorize the hillbilly honor culture, whereas in many parts of the country and even the world, honor cultures tend to receive negative attention (Strange 723). Ironically, the popular opinion suggests people from the hillbilly honor culture are the first to degenerate other cultures, as the soon to be President of the United States, Barak Obama, so uncharacteristically and ineloquently said in a moment of ad lib: “It’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations” (Fowler n.p.). While Senator Obama backpedaled a bit on his statement, it captured the essence and validated the narrative of his California based audience (Seelye n.p.). Sadly, Vance’s inside-out view does little to soften the blow, he himself, wholeheartedly and proudly agrees proclaiming he earned his first bloody nose at only five years old and a black eye by the time he was six. Unsurprisingly, his most stable family member, Mamaw, validates and consoles him after a lost fight, attempting to avenge his thirteen-year-old sisters broken heart: “You did good, honey. You did …show more content…
Vance recalls an HBO documentary about hill people, the patriarch sets strict boundaries between acceptable work for men and women. Vance, comically points out that the patriarch clearly defines women’s work, but never defines work suitable for himself. The documentary continues explaining that the man is an alcoholic that he never worked a day in his life, his wife was the one who had worked to bring home food to keep the children from starving (Vance 58). Further, while in a courtroom due to an act of domestic violence by Vance’s mother, he notes, and recognizes their culture is distinct from others. He notices what he calls are “TV Accents” and goes on to classify various roles in society that have the neutral accent of a news anchor. Social workers, judges, lawyers, that are the people running the courts were different from the people subjected to it, his people, his culture (Vance
It is odd Vance chose to glamorize the hillbilly honor culture, whereas in many parts of the country and even the world, honor cultures tend to receive negative attention (Strange 723). Ironically, the popular opinion suggests people from the hillbilly honor culture are the first to degenerate other cultures, as the soon to be President of the United States, Barak Obama, so uncharacteristically and ineloquently said in a moment of ad lib: “It’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations” (Fowler n.p.). While Senator Obama backpedaled a bit on his statement, it captured the essence and validated the narrative of his California based audience (Seelye n.p.). Sadly, Vance’s inside-out view does little to soften the blow, he himself, wholeheartedly and proudly agrees proclaiming he earned his first bloody nose at only five years old and a black eye by the time he was six. Unsurprisingly, his most stable family member, Mamaw, validates and consoles him after a lost fight, attempting to avenge his thirteen-year-old sisters broken heart: “You did good, honey. You did …show more content…
Vance recalls an HBO documentary about hill people, the patriarch sets strict boundaries between acceptable work for men and women. Vance, comically points out that the patriarch clearly defines women’s work, but never defines work suitable for himself. The documentary continues explaining that the man is an alcoholic that he never worked a day in his life, his wife was the one who had worked to bring home food to keep the children from starving (Vance 58). Further, while in a courtroom due to an act of domestic violence by Vance’s mother, he notes, and recognizes their culture is distinct from others. He notices what he calls are “TV Accents” and goes on to classify various roles in society that have the neutral accent of a news anchor. Social workers, judges, lawyers, that are the people running the courts were different from the people subjected to it, his people, his culture (Vance