Mamaw's Things Fall Apart

Before reading this book, I knew very little about the hillbilly culture beyond the stereotypical way they are portrayed in cartoons: missing teeth, overalls, and dimwitted. Despite not believing this, I did not expect the dedication members of Vance’s family had for each other. It’s no small feat to be willing to kill for another person. Reading about Mamaw’s brothers threatening anyone that dares hurt her was the first part to initiate my respect for their culture since I hold the same protectiveness over my younger sister as well. Economics plays a role with the steel mill and Vance’s grandparents trying to provide an adequate life for him to give a couple examples. Every time their financial situation was brought up, I remembered a project I did a couple years back about the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and people not having the right qualifications for jobs, leaving them vacant. However, I find the topic to be tedious, so my attention wandered at those parts. …show more content…
Getting an account of someone who actually experienced this life was very eye opening. I knew boot camp was one of the toughest parts of training since that’s when they teach you a ton of discipline (which turns out to be true), but I did not know it could boost your confidence. As Vance says, “Marine Corps boot camp...began to teach me I had underestimated myself.” Just as Mamaw held her reservations about Vance’s decision on joining up, my parents do as well, but there will come a time I must decide for myself on this