The New York Times bestseller Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance is an interesting nonfiction memoir about a middle-class family trying to overcome a life full of abuse, drugs, poverty, and trauma. The book won the Audie Award for nonfiction in 2017. This book brings to life some of Gollnick and Chinn's findings on class and socioeconomic status from the module readings. Summary
J.D. Vance begins his story by telling about his grandparents growing up in poverty, but wanted the American Dream for their family, so they moved to Ohio to work for Armco, a steel company. Even though Ohio offered economic security, this did not change the vicious lifestyle that usually is associated with low socioeconomic areas. Vance's dad left him and his family …show more content…
His saving grace was his sweet sister, Lindsey and his deranged grandmother, Bonnie. After graduating high school, he joined the Marine Corps and served his country in Iraq. He learned about persistence and determination during that time and later used that to graduate Ohio State and Yale Law School. He acquired a legal position as a lawyer and married the love of his life. Vance managed to beat the odds and break the barriers of his childhood socioeconomic strata into a life of ease and financial security.
Evaluation
The author did a phenomenal job of providing insight into the reality of people living in poverty without making it about skin color or arguing what ethnic group is the most unfortunate. Vance writes this book with hope to share an appreciation of how class and family affect the poor without including racial prism (Vance, 2016). Hillbilly Elegy emphasizes that, no matter how bad someone wants to change their socioeconomic status, family roots have a strong influence on who you are and who you may become as an individual. …show more content…
Society is quick to blame the struggles of the "poor kid" on the school systems, but they don't discuss all the environmental concerns that can play a part in a child's educational success. Even though the author's grandmother highly encouraged him to get a good education, he struggled with the demons from his home life so much that it interfered with academics at school. I thought the quote "But no one wants to talk about the fact that many of them are raised by wolves" was a very poignant and powerful statement (Vance, 2016, p. 127). Hillbilly Elegy demonstrations children in low socioeconomic areas live in a very unforgiving world and in that world, they must survive things that children raised in a higher socioeconomic area can't even
J.D. Vance begins his story by telling about his grandparents growing up in poverty, but wanted the American Dream for their family, so they moved to Ohio to work for Armco, a steel company. Even though Ohio offered economic security, this did not change the vicious lifestyle that usually is associated with low socioeconomic areas. Vance's dad left him and his family …show more content…
His saving grace was his sweet sister, Lindsey and his deranged grandmother, Bonnie. After graduating high school, he joined the Marine Corps and served his country in Iraq. He learned about persistence and determination during that time and later used that to graduate Ohio State and Yale Law School. He acquired a legal position as a lawyer and married the love of his life. Vance managed to beat the odds and break the barriers of his childhood socioeconomic strata into a life of ease and financial security.
Evaluation
The author did a phenomenal job of providing insight into the reality of people living in poverty without making it about skin color or arguing what ethnic group is the most unfortunate. Vance writes this book with hope to share an appreciation of how class and family affect the poor without including racial prism (Vance, 2016). Hillbilly Elegy emphasizes that, no matter how bad someone wants to change their socioeconomic status, family roots have a strong influence on who you are and who you may become as an individual. …show more content…
Society is quick to blame the struggles of the "poor kid" on the school systems, but they don't discuss all the environmental concerns that can play a part in a child's educational success. Even though the author's grandmother highly encouraged him to get a good education, he struggled with the demons from his home life so much that it interfered with academics at school. I thought the quote "But no one wants to talk about the fact that many of them are raised by wolves" was a very poignant and powerful statement (Vance, 2016, p. 127). Hillbilly Elegy demonstrations children in low socioeconomic areas live in a very unforgiving world and in that world, they must survive things that children raised in a higher socioeconomic area can't even