Returning Home from War
The Best Years of our Lives starts out with three World War II soldiers: Al Stephenson, Fred Derry and Homer Parrish on a plane returning home to Boone City. This movie follows each of the three soldiers separately, because each one is faced with a different challenge upon their arrival. Al is a banker who returns to his former job, however, struggles with the inability to help former soldiers. Fred returns home and struggles to find a job and because of that his wife decides to divorce him. Homer lost both his hands in the war and now has two hooks for hands; he returns home to his soon to be wife, however, he is unsure if she still loves him (The Best Years of Our Lives).
Each character’s challenge in the movie …show more content…
The symbol was of women who took up less traditional female occupations during the war, because the majority of the men were away at battle. Most of the women were mothers, which is why it was unusual for them to be working. In the movie The Best Years of our Lives, Fred was unable to find work when he returned home, this is because more women were working during the war. In fact, during the war more than 6.3 million women joined the workforce on the home front, which unfortunately took jobs away from returning veterans like Fred (Mintz and McNeil). This brings up the social issue of women staying home and men working. Prior to World War II, men were the bread winners of families and the women stayed home to raise the children. However, when men went off to war, the jobs they left needed to be filled, as a result working mothers came to be. During lecture the discussions about women during the war have consisted of the new roles they acquired during the war. Unfortunately, the new roles that women held, took jobs away from veterans. The fact that women started working and returning veterans were unable to find work proves that this part of the movie is an accurate representation of the post-World War II era. It also supports what has been covered in History 104: veterans had trouble finding work after the …show more content…
The movie follows Al, Fred and Homer, all of whom are former soldiers each with a different challenge. Al has problems issuing a GI loan, Fred loses his job, and Homer struggles adjusting to life with an injury. These three challenges all represent the struggles that WWII veterans had when they returned home from the war, as well as what has been covered in History 104 (The Best Years of Our Lives). Works Cited
Gerber, David A. "Heroes and Misfits: The Troubled Social Reintegration of Disabled Mar. Veterans in "The Best Years of Our Lives"" American Quarterly 46.4 (1994): 545-74. Web. 20 2016. .
Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2016). World War II. Digital History. Retrieved March 20, 2016 from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=15&smtID=2
Polonsky, Abraham. ""The Best Years of Our Lives": A Review." Hollywood Quarterly 2.3 (1947): 257-60. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. .
The Best Years of Our Lives. Dir. William Wyler. Prod. Samuel Goldwyn. Perf. Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo. 1946.
The Best Years of our Lives starts out with three World War II soldiers: Al Stephenson, Fred Derry and Homer Parrish on a plane returning home to Boone City. This movie follows each of the three soldiers separately, because each one is faced with a different challenge upon their arrival. Al is a banker who returns to his former job, however, struggles with the inability to help former soldiers. Fred returns home and struggles to find a job and because of that his wife decides to divorce him. Homer lost both his hands in the war and now has two hooks for hands; he returns home to his soon to be wife, however, he is unsure if she still loves him (The Best Years of Our Lives).
Each character’s challenge in the movie …show more content…
The symbol was of women who took up less traditional female occupations during the war, because the majority of the men were away at battle. Most of the women were mothers, which is why it was unusual for them to be working. In the movie The Best Years of our Lives, Fred was unable to find work when he returned home, this is because more women were working during the war. In fact, during the war more than 6.3 million women joined the workforce on the home front, which unfortunately took jobs away from returning veterans like Fred (Mintz and McNeil). This brings up the social issue of women staying home and men working. Prior to World War II, men were the bread winners of families and the women stayed home to raise the children. However, when men went off to war, the jobs they left needed to be filled, as a result working mothers came to be. During lecture the discussions about women during the war have consisted of the new roles they acquired during the war. Unfortunately, the new roles that women held, took jobs away from veterans. The fact that women started working and returning veterans were unable to find work proves that this part of the movie is an accurate representation of the post-World War II era. It also supports what has been covered in History 104: veterans had trouble finding work after the …show more content…
The movie follows Al, Fred and Homer, all of whom are former soldiers each with a different challenge. Al has problems issuing a GI loan, Fred loses his job, and Homer struggles adjusting to life with an injury. These three challenges all represent the struggles that WWII veterans had when they returned home from the war, as well as what has been covered in History 104 (The Best Years of Our Lives). Works Cited
Gerber, David A. "Heroes and Misfits: The Troubled Social Reintegration of Disabled Mar. Veterans in "The Best Years of Our Lives"" American Quarterly 46.4 (1994): 545-74. Web. 20 2016. .
Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2016). World War II. Digital History. Retrieved March 20, 2016 from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=15&smtID=2
Polonsky, Abraham. ""The Best Years of Our Lives": A Review." Hollywood Quarterly 2.3 (1947): 257-60. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. .
The Best Years of Our Lives. Dir. William Wyler. Prod. Samuel Goldwyn. Perf. Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo. 1946.