Maddie Holm
Dixon-Willden
AP English Literature 12
8 December 2014
Utopia 's Price Tag Many people wonder what it would be like to live in a perfect society; one in which everyone is equal, happy, and virtually living easier lives on a day to day basis. A society is defined as the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. The perfect society would hold a more ordered community, obviously. However, perhaps this utopian dream could carry a society that hides malicious motives in order to keep up appearances. Aldous Huxley illustrates this idea in his timeless work of science-fiction, Brave New World. Huxley illuminates a malicious government that hides its true motives from an unsuspecting society by using
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The Great Depression had a substantial effect on the economic side of the nation, but possibly, an even more substantial effect on the lives of those who lived through the Depression. The Depression affected the lives of everyone, young and old, throughout the industrialized nation, such as the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. The majority of adolescents living during the Great Depression were uneducated and malnourished. School establishments were forced to close due to the lack of funds and employees (Meissner 1). Food scarcity was not uncommon and a sufficient amount of children and adults were suffering from starvation, malnourishment, and disease. Living during the Depression seemed tragic and hopeless to most, however, had a huge impact on the way people saw and continue to see their lives and marked an important point in history. Brave New World, when put into context with the Great Depression, is a complete antithesis of that particular lifestyle. Perhaps the significantly different lives that characters, such as Lenina, Fanny, and Henry, were seen as the ideal “dream life” to many that lived during a time of ultimate pillage. Quotes from a study about the children of the Great Depression were collected, by an author whose name is not credited, and convey interesting ideas and morals that developed solely because of the devastating time period. One individual (quotations are not given credit)
Many consider the Great Depression a tragedy but few actually know the ways in which it actually affected the people who lived through it. One way it affected the people of the time is the hopelessness it brought. During the early 1920's many men returned from the "Great War" jaded and angry. The same effect was seen in most people during the depression. It was this hopelessness that spawned modernist literature and thought. Another way the depression affected the everyday man was the loss of homes. Many homes were foreclosed during the depression and this left many homeless. In fact the "Okies" were people left homeless after farm foreclosures. The last way the depression affected people was the broken homes it caused. The number of father's leaving their families rose dramatically during
The Great Depression was a very influential era in American history, affecting many future generations. One of the most prevalent impacts it had on society was the extreme poverty that swept across the nation, affecting both people in cities and in the country. The main cause for this poverty was the mass loss of jobs among the middle class. Millions lost their jobs and consequently their homes. Families lived out of tents and cars in shanty towns or Hoovervilles. In these camps, many people didn’t have their basic human needs met, children and adults alike starved. They lived in clothes that were caked in dirt and tattered, too small for growing children and too cold for the frail elderly. Government relief programs attempted to help but offered little support to the now impoverished families of the millions that lost everything.
“Growing up in a time when all you worry about is if your family will be able to make it through to the next day is definitely a very scary and difficult time to live in” (Vonder Haar). My great-grandpa had this to say to my grandpa about growing up during the great depression. For many people in America from the 1930s to 1940s, life was a constant struggle. The people living in the Midwest, especially St. Louis, knew much too well how difficult it was to live through the great depression. When great-great grandpa first came to St. Louis from Germany he purchased a farm. From that point on, my family struggled to maintain the farm that would still exist today. Many people were affected by the great depression. Throughout the time period before
The Great Depression affected Americans no matter their educational stance or social class. For example, a college educated woman named Vera had extreme problems with acquiring a job. Due to her inexperience, no one would hire her. The didn’t care if she had a college
The Depression changed social structure in America forever. “The real story of the 1930’s is how individual families endured and survived, whether battling the despair of hunger and unemployment in the city of the fear of unending drought and forced migration in the dust bowl of the Great plains.” (Press, Petra pg 6)
In The Greatest Generation Grows up: American Childhood in the 1930’s, Kirste Lindenmeyer argues that the children of the Great Depression were the targets of and influenced the social and political change during the depression. Lindenmeyer does this by using many first-hand accounts to support her claim. Lindenmeyer then uses the lack of work as a chapter to also support her argument. Another point that Lindenmeyer successfully uses is the change in educational policies and regulations to reinforce her claim on the political side of it. There is a point that can hurt some of Lindenmeyer’s sources is that some of her primary sources were taken note of many years after the Great Depression.
The Great Depression transformed American society and the way people thought about themselves and their relationship to the country. During this horrendous time period, many people lost many important pieces in their lives like money and jobs. Millions of families lost their savings as many banks collapsed in the early 1930s. They were unable to make rent payments or mortgage and many were removed from their apartments. The Great Depression challenged American families in vital ways, placing great economic demands upon families and their members.
“At one point in the Depression, the cupboard was literally bearing of money.” What effect did the Great Depression have on the people who lived through it? The jobs they had, how they had to use their money, and the help they had to get.
The Great Depression had a huge impact on society and many economic causes to go along with it. But, what mattered the most was how they got through it. Upton Sinclair once stated, “The remedy [the Great Depression] is to give the workers access to the means of production, and let them produce for themselves, not for others… the American Way.”
The Great Depression significantly affected Americans lives, and even everyday activities. The unemployment rate reached an all time high for this time period. Instead of waking up to go to work, Americans were forced to search for jobs all day long because workplaces could not afford to to keep people employed.
One might say that the Great Depression was a time of despair and feeling vulnerable from those who lived through it. However, writings have shown that some Americans during this era did not give up and had an optimistic view as opposed to a pessimistic view. In “Anacostia Flats” by John Dos Passos, it shows that the ex- service men during the Great Depression had a sense of determination for getting their bonus. The film 42nd Street demonstrated the tenacious spirit of Americans who worked on a play during The Great Depression. Meridel Le Seur’s “Women in the Breadlines” depicted the reality of struggling without employment but having the will to keep trying. During these times, society had not surrendered as several of them stood up for
America (U.S) has economically hit its highs and lows over its 2 ½ centuries of its existence, but none have been more surprising than the Great Depression period from 1929-1933. During first major low in society the stock market crashed due to citizen’s overuse of credit. This wasn’t the only problem there was also a great drought in America’s agricultural plains. Many farmers lost their crops and most of their land, creating a small scale famine in the U.S. People were laid off and people couldn’t provide for their family. One citizen during this time still had a vivid memory of these times,”In New York neighborhoods adults stood in so called 'bread lines,' children begged in the streets.”
The Great Depression was a time of tragedy and despair. There are several factors, which have contributed to the health of the nation during the Great Depression. While there were setbacks, there were also improvements during this time. Disabling diseases were more common in low-income families. However, cures for diseases were also found. Studies have found that the life expectancy increased during and after the great depression.
American life prior to World War II may have not been the best from 1931-1939. Already in the Great Depression that started in 1929 people were left very discouraged and hopeless. In 1932 the economy was the worst it had ever been, it had hit rock bottom (p. 850). Many had lost their jobs and over 11 million Americans could not find work (p. 850). America was at its worst and people were hungry, suicide rates had risen and people were having less children than ever before. People’s reaction to the
The 1920s seemed to promise a future of a new and wonderful way of life for America and its citizens . Modern science, evolving cultural norms, industrialization, and even jazz music heralded exciting opportunities and a future that only pointed up toward a better life. However, cracks in the facade started to show, and beginning with the stock market crash of 1929 the wealth of the country, and with it the hopes and expectations of its people, began to slip away. The Great Depression left a quarter of the population unemployed and much of the rest destitute and uncertain of what the future held. Wealth vanished, people took their money out of banks, and plans were put on hold. The most significant way in which the Great Depression affected Americans’ everyday lives was through poverty because it tore relationships apart and damaged the spirit of society while unexpectedly bringing families together in unity.