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Analysis Of Hillbilly Elegy

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Hillbilly Elegy Final Discussion The final reading of Hillbilly Elegy starts with J.D applying to law school. This was J.D’s goal, and I was so happy that he was about to achieve this. I found it interesting that J.D did not apply to Stanford Law School because to be admitted, you need a letter of recommendation from the dean from your undergraduate school. Vance did not apply because he didn’t know the dean from Ohio State. I think this says a great deal about how Vance views outsiders. I feel that J.D is hesitant to trust outsiders in every part of his life, and I think this feeling started with his upbringing. I was also happy to read that his financial aid allowed him to attend Yale. I was initially shocked to read that the most…show more content…
Growing up, I was always taught that the more connections you make the better off you are. For Vance, he made some of the most important connections he could ever dream of at Yale. Another thing that displayed how different Vance was from the other students at Yale was the test for The Yale Law Journal. Almost all of the students at Yale knew what this test was for, and how to prepare for it, and Vance was completely in the dark about it. The only way he knew if he should even take the test was because he finally worked up the courage to ask one of his professors about it. This story, like the restaurant tale, is another instance of the cultural differences between Vance and most of the other students at Yale. When Vance was trying to get a clerkship to be a Supreme Court litigator, his professor warned him that this might not be the career for him. When I read this, I couldn't help but think what would have happened to J.D if he had pursued this job, and how different his life would have been. When I read that J.D avoids conflict with Usha, I was not surprised by this. I think Vance saw all the abuse and fighting his mother and grandparents went through, and did everything in his power to avoid this type of relationship with his wife. I think this is a fairly normal response for him. I personally think that J.D wanted to do everything he could to not be abusive to the people he loves. I also think that because he witnessed abuse when he was young, this makes it
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