Bruce Springsteins I Aint Got No Home (In This World Anymore) and the Great Depression

I hope you had a nice, relaxing summer. This summer, I read The Boys in the Boat, and i enjoyed the author’s details about The Great Depression. As I was reading, I thought about our US History class and how Daniel James Brown’s description of Hoovervilles (hoovervilles are the main ideas in the first few chapters) related to our classes discussions about the great depression.

The life of a migrant worker in the 1930s were very depressing one. The Great Depression cause many workers to move from place to place for jobs. Most of these migrant workers are alone with no friends or family and unable to trust people. Some Just like George and Lennie from the book Of Mice Of Men travel together. Of Mice and Men is a story about two men the The Great Depression

The stock market crash of 1929 sent the nation spiraling into a state of economic paralysis that became known as the Great Depression. As industries shrank and businesses collapsed or cut back, up to 25% of Americans were left unemployed. At the same time, the financial crisis destroyed the life savings of countless Americans (Modern American Poetry). Food, housing and other consumable goods were in short supply for most people (Zinn 282). This widespread state of poverty had serious social repercussions for the country.

“Traditionally, most blacks lived” in the South, but in the twenties, lot of African Americans “moved to the cities in the North.”(Blacks Set Out). They were in search for a better life and more opportunity. A lot of them got good jobs as factory workers or even business men. In fact, “On the eve of World War II, Ford employed more than 10,000 black workers,” which was “a far larger number and a far greater representation than at any other firm in the automobile industry”, since many other companies jus gave them the “menial positions”. (Employment segregation ). Reports have proved that “African American small businessmen enjoyed a measure of success in the 1920s economy” (Consumerism). A lot of African Americans became very wealthy, including Bessie Smith. When this song had come out, it was just a few weeks before the Great Depression hit.The Great Depression hit after the the stock market fell dramatically on October 1929, “which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors” and caused unemployment to skyrocket because of “failing companies” firing workers that they could not afford to keep ( The Great Depression). Once that hit, it made the song even more relatable because everyone had

In 1929, tears swept the nation and gloom bestowed itself upon a once happy place. The Great Depression had started. People lost everything ,so many became migrant workers. Of Mice and Men, a classic novel written by John Steinbeck, emphasizes many sad themes, but gives us a good insight on what life was like in the 1940’s for many people. Although there are other themes, rootlessness, loneliness, and poverty are extremely prominent throughout the novel in many characters.

“On the morning of October 29, 1929, panicked voices shouted over one another. Here and there, men leaned against the walls, hands over their faces as if trying to shut out the scene. In the street outside, a crowd had gathered, trying to learn the news. A man staggered out the door, clutching his hat in both hands. He looked as though he might weep. “It’s gone,“ he whispered, so quietly only the few closest to him heard. “It’s all gone.”# The term ‘Great Depression’ according to Kristin Brennan evokes black-and-white images of thin men in threadbare suits and worn-out shoes selling five-cent apples on city streets, of “grim-faced women lined up three deep to collect bread and milk at relief stations.”# The Great Depression of the 1930s

The Great Depression affected many Americans throughout the 1930s. Many people had no source of income and had no other choice but to travel and find new jobs. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George Milton and Lennie Small wander through California in search of a new job that would help them make enough money to live their American dream on “the fatta the lan’”(Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie’s hard work and determination is not enough for them to live their dream. Lennie has a mental disability that slows the two friends down from living their dream; they have to run from job to job because of Lennie’s unintentional actions.

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

The document begins with a recount of how life was during the Great Depression by Morey Skaret. By the time he began high school, the whole town was well into the Great Depression. (America Firsthand 187) He graduated with his diploma and later became a bum to help relieve the load on the home place. (America Firsthand 187) Morey and his good friend, Charlie Shellfisher, left Seattle in the spring and returned before the winter. Charlie and Morey usually rode freight trains and when a gondola car was empty of grain or coal, they would get shelter from the wind inside. If they couldn’t get inside a freight car, they would then catch a passenger train and “ride the blinds”. (America Firsthand 187) On one occasion they had been scrambling out from under a car to face a railway ss23security officer in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He promptly had asked them how much money they had on them and when they answered that they did not have any he took them under arrest. They later had figured out that when someone in town needed workers, the railway security officers would provide the. They spent four days carrying books from one side of the street to the other. They spent three nights in jail, where their meals would arrive in a bucket. (America Firsthand 188) They then skipped to the next town over where Charlie became sick. Morey had left him inside a box filled with newspaper to try and keep him warm while he went to look for work. He ended up cleaning the trashcans of a baker who in return

The Great Depression was one of the worst economic recessions experienced in the industrialized Western world. On October of 1929, the stock market crashed, causing employment rates to reach all-time low and left millions of Americans in poverty. This tragic event demonstrates a poorly-run government and economy, which we attempt to avoid today. Yet, Richard Wormser’s book, Growing Up in the Great Depression, shows us the conditions that led to the Great Depression present in our society today.

People struggled during The Great Depression finding jobs, keeping their families clothed, fed, warm and sheltered, and even taking care of themselves. In the novel No Promises In the Wind, Josh and Joey were having a hard time trying to get money and taking care of themselves while they are

The Great Depression broke down security and belief in American society during the early 20th century and brought out hidden prejudices. The once optimistic mood during the Roaring 20’s turned to pain. The dire economic situation caused Americans to return to past social stigmas where certain groups of people were seen as inferior; as a result, the American Dream, where everyone could seek their ideal of success, was reduced to merely a dream. John Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Like in his later work, The Grapes of Wrath, he was inspired by his environment to expose the lives of people during the Great Depression using Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Steinbeck demonstrates in Of Mice and Men through the characters that the American Dream was naturally discriminatory towards certain groups of people because of common perceptions held during that period.

The Great Depression broke people and their relationships apart. It strapped Americans of their money, way of life, and societal pattern. In Russell Baker’s memoir, Growing up, he talks about this and the experience his mother, Lucy Elizabeth, endured when giving up her youngest daughter Audrey. After the death of his father, George Baker, his mother was left with only “a few dollars of insurance money, a worthless Model T, several chairs, a table to eat from… no way to earn a living, and no prospects for the future” (Baker 84). She couldn’t care for her entire

During this period, Pete Seeger began writing books. His greatest publications include The Bells of Rhymney and Other Songs and Stories and American Favorite Ballads, Tunes and Folksongs as Sung by Pete Seeger. In the book “Carry it on! A History in Song and Picture of America’s Working Men and Women, Seeger and Reiser tell a story with songs describing every little aspect to the struggle of workers, specifically what they did in order to make things right. “Farm workers have been treated like livestock, herded into overcrowded dormitories or housed in shacks. In the prosperous 1960’s, the average farm worker made less than $2000 a year” . This example is followed by a song called “Deportee” which is written from the perspective of a farmer. Another book “The Incompleat Folksinger”, explores the many aspects of folklore music and what impacts it has had on Pete. He describes his songs to “tell of

“Paint It Black” is a song written by the English rock band, The Rolling Stones. It is a song representing bleakness and depression through colour-based metaphors. It describes the severe grief of someone caused by a sudden or unexpected loss of a loved one. The individual sees their entire world “painted black” and even wants the sun “blotted out.” It is often claimed that Mick Jagger, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, was inspired to write this song after reading James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses.