Hillbilly Elegy Analysis

In Anthony’s story, he clears lays out his perception of being at one level of social class and then forced into lesser social class because of his parent’s divorce. It was a real-life style adjustment and change for Anthony (Thomas & Schwarzbaum, 2006).

In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance talks about his rise from the poor, working class Hillbillies of the Rust Belt to the more affluent middle class. In doing so, he talks about the work needed to move up the economic ladder (to a different social class), expressing that it is always possible but very difficult. Vance talks about the struggles he faced within his family and his community, as well as how he overcame them. Vance’s reason to write this book was because he accomplished something ordinary, which does not happen to most children that grow up like him.

The multidimensional expression “hillbilly” carries different cultural significances throughout the book Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. First, Vance utilizes the term “hillbilly” to refer to the working class white Americans of Scots-Irish descent who have no college degree (3). Second, Vance uses the term hillbilly to refer to a group of people from a specific geographic area, namely the area of the Appalachian Mountains. According to Vance, the area stretches from Alabama to Georgia in the South to Ohio to parts of New York in the north (4). Third, hillbilly indicates the way of life, behavior, or identity of the people of Greater Appalachia.

In the Rusty Belt of America there a minority group of people whose income level has surpassed the poverty line. Inside the state of Ohio lies the poorest white American which describes themselves as hillbillies as they reside in the eastern Kentucky. In his personal analysis of culture in crisis of hillbillies, J.D. Vance tries to explain, in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, what goes on in the lives of people as the economy goes south in a culture that is culturally deceptive, family deceptive, and in a community, whose doctrine of loyalty is heavily guarded. Like every poor Scot-Irish hillbilly in his community, Vance came from being poor, like the rest of his kind, to be a successful Law graduate from Yale Law school. As result of this transition and being the only child in his family to graduate from a highly respected intuition in the country, Vance thought out to analyze the ostensible reason of why many people are poor in his community.

Since the first page of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, perseverance is prevalent. No matter what comes J.D. Vance’s way he always works through it. There are many ways people respond to the adversity in life, and there are many ways people respond each distinct time. Perseverance has been key in my life, not just J.D. Vance’s; I would argue every person in this world as well. Whether it be in the military, like Vance, school, sports, or a job, there is no hiding from adverse situations. J.D. Vance talks about his adversity extensively in Hillbilly Elegy, and if success is wanted, perseverance is a major key in the process. Fighting through the challenging times in life is what will get the job done in the end.

Poverty and inequality cripple America in every state and region of this country. These social problems overlap between social class and different cultures. As we read Evicted by Matthew Desmond, and Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D Vance, these problems were brought to the forefront in their own unique way. Evicted focused on the lower class level of urban poverty in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The people that were highlighted in this book were struggling to make ends meet every month, and keep food on the table. Many of the families that we read about were evicted countless times, and struggled to stay out of local homeless shelters. Hillbilly Elegy focused more on the struggles of the working class, and how the people of

When Mamaw and Papaw were teenagers back in 1947, they got married and it was the beginning of a long and adventurous marriage. In the first seven chapters of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, Mamaw and Papaw have a very unique relationship. Mamaw and Papaw are somewhat abusive towards each other due to Papaw’s drinking problem. Not only Mamaw and Papaw’s relationship suffers because of their behavior, their family as well is very dysfunctional because of Mamaw and Papaw’s relationship.

The narrator, who does not come from extreme wealth, privilege, or class has trouble dealing with his lack of social prominence. The school has an elite group of boys, which the narrator is not a member of, who are understood to “get a leg up from their famous names or great wealth”(3-4). Being a senior, the narrator has spent the past three years assimilating to the social customs of his school and adapting the attitude of the elite boys. He has recognized many normalities that some of his peers such as Purcell and George Kellogg live by. The boys have a constant laidback and relaxed attitude that is fostered because of their innate understanding of their wealth. They wear clothes loosely and without care and do not give much thought to their future. Additionally, through their class and wealth the elite boys are grouped together and bonded by what seems, as the narrator describes : “tribal tattoos”. This high class attitude of some of the students is ever present as the narrators says, “Class was a fact….His way of turning cold at the mention of money, or at the spectacle of ambition too nakedly revealed”(15). The narrator realizes that public school attitude and being on scholarship, like he is, are repugnant at his school. Rather than announce his perceived shortcomings, in social capital, the narrator is very quiet and abstains from showing his true self to his school.

The Ozark culture shown in the book is a very low class, poor group of people that use meth as a reliable way of getting money. After some research, I learned that is not a true definition of how the people of Ozark lived. They are a very religious area that has kept its cultural identity mostly intact despite the fact that most everyone now has cable TV, and phones. Poverty is defined by the amount of money or expensive things people have, but in the Ozarks, even though they may not have many thing, not many people define themselves as poor nor do they partake of the meth making. Although the book was focused on one family that could have been very poor and had no money, Woodrell made the readers think the whole town was like that. There is

“We tend to overstate and to understate, to glorify the good and ignore the bad in ourselves.” (20) J.D. Vance introduces his readers to a world which many didn’t know existed, the world of white working class people, known as hillbillies, living in Rust Belt towns. Vance gives an inside look by telling stories of his life that are common circumstances in the hillbilly society. But as he says in the quote above, humans, no matter their race, background, or hometown, have a tendency to stretch the truth. Often we avoid putting ourselves or those we love in a bad light, we make our stories more grand so we can gather peoples interest, or we simply leave things out because its easier than reliving things that cause us so much heart ache.

In order to survive in an ever changing environment it is important to be open to the idea of modification despite fear. Though change can be scary, making modifications can be a good thing. The community of the Citadel was so set in their old ways of only accepting and breeding masculinity that Shannon Faulkner’s acceptance into the school resulted in complete pandemonium, “She would be what one Citadel defender called in his

Vance’s memoir also has a tinge of humor and sarcasm on the people he wrote about while Yoshino’s continues to be more emotionally moved. What seems quite common in the two memoirs is the notion of conformity, which in both cases negative and resulting in exceptionally horrifying circumstances. Yoshino talked about people moving away from civil rights to the conformity of being one and the same. While Vance showed how conformity to the theme of ‘Learned helplessness’ among those in the working class kept them at the bottom; suffering and actively contributing to their sufferings.

Once this girl started with the drugs, she could not stop. As soon as she tried the first drug, it lead to all of the other drugs and things that she did. Her first time doing the drug was an accident, and she did not know, but she made the wrong choice in continuing to do them. She said it gave her a feeling of belonging and love that she had never felt before. If her parents or her close friends had paid more attention to her, then some of the events that happened would not have happened. Her heavy drug use lead to her runaway from home to the streets, involvement in crime, her prostitution, and her visit to the insane asylum. She found a "best friend" (Chris) - one that would give her drugs - and they decided to runaway and leave their family and friends to start their own shop in San Francisco. They thought they could not handle their parents telling them what is right and what is wrong, but that is what they needed to hear. They were naive in thinking they could live their lives alone without any rules or any authority.

While watching the film, “Lalee’s Kin” I gather as much information needed to help assess their family concerns. This information included the Lalee’s family economic status, in which they were living in poverty coming from a background of sharecroppers and slavery. Some addition information I retain about Lalee’s family was their educational status, which Lalee only had a six grade education and the school the grandchildren attended was below level. Lalee’s family demographics included three grandchildren that lived with her and also many of her own children, which also had additional concerns. The environment they live in was impoverished stricken and rural, in Delta, Mississippi. After watching the film and understand

Keith’s mother grew up poor and without much appropriate parental guidance, she was abused growing up and witnessed domestic violence in her home. Keith’s mother was uneducated as education was not valued in her home and always held menial, low paying jobs. Once Keith was born, his mother was unable to provide the adequate basic necessities for herself and Keith. Feeling overwhelmed and burdened by her decision, Keith was pushed aside as his mother chose a path of substance abuse and a variety of unsavory men.