Hillbilly Elegy Analysis

Most criminological research focuses on communities, where some assume and think that small towns are quite safe and crime-free environments. Meanwhile, using methamphetamine has become surrounded in rural parts of the country. In her book Methamphetamine: A Love Story, Rashi K. Shukla focused and enlightened on the understudied of poverty and drug abuse. Through her journey, she proves emotionally how meth has become the spotlight to the lives of some residents. In the process of uncovering how and why she participated in their drug using careers, Shukla tells how the lifestyle surrounding meth use becomes as addicting as the drug itself and highlights the unsustainability of meth addiction and the struggles

The book being reviewed in this papers is Code of the Suburb: Inside the World of Young Middle-Class Drug Dealers by Scott Jacques and Richard Wright. This book is written on the context of 30 different individuals from a small location referenced as “Peachville” in Atlanta Georgia (Jacques & Wright 1). Each of these known individuals during their time in high school were selling drugs. Marijuana was the particular substance to be sold, but few dove into other illicit drugs including ecstasy, cocaine etc. (3). Generally speaking, the first questions that appears is what pushed these students to dive into the prospects of peddling and using drugs? Better yet, why continue to use them? The 7 chapters included in this book contain various stories of popularity and financial gains and losses along with the destruction of relationships.

The Appalachian region is one of the most valuable areas of the United States. It is rich in many natural aspects and is home to some of the hardest working citizens in this country. Unfortunately, Appalachia is also home to a variety of harsh social problems including severe drug abuse and a gripping poverty facing a large portion of Appalachian citizens. The two of these issues seem to go hand in hand in many cases, so the solution of one could also lead to the solution of the other. Appalachians have always had a history of handling their own problems, these drastic social problems are no different.

The book Hillbilly Elegy, A Memoir of A Family And Culture In Crisis written by J.D Vance is not like anything I have ever seen or read about. Vance begins his book by introducing the most important people around him, his family. Mamaw, Papaw and his sister Lindsey were his biggest support system and in many cases, his safe haven. In Middletown, Ohio where Vance spent the majority of his childhood was described as a town that didn’t have much money nor opportunity. What I learned from Vance was that being a “hillbilly” wasn’t an attitude or simply one’s lifestyle they chose, it's a culture. What they saw, learned, heard and adapted to was generational and it was surrounded all around them. One positive aspect of the hillbilly culture was

The content of this paper is an interview with Laura Crain from the McHenry County Substance Abuse Coalition. In the paper I touch on the history of the Coalition and how its evolved throughout the years. The coalition has a lot of involvement with the community in various counties. The work on a larger scheme rather than on a one to one basis. This interview covered the mission and goals set for the Coalition. Laura discussed with me the influences internal as well as external that affect the Coalition. Another thing we discussed was the struggles that come along with running an organization like this. I also touched on my personal experience and my thoughts regarding my internship.

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 Vance’s society (the white working class in the Rust Belt), there was not much hope for economic success. In the book, Vance mentions the Pew Economic Mobility Project, which studies the financial well-being of American families and how their characteristics (race, gender, class, etc…) relate to both short-term financial stability and longer-term economic mobility. According to the project, only 44% of white working-class Americans believe that their children will fare better economically than them. This means that there was not much hope for the society’s children to be financially stable.

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.

Memoirs, and writing in general, reveal a truth about the author. Oftentimes, said truth is revealed intentionally. Universal truths such as struggle, endurance, and agony help authors influence their audiences. These truths cause the readers to become cognizant of and appreciate the authors. It is a writer’s duty to write from the heart—to write about the good and bad sides of a story. Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood fails to use universal truths and instead presents a very superficial presentation of its author’s life. J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis display the unconventional upbringing of Vance in order to give the audience a better understanding of the writer. Pure honesty

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

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.

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.

I see it all the time, on the news, in the newspapers and on the streets of Providence. Talk of the heroin epidemic always seems to be in my face. Often, I see the people plagued by this epidemic. I see them pacing and puffing on cigarettes waiting outside of the clinic just a couple minutes down the street from me. I see them panhandling at intersections with their cardboard signs. I sometimes see discarded needles in the streets downtown. Sometimes I catch myself trying to pretend that I do not see these things or these people. It’s not something people want to think about, it is very unpleasant. These people almost seem to be forgotten by society. They are the heroin addicts of New England.

The book Hillbilly Elegy is a story about a man that achieved things he never thought possible. J.D. Vance grew up in an extremely small town in Ohio which did not present much opportunity to him. Most of his family members had worked in places like steel mills in the past where physical labor was done in return for low wages. Throughout his childhood, J.D.’s mom battled a drug addiction and was emotionally unstable. Eventually J.D. moved in with his grandma, Mamaw, who saw the potential J.D. had to succeed. She encouraged him to do better with his life in many ways, one being giving him his first calculator. This motivated him to learn math and was the first step in achieving his goals. J.D. soon went on to graduate high school and

Throughout this class, we have discussed the war on drugs and statics involving drug crimes, but these first few chapters of No Way Out really altered my view about drug dealers and drug related offenses. I never dreamed that these communities were highly developed social organizations that allow people to survive under such dangerous circumstances. I was also astounded by the fact that many of these families choose to stay in these dangerous communities, because they feel safest here. These neighborhoods have an internal structure that keeps people safe amid the large numbers of drug deals and violent acts.