In the film Little Miss Sunshine directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, baby boomers, represented through Edwin Hoover, can be interpreted as either being selfish or he can be seen as rejecting a totalitarian society. Edwin Hoover is a grandfather who lives with a middle class American family because he was kicked out of his nursing home for doing drugs. These same traits however that demonstrate him as being irresponsible however, are what can show the generation of baby boomers as being leaders in a just revolution that disregards notions of rules emplaced upon us. In many ways, Edwin Hoover can represent baby boomers as being selfish. After getting evicted from his nursing home, Edwin Hoover goes to live with his son's family. In …show more content…
When Edwin’s daughter in law brings home chicken he gets angry that they constantly have chicken instead of something nice. This shows how he cant be happy for what life he has, he always reminisces on better times or complains about the life he currently has. He also complains about the household compared to nursing home that he got kicked out of. What Edwin can’t seem to understand is that it was his actions that put him in in the situation he is now. His inability to realize his own mistakes and ultimately confess his problems makes him irresponsible and selfish. Furthermore, he constantly states that it doesn’t matter that he does heroin or isn’t married. This can reflect on his generation, that were baby boomers. Baby boomers are often recognized as being addicted to drugs, having unprotected sex, and disregarding government rules. Edwin demonstrates these traits without thinking how it might affect the family. Edwin’s theory is that since he is old he should do whatever he wants to do to enjoy the rest of his life. But Edwin doesn’t realize that hurting himself will also hurt the family. When Edwin eventually and inevitably overdoses on heroin, Richard says, “God Damnit Dad.” The entire family is …show more content…
Edwin gets kicked out of the nursing home for doing heroin, but he was just doing what he wanted without regard for the constricting rules that we live by. Synecdoche is used when he stands up against society's rules in the nursing home. There we understand that Edwin is taking another step that was part of what he represents, baby boomers. Baby boomers are just like Edwin and they also believed in extending their own sense of reality beyond a contained lifestyle, and enjoying themselves by doing drugs and have lots of sex was their way of experiencing that. Edwin can be seen as taking a new approach to normal film conventions by being presented as a different and unexpected kind of person that even breaks our expectations, which are from our constant life believing one thing does this and nothing else. I believe the directors push this idea throughout the film in multiple scenes with the background idea that life is better to be short and happy than long and unhappy. We see the family try to contain those unorthodox ideas but as the film progresses we see the family come around to the grandfathers idea and even others as well. In the hospital they realize that Olive needs to get to the beauty pageant so they break the rules and steal Edwin’s body. When they arrive at the pageant and they are late the father literally gets on his knees and begs, and someone breaks the rules
In the article “The Greatest Generation: The Great Depression and the American South,” Jeffrey DeRoven analyzes the economic struggles of the American South during the Great Depression in order to figure out why some people refer to people from that time period as the “greatest generation.” Below, this paper overviews DeRoven’s thesis, purpose, stance, audience, usage of literary techniques as well as logos, pathos and ethos, logical fallacies, and ultimately concludes with an opinion suggesting that DeRoven’s analysis is mostly sound and useful, but limited in proving his thesis.
Our president during this time, Hoover urges everyone to remain optimistic and wanted strong faith from volunteers. But these volunteers were also in the same state as the people. He asked businessmen to maintain wages and employment, and asked
People of today’s society feel as if they are lacking something and entitled to do something new in their life. An era such as the 1950s is exemplifies golden age thinking. The United States was booming after the end of World War II due to
At the end of the story, the grandmother only pleads for her life and never for her son Bailey or his family. “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (O’Connor 192).The mother never showed no remorse of her son’s death even after the other two men came back with Bailey’s shirt and then took his wife and daughter. She never pleaded for the men to stop and spare their lives. The daughter June Starr selfish characters are observed when she believes her way of living is right by stating to Red Sammy’s wife “I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks! (O’Connor 189). For a very young girl she carried an arrogant attitude that was never fixed by her parents.
After the Hoover years, however, a man portrayed as a father figure became some of the nation’s citizens’ only hope, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The middle-class, sometimes seen as hit the hardest by the Depression, pleaded with the Roosevelt administration for any help, but remained very proud in doing so. Many begged to remain anonymous. Also, like many other classes, the members of the middle-class didn’t want charity or handouts; they just wanted employment, or possibly a loan (pp. 53-4). No one took pride in having to write these letters. Many had to swallow their pride just to get pen to paper. “It is very humiliating for me to have to write to you” one Depression victim wrote (pp. 62). Middle-class citizens, like the rural citizens, wanted nothing less than the blacks to take their employment (pp. 94). The rural citizens also turned to the Roosevelt administration as a beacon of hope. The cherished the values of independence and hard work, so they asked only for employment or a loan (pp. 69). Their ideal solution to this economic terror was employment, as a result. They weren’t satisfied with the outcome of the relief though. They believed the relief was just creating ‘loafers’ out of the unemployed who choose not to work (pp. 125). They felt that Roosevelt should “give work to the needy ones, and not to the ones that have everything” (pp. 138). The rural citizens felt slightly forgotten, but not as forgotten as some
The time in which the book was published, was a period of a baby boom in the United States. Approximately 4 million babies were born every year in the 1950s. This baby boom represented an era of growth and prosperity within the American people. “After World War II ended, many Americans were eager to have children because they were confident that the future held nothing but peace and
In the 1920s, Americans were trying to figure out what was everyone’s role in society. During this time women started to take on bigger jobs then housekeeping and African Americans are finally standing up for their race. Once 1929 hit, Herbert Hoover, America’s newest president, was viewed as an ‘American Superhero’ at that time because of everything he promised society; however, America gets hit by the Great Depression leaving society in a hole. While banking systems were unstable and overproduction were leaving people bankrupt, Herbert Hoover was blaming Europe and was failing to keep society financially stable. As his presidency went on, filmmakers made film cycles and gangster pictures like Little Caesar that portrayed America’s corrupt society during the Great Depression. By the end of his campaign, Hoover was known as the worst American ever which led to the rising of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Roosevelt saw the struggling society as an opportunity to help his campaign in which he created the New Deal. America was given an opportunity that allowed them to look forward to the future. During Herbert Hoover’s presidency, America did not support the federal government, but after Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for president and promised a New Deal, they began to look more favorably on the government.
The 1950s is considered to be the model decade of America. Families were close, children respected their elders, workers worked hard to provide for their families who grew up in nice neighborhoods, and the economy was booming. The forced conformity, neglect of the poor, and segregation are often overlooked when talking about the decade as they were during the time period. The 1950s were a prodigious time period for family life but not for the individual or societal ethics.
Hoover was beginning to demonstrate conservative beliefs even before the onset of the Great Depression. Document A shows Hoover’s wish to avoid being thought of as a complete supporter of laissez-faire ideas. He appeared irresolute when it came to preserving the capitalistic society of the 1920s. During this time, society was managed by corrupt political bosses, such as Tweed. The American economy had flourished under the private interest policies of Harding and Coolidge, which forced Hoover to promise the American people that he would not abandon the laissez-faire economics, which had been so successful during past presidencies. Hoover was sure, however, that working class Americans would not be opposed to restricting unfair business practices. Documents B and C depict Hoover’s lack of support for private interest or public purpose policies. In these documents, Hoover stresses the significance of individual interests
In 1933 history was changed for the better. Nineteen thirty three was an era where people were left devastated by the lost of many essentials that people today would take for granted. Eighty four years ago in Washington D.C the 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, gave his first inauguration speech before later serving four additional years to his country. Many of people were awaiting to hear his words spoken loud and clear stating that change was imminent with the assistance of hard work and dedication. The president’s aspiration was clearly presented as he was there to help improve their situation with plans to make things better. The purpose of president Hoover’s speech was to appeal to many through the use of pathos and ethos accompanied by his use of well known rhetoric devices such as amplification.
Born on Aug. 10, 1874, the son of a blacksmith in the Iowa village of
The three excerpts, separately written by Janet Hutchison, Gail Radford, and Kenneth Jackson, altogether describe the progression of the United States housing system, and the contexts surrounding it, through the first half of the 20th century. Hutchison argues that the efforts of Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States as well as a former Secretary of Commerce, in reforming the housing policy are largely overlooked, partly because his name evokes the image of “Hoovervilles”; however, under his leadership, the suburban ideal, a whimsical notion that permeated nationwide during the interwar period, became an integral aspect of the American identity, and this in turn helped the subsequent leaderships cement federal programs that
The movie basically did a metaphorical domino affect, as you see the family slowly falling down. Like I mentioned earlier when a family gains or losses a family member it is now considered a whole new group. Sadly for the Jarrett family they lost a son and were now dealing with adjustments of living, in a sense, as a new family. Calvin, the father, does a very good job staying positive but still recognizing that something horrible happened to their family and things still need to be dealt with. Beth seems to only worry about the material things as a form of a distraction. You see her focusing on setting the silver just perfectly; worrying about what clothes her husband is going to wear, and she worries more about making sure that what is happening inside the family stays between the family. Conrad is emotionally going through a lot but tries his best to keep it inside.
The legacy that President Hoover passed to his successor was disastrous. The country experienced an unprecedented economic depression. However, in his speech during the presidential campaign in 1936, he expressed a deep concern that the New Deal is directed against the interests of ?poor Americans?[footnoteRef:2]. He also blamed the Roosevelt policy in violation of ?fundamental American ideals and liberties?[footnoteRef:3]. While Roosevelt was rebuilding America, Hoover attacked
John Lennon of the famous rock band, The Beatles, once said, “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace”. This quote essentially defines the 1960s and the counterculture movement in America. After WWII people had much more free time than they did during the war, and many people decided that they wanted to settle down and start a family. This caused a large boom in child birth. The children born during this boom are known as “baby-boomers”. “Due to the baby boom between 1945 and 1955, over half the population was under 30 years old” (The American Experience 1). During this time in American history, the children of the “baby boomer” generation started rebelling against the war in Vietnam and the