Literary Analysis Of Hillbilly Elegy By J. D. Vance

Religion plays an important role in the narrative “The Sovereignty and Goodness of God” by Mary Rowlandson. The story is about a woman during the 1600’s. She is captured by Native Americans and separated from her family. The natives were upset that the immigrants were taking over their lands, so they burned downed their houses and kept the people captive. Mary uses a bible and her faith in God to help her get through the pain and separation.

While I read Hillbilly Elegy, I drew numerous parallels with the struggles and triumphs faced by the characters in the memoir and that of my mother’s life. My mom continues to be the strongest person, both physically and mentally, I have ever known. She spends her weeks managing a nonprofit veterinary clinic and her weekends climbing mountains. And while her current endeavors are nothing short of amazing, it 's less than shocking compared to the obstacles she has already overcome.

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.

Throughout centuries, humans have expressed different perspectives toward a single idea. The subject of religion invites challenging discussions from skeptical minds because religion is diversely interpreted based on personal faith. The authoress sets her novel in a fictional town, Cold Sassy, where religion plays a predominant role in people’s lives. Through Will Tweedy’s narration she explores the religious opinions of the town’s most prominent citizen Rucker Blakeslee, Will’s grandpa. Although Blakeslee spent his whole life in a religiously conservative town, he has a radical approach toward religious concepts such as predestination, suicide, funerals, faith, and God’s will, thus forcing him to challenge the traditional views of

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.

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.

Religion is one of the main themes in her works and also in "Greenleaf." In this short story, the Southern writer exposes two of her major preoccupations about religion:

Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, is a novel about Janie Crawford, a “light” african american woman living in the 1930’s. Janie’s life is chronicled as she tells her friend her story: a pear tree, a dead mule, three marriages, and a hurricane later the reader and the listener, Phoeby, feels they had “‘done growed ten feet higher from jus’ listenin’’” (192) to her story. However, overall Hurston wants the reader to understand that they have to find out about living for themselves by following their own expectations and not the expectations of others for them. The use of the stylistic elements: symbolism, motif, and imagery enhances the message of this novel about finding one’s self amidst a world where everyone

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

This idea that God is always looking out for his children is a theme that is shown several times throughout the book. The first is in William Bradford’s Of Plimoth Plantation where he tells that God wanted them to have this land and encourages everyone to pray “Let them therfore praise the Lord, because he is good, & his mercies endure for ever” (42). God is seen here and goes on in the article to be seen as the holy figure who has encouraged these people to move across the ocean to a new world because that is what would be best for them. Never do they doubt God and His plan because it will see them through to the end. Another way God is depicted as the ever loving father is when Albert J. Beveridge is looking back at the history of America in The March of the Flag and says “It is a glorious history our God has bestowed upon His chosen people; a history heroic with faith in our mission and our future;” (155).

Religion can either be a constructive or destructive force in someone’s life. When times of trouble and tribulation occur, faith can either flourish or falter. Religion can be something people turn to or turn from, depending on their life circumstances. In A Death in the Family written by James Agee, Jay, a father of two children, Catherine and Rufus, and a husband of Mary, comes to a sudden death. The author describes how the family deals with this immediate tragedy, showing the same theme of religion and the role it plays in their lives.

In James Baldwin’s 1952 novel “Go Tell It On The Mountain” the characters in the novel each embark on a spiritual journey. Baldwin has dedicated a chapter to each member of the Grimes family, detailing their trails and tribulations, hopes and aspirations, as each one’s quest to get closer to God becomes a battle. I have chosen the character John because I admire the fierce struggle he endured to find his spirituality. I will examine how he’s embarked on his quest and prove that he has done it with integrity and dignity.

The first time I read the novel “The Shack,” I immediately empathized with the main character. The story is about a little girl who was abducted from a camping site and found murdered. Its main story line follows the emotional roller coaster of her father, Mack. Not to give the entire story away, I will not discuss exactly what Mack experienced. However, losing his daughter filled him with so much pain and anger. Mack could not understand how this could happen, why this would happen to his daughter. Ultimately he struggles with God, wanting to know why God would let his daughter be taken away in such a brutal murder. I have faced struggles and sadness in my life that made me cry out to God asking,

Today in the American society, minority groups’ voices are beginning to be heard. These groups desire to overcome the oppression and numerous stereotypes and to be recognized truthfully and respectfully. However, our society also misses one other voice- the working-class white conservatives.