Part I: Research
Topic: Daily life during the Great Depression
Summary: During the Great Depression, many families in the West were forced to move from town to town in search of jobs. Older generations feared that God had left them as some great punishment, while the younger and more hopeful believed that there would be some sort of reckoning and that change was only to be expected. California was viewed by the Western poor as a paradise to aspire to.
Evaluation: The life of my great grandmother, who wrote the informational text, is similar to the life of the Joads in many ways. She moved many times as her husband looked for work, spoke of how idyllic California seemed, and felt a shame for her poverty many times deeper than the Joad family ever did.
Citation:
Eggert, Faye. Diary. 1936. MS.
Part II: Philosophical Questioning
Did the Great Depression or its aftermath personally affect you in any way? How?
Do you think that poverty is something to be ashamed of? If not, how should it be dealt with?
In times of hardship, do people turn towards God or away? How would you react religiously in a time of crisis?
Part III: Reflection
The most memorable moment of my discussion with my family was learning about the affects that the Great Depression had on their families. I learned that when my mom's dad was young, his family was so poor that when he went hunting for food to feed them he could only use one bullet because they were so expensive. He grew up in Casper, just like my great grandmother, and when he was the same age as I am now he had to work in an ice factory to make a living. It is amazing to me to think about how far he and my mother have come in what is a relatively short amount of time. I have always heard about my grandpa's childhood in numerous family gatherings, but I never stopped to think about how life actually would have been like for him. The most surprising thing about the discussion was my dad's answer to my third question. He said that he thought in times of hardship, people turned towards God-- something which directly contradicted both the empirical examples I had been thinking of and the excerpt from my great grandmother's diary. However, he had been thinking about the question from a different angle: when a loved one in a person's family dies, they often grow closer to the church rather than turn away from it. I was surprised at first when he said that, but after he explained it I understood why he had thought the way he had, and it made me change the way that I thought about the question as well. I think that one thing that made the third question harder is that no one in my family is deeply religious, so our answers are more speculation than actual fact. I think that I could improve my questions by making them more answerable using personal experience. The best discussions I have with my parents are either when they are telling me about the past or when I'm explaining some sort of kritical theory from debate to them. I think that it would encourage more meaningful discussions if I integrated both of these things into my questions more fluidly.
Topic: Daily life during the Great Depression
Summary: During the Great Depression, many families in the West were forced to move from town to town in search of jobs. Older generations feared that God had left them as some great punishment, while the younger and more hopeful believed that there would be some sort of reckoning and that change was only to be expected. California was viewed by the Western poor as a paradise to aspire to.
Evaluation: The life of my great grandmother, who wrote the informational text, is similar to the life of the Joads in many ways. She moved many times as her husband looked for work, spoke of how idyllic California seemed, and felt a shame for her poverty many times deeper than the Joad family ever did.
Citation:
Eggert, Faye. Diary. 1936. MS.
Part II: Philosophical Questioning
Did the Great Depression or its aftermath personally affect you in any way? How?
Do you think that poverty is something to be ashamed of? If not, how should it be dealt with?
In times of hardship, do people turn towards God or away? How would you react religiously in a time of crisis?
Part III: Reflection
The most memorable moment of my discussion with my family was learning about the affects that the Great Depression had on their families. I learned that when my mom's dad was young, his family was so poor that when he went hunting for food to feed them he could only use one bullet because they were so expensive. He grew up in Casper, just like my great grandmother, and when he was the same age as I am now he had to work in an ice factory to make a living. It is amazing to me to think about how far he and my mother have come in what is a relatively short amount of time. I have always heard about my grandpa's childhood in numerous family gatherings, but I never stopped to think about how life actually would have been like for him. The most surprising thing about the discussion was my dad's answer to my third question. He said that he thought in times of hardship, people turned towards God-- something which directly contradicted both the empirical examples I had been thinking of and the excerpt from my great grandmother's diary. However, he had been thinking about the question from a different angle: when a loved one in a person's family dies, they often grow closer to the church rather than turn away from it. I was surprised at first when he said that, but after he explained it I understood why he had thought the way he had, and it made me change the way that I thought about the question as well. I think that one thing that made the third question harder is that no one in my family is deeply religious, so our answers are more speculation than actual fact. I think that I could improve my questions by making them more answerable using personal experience. The best discussions I have with my parents are either when they are telling me about the past or when I'm explaining some sort of kritical theory from debate to them. I think that it would encourage more meaningful discussions if I integrated both of these things into my questions more fluidly.
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