Taylor's story was really interesting and captivating to read. It was an accurate depiction of life on the road. She was also spot-on in describing the state of the land in the dustbowl, from the dry land to the description of the dust storm. I liked the dynamic between the two characters. She was able to show two totally different versions of the teen hobo during the great depression. She not only had all of her historical facts straight, but she also conveyed the emotions of the teen hobos in a relatable way. I felt Willie's despair deeply. I also felt Roy's excitement. It was a great story, good job Taylor!
I really liked Sam's story because it captured the utter hopelessness and despair that many of the homeless teenagers felt while living on the road. The main character's situation was also an accurate depiction of what these young adults may have faced during the Great Depression because she was forced to leave her home because he family could not afford to take care of her anyone. Unfortunately, this was the reality for a lot of teenagers during this time period. Furthermore, Sam effectively captured the feelings of the adults too when he described the dark circles under their eyes beaten in by depression and hopelessness. Through his story, I think that Sam was able to really capture the many emotions felt by not only the teenagers that were forced out of their homes, but also the adults who were out of work and out of money. Great job!
Andrew's story was also a really good representation of life for teenagers during the Great Depression. I liked how he used a very distinct vernacular for his main character, which reflected where many of the homeless teenagers had come from. I also liked how he described the hobo camps, which was one of the many sights that these young people who face out on the road. Lastly, I liked how Andrew included the part in the story where another man who was riding the train helped the main character make it onto the train. This was a common sight on many railroads, as these young teenagers often took to traveling in groups in order to help each other survive. Overall, I think that Andrew's story was a great representation of what homeless teenagers experienced during the Great Depression. Nice work!
Emma did a good job capturing the other side of spectrum for why teenagers left home. It made her character more interesting to me because she had never experienced the life of poverty before she left. She did a good job showing the shift of the character's thoughts. She started out confident and had high expectations, but over time she became hardened and just desperate to survive. I think it showed a relatively accurate representation of what a lot of the teenagers would have thought like given the circumstances. I also thought she did a really good job showing the difference between girl and boy hobos when they were on the road. When the two main character found a hobo camp, the boy didn't feel nervous but the girl felt threatened by the older men. I think that was a really accurate representation of what girls would have thought versus boys while on the road. Emma did a really strong job showing the thoughts of teenagers on the road in her story. You wrote a really good story Emma!
I think that Sam's story was really good at capturing the hopelessness and loneliness that most kids felt during the Great Depression. I think he was smart to show how his main character latched onto her friend because she was scared to be alone. He also did a good job showing that not only teenagers were affected in this time. He did a good job showing how adults were suffering during the time as well. Sam did a really good job portraying the feeling of hopelessness and loneliness that everybody felt during the time. Nice job Sam!
Philippe told his story through the eyes of young Dominik von Eisenbahn (Nick for short.) Nick is a young New Hampshire boy who separated from his parents after they all moved to California. Nick is still new to the hobo lifestyle, and requires help from his friend Boxcar Johnny. Boxcar Johnny takes Nick under his wing and promises to show him the ways of the rails. Philippe successfully incorporates several aspects of the life of an everyday teenage hobo. Philippe integrates small details such as mulligan stew and bulls to bring his story to life. Philippe’s use of descriptive language made his story easy to picture and read, and the overall plot of the story was entertaining. Philippe successfully depicted the life of a teenage hobo, and I commend him for that. Well done, Philippe!
Anna's story "Bums Not Wanted Here" was portrayed in the eyes of a child who left home to help support his family after getting a job in California, or so he would hope. I really liked the way she used her dialogue to make it sound like it would back in the 1930s. Her story really showed how there was hope within the hobo groups when traveling even if they did not know for sure that there would really be anything for them to do once they got to California. I also really liked the perspective Anna took in getting so close to the Bulls. That was definitely a huge issue as shown in the Riding the Rails video. I like the way she used her imagination where she actually encountered a Bull instead of just running away from them. Also, using a lot of dialogue except never letting the narrator speak out of his thoughts I think was an interesting choice. I think there must have been many teenagers who at this time did not really know what they got themselves into and would definitely be scared at what may happen next.
Hannah told the story of a young teenage girl riding the rails with her friend Ruth. Hannah's story was interesting, because it showed how much riding the rails changed these children. The main character did not even recognize herself when she looked in a mirror after only a few months on the rails. Her entire story was more of an internal battle, it was the main character coming to the end of her childhood. This point was emphasized in the Riding the Rails documentary, and Hannah did a great job emulating that feeling in her story. She used things like the Jungle and the stew to make the story believable. She also described the camaraderie of the children on the rails very well when she described the main character's friendship with Ruth. It was very realistic. Like many of the friendships formed on the rails, theirs was a one of necessity that grew into a strong friendship. Hannah's story was emotional, realistic and very well written.
Jack's story was about a young hobo leaving his/her gang to go to Chicago, following rumors of jobs and opportunity. On the train, the main character finds out that thousands of other hobos are also going to Chicago, but the rumors aren't actually true. One thing I really liked about Jack's story was the way he showed the sense of false hope that the hobos often found in stories of prosperity in other parts of the country and crushing hopelessness that resulted in finding out that the situation was just as bad once they got there. Another thing that Jack did really well was making the characters come to life. The story had a lot of dialogue, which was written in the dialect of the time, which made it seem very realistic. Furthermore, Jack did a great job of using the dialogue to show the characters' emotions, which really made the story come to life. Finally, I think Jack's story made an excellent point, in that many teenagers at the time only really had one choice of what to do: they had to either ride or die.
Margaret’s short story gave an accurate display of the difficult times during the Great Depression. During hard times, it is very common for people to become selfish, for example the parents in the story who could not afford to pay for their kids anymore. Margaret crated characters who were the complete opposite. I really enjoyed how Margaret showed a very close connection between the main character Thomas and his brother. They were always looking out for each other and supporting one another and I found that aspect of the story to be very moving. Margaret also provided detailed descriptions of the problems these hobo’s faced. She showed how frail, starving, and poor people were by using descriptive details and visual imagery. These creative aspects helped successfully emphasize the desperation during the Great Description and made the reader really see the struggles at this time period.
Maya’s story, “Girl Problems”, did a great job of capturing a different side of life on the rails. Her main character was a girl who was a bit of a loner until she had to help a younger girl who had just gotten her period. This story was written very well. The language was clear and comprehensible and she did a perfect job of portraying the character from Paige’s story as well. I really like how different the plot line of this story is and I think that it accurately portrays the life of girl hobos. I also liked that the even though the circumstances of the plot was horrible, it ended a lot more positively than it could have while still remaining realistic.
Paige’s story, “Red River on the Rails”, was surprisingly funny while remaining realistic for hobos during the Great Depression. The dialect of her main character was spot on and made the story really interesting to read. The story also made me feel really sorry for her, which made it even easier to sympathize with female teenage hobos. It accurately displayed many fears of girls during the time. This included being afraid of revealing that they were girls. Overall, this was a very fascinating and well-written story. I am very impressed with how well Paige and Maya did on telling the same story from different point of views. Their stories started off very differently yet seamlessly merged and created a strong ending.
Jenny's story about a boy who tried to follow in his brother's footsteps to help support his family demonstrated the difficulties of many families at the time. Even after sending away the first son to try to find work, there was not enough food in the house to support everyone that needed it. Jenny's story also helped to show that although many individuals sought work outside of their hometown, there really was no work to be found and even to be allowed into the state, they would need to pay a ridiculous amount of money. The false hope is exactly what a lot of the hobos faced on their journeys before they had to turn around and come back home without anything to give their parents.
Melissa's story did a really good job of portraying family and loss on the rails. Her story follows a young girl and her brother Nickie as they ride they run away from home together. They are both very young, and neither of them really know what riding the rails means. This is very realistic, as many of the kids at the times had to learn quickly how to survive while running away from railroad bulls and trying to catch trains. Her character, as described in the title, has all the best intentions, but due to an unfortunate accident, loses the person who was supposed to stay with her. She does a great job describing the feeling of guilt and loss the main character is feeling. It made me really sympathize with her and her family. This was a very honest and realistic depiction of a child riding the rails in the Great Depression.
Jenny’s story gave a very accurate view of what it felt like to be a hobo and the situations they faced. In the story, many aspects of the Great Depression were touched upon, which made the plot seem very realistic. For example, she discussed the bull officers, the dust bowl, and the hobo jungles. Jenny also included large amounts of imagery that made her story come alive. One key points of imagery was when she described the starvation her character was facing. Also, I really liked how Jenny started the story explaining that she left home mainly for her mother. Then she ended the story apologizing to her mother. I felt that this choice of ending brought the story together and showed the reader the disappointment her character was feeling. This creative choice helped the reader see the emotions people were experiencing during the Great Depression.
Julian’s story addresses the struggles that teenage hobos faced in everyday life. The story starts with a conversation between the narrator and an old jungle buzzard. This gives good context to what the narrator had gone through and grabs the reader’s attention. The dialogue successfully represents the dynamic between hobos and buzzards, while also being accurate with its information. He describes the dustbowl well, and continues with a believable story about why the character left home. After the conversation, the narrator reports his day as it is happening. He mentions some of the hardships he often faces, such as watching others die, discrimination, and hunger. Toward the end, the narrator contemplates his decision of leaving home. These common thoughts for teenage hobos introduce an internal conflict with the main character. The last few sentences explain that although he had was a difficult life, he couldn’t change it. Overall, Julian’s story is historically accurate and has a good theme about accepting adversities in life.
Ethan's story gave an accurate portrayal of the struggles of a black teenage hobo during the great depression. Clarence in Ethan's story is a black teenage hobo that runs away with his friend Jimbo. The portrayal of Jimbo being kicked out of his family so it would be easier for his dad to feed him and his mom was very realistic and historically accurate. Later on Jimbo is beaten up by the bulls with clubs. Ethan does a great job of describing the fear that the hobos had of the bulls. Another historically correct aspect of the story was the treatment of the African Americans. Clarence could not get food as easily as the white people in one part of the story. This racism was the sad truth of the great depression. The dialect Ethan wrote it the story in greatly helped show the emotions of the character. For example, when Clarence is attacked in the jungle it is written in dialogue. Overall Ethan's story was historically accurate and portrayed a teenage hobo well.
Taylor's story was very well detailed with imagery and factually accurate. The most interesting part of her story was the conflicting relationships her main character Willie had with his family and his best friend Roy. The relationship between him and his family showed how much he loved his family and how much he cared for them and they cared for him. His father's continuous struggle to find clients showed Willie that leaving would be the best option for the benefit of his family. He needed to leave so that he could come back with money to help support his family. That leads to his conflicted relationship with his best friend and travel companion Roy. Taylor did a nice job of showing how Willie's feelings of hatred toward the fact that his friend has it easy and is traveling for fun opposed to Willie's attempt to find money for his family back home, and then his only companion then dying in the dust bowl, a natural occurrence that neither of them planned for. The conflicting feelings toward his best friend builds a strong and complex character.
Emily’s story, “We Don’t Treat Bums”, captures the essence of the extremely difficult times that were prevalent the Great Depression. Her story focuses on a pair of siblings trying to survive in poor conditions as they rush to a medical center. The sister has got sick from the thick dust in the southern plains. The story strongly connects to the Great Depression in the overall feeling of a hopeless time embodied by different details such as the poor condition, freight travel, and dying faith and opportunities.
In “All The Best Intentions”, Melissa shows the toll that the Great Depression had on families, especially the children. Kids had to either stay at bad conditions at home, lacking things like basic food or clothing, or pursue something unknown. A feeling of desperation and loss portrayed in the story showed the clear cut that children had to make from their family when they try to survive by themselves. This was shown specifically in this story by the loss of the main characters little brother while attempting to get on the train, showing the difficult lifestyle that one had to struggle through to survive. Melissa uses a lot of descriptive language to share images and emotions straight from the time of the Great Depression. Her story is factually accurate, portraying things such as freight train travel, family separation, railroad bulls, and the difficulty of the hobo life during that time.
Maya's story did a very good job of explaining her narrator's, Adelaide, family background. The detailed descriptions of hearing her parents trying to cope with the hardship as well as the great imagery as she leaves the house and then is on top of the train makes it very easy to understand the dynamics of her situation. Then once she is on the train Maya expresses Adelaide's loner personality as she tries to survive life on the rails. As Maya finishes the story by connecting her plot to mine, she does a great job of transitioning the loner into someone who can actually as a good companion when she enters a situation that only girls can understand. By helping the younger girl deal with her period, the two girls form a bond that aids them both in their joineries ahead. Maya does a good job of contrasting her character from mine, with description of education means as well as age difference and maturity. Overall, Maya's descriptive language is all factually accurate according to the era, adding to the strength of the story.
Hannah’s story, “In Jimmy’s Shoes,” excellently captures the vulnerability felt by a young girl on the rails. The story follows the thoughts of a teenage girl who has run from home to relieve her family from the burden of feeding her and to tries to make money to send home. She captures in her emotions and reactions the unknowing that each teenage hobo faced as they set off from home, only hoping that new life they had chosen was superior to what they had left. Hannah’s story also shows the adaptation that many teenagers had go through to survive the tough hobo life when the main character chops off her hair. The girl had to change from a meager and timid family girl to a rough and tumble hobo, capable of surviving on her own, reflecting how difficult life on the rails was. I thought the main character gave me a true insight into the inner turmoil a teenage hobo could have possibly felt.
Emily’s story is about a young boy, Lou, who losses his little sister to dust pneumonia while riding the rails. The story beautifully illustrates the responsibility children were expected to shoulder at a very young age. In the story, Lou is told it is his job to care for his baby sister at seven which he remembers for the rest of her life, placing the responsibility of a life on him when he was barely old enough to care for himself. While the responsibility to leave the house to prevent his parents from going completely broke is unspoken, it is still an expectation that Lou must deal with. Emily describes a very real situation from many children during the Great Depression, many faced with the requirement to grow up instantly and act years beyond their age. The story was also able to incorporate numerous details about the era that made it seem like the genuine retelling of someone who truly lived it.
Comment from Sam As a history project, I liked the writing. It included a lot of pieces of history that we have learned about in this unit so far: bulls, leaving home for adventure, dissipation of businesses, hobo camps, train hopping, and a lot of other stuff. It really demonstrated your knowledge. As a piece of creative writing, I did not like it so much. All of the tidbits of depression knowledge came across as a force. Although they seemed to spend a lot of time together, Jimmy left Mary pretty fast. It also did not make much sense that Mary was doing house chores when her father owned the biggest coal business in Virginia. The flashback was a nice addition and introduction though.
Andrew Fyffe
Comment from Sam As a history project, I liked the piece. It included enough pieces of Reconstruction information to demonstrate your knowledge: parents forcing kids out so that they could survive, hobo camps, prostitutes at hobo camps, the age of some of the travelers, travelers helping each other out and some other stuff. As a piece of creative writing I have mixed feelings. The accent in the writing was a force and made it a pain to read; I think that limiting it to the dialogue would have made it much better. The encounter with the mother also seemed rushed. Charlie did not seem to put up much of a fight or question her eviction. Even though Charlie may have understood the situation at the time, I would have expected more dialogue from a young man. I did like the flow of the piece. You included a lot of information but if presented out of context, I do not think most people would recognize this as a history project. The part where Charlie recognized himself as a man was a good addition.
Paige's story had a very interesting plot! While we had worked together to develop the tail end of our stories, reading hers through I was able to enjoy it as a whole for the first time. She created a very strong character. It was interesting how she didn't try to make her character %100 likable, which made her more realistic. Her character's dialect fit the era well, and all of her details wer accurate. I think her story in mine differed greatly in style and voice, allowing you to see the same situation in two totally different ways. I had a good time reading it, good job Paige!
Taylor's story was really interesting and captivating to read. It was an accurate depiction of life on the road. She was also spot-on in describing the state of the land in the dustbowl, from the dry land to the description of the dust storm. I liked the dynamic between the two characters. She was able to show two totally different versions of the teen hobo during the great depression. She not only had all of her historical facts straight, but she also conveyed the emotions of the teen hobos in a relatable way. I felt Willie's despair deeply. I also felt Roy's excitement. It was a great story, good job Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI really liked Sam's story because it captured the utter hopelessness and despair that many of the homeless teenagers felt while living on the road. The main character's situation was also an accurate depiction of what these young adults may have faced during the Great Depression because she was forced to leave her home because he family could not afford to take care of her anyone. Unfortunately, this was the reality for a lot of teenagers during this time period. Furthermore, Sam effectively captured the feelings of the adults too when he described the dark circles under their eyes beaten in by depression and hopelessness. Through his story, I think that Sam was able to really capture the many emotions felt by not only the teenagers that were forced out of their homes, but also the adults who were out of work and out of money. Great job!
ReplyDeleteAndrew's story was also a really good representation of life for teenagers during the Great Depression. I liked how he used a very distinct vernacular for his main character, which reflected where many of the homeless teenagers had come from. I also liked how he described the hobo camps, which was one of the many sights that these young people who face out on the road. Lastly, I liked how Andrew included the part in the story where another man who was riding the train helped the main character make it onto the train. This was a common sight on many railroads, as these young teenagers often took to traveling in groups in order to help each other survive. Overall, I think that Andrew's story was a great representation of what homeless teenagers experienced during the Great Depression. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteEmma did a good job capturing the other side of spectrum for why teenagers left home. It made her character more interesting to me because she had never experienced the life of poverty before she left. She did a good job showing the shift of the character's thoughts. She started out confident and had high expectations, but over time she became hardened and just desperate to survive. I think it showed a relatively accurate representation of what a lot of the teenagers would have thought like given the circumstances. I also thought she did a really good job showing the difference between girl and boy hobos when they were on the road. When the two main character found a hobo camp, the boy didn't feel nervous but the girl felt threatened by the older men. I think that was a really accurate representation of what girls would have thought versus boys while on the road. Emma did a really strong job showing the thoughts of teenagers on the road in her story. You wrote a really good story Emma!
ReplyDeleteI think that Sam's story was really good at capturing the hopelessness and loneliness that most kids felt during the Great Depression. I think he was smart to show how his main character latched onto her friend because she was scared to be alone. He also did a good job showing that not only teenagers were affected in this time. He did a good job showing how adults were suffering during the time as well. Sam did a really good job portraying the feeling of hopelessness and loneliness that everybody felt during the time. Nice job Sam!
ReplyDeletePhilippe told his story through the eyes of young Dominik von Eisenbahn (Nick for short.) Nick is a young New Hampshire boy who separated from his parents after they all moved to California. Nick is still new to the hobo lifestyle, and requires help from his friend Boxcar Johnny. Boxcar Johnny takes Nick under his wing and promises to show him the ways of the rails. Philippe successfully incorporates several aspects of the life of an everyday teenage hobo. Philippe integrates small details such as mulligan stew and bulls to bring his story to life. Philippe’s use of descriptive language made his story easy to picture and read, and the overall plot of the story was entertaining. Philippe successfully depicted the life of a teenage hobo, and I commend him for that. Well done, Philippe!
ReplyDeleteAnna's story "Bums Not Wanted Here" was portrayed in the eyes of a child who left home to help support his family after getting a job in California, or so he would hope. I really liked the way she used her dialogue to make it sound like it would back in the 1930s. Her story really showed how there was hope within the hobo groups when traveling even if they did not know for sure that there would really be anything for them to do once they got to California. I also really liked the perspective Anna took in getting so close to the Bulls. That was definitely a huge issue as shown in the Riding the Rails video. I like the way she used her imagination where she actually encountered a Bull instead of just running away from them. Also, using a lot of dialogue except never letting the narrator speak out of his thoughts I think was an interesting choice. I think there must have been many teenagers who at this time did not really know what they got themselves into and would definitely be scared at what may happen next.
ReplyDeleteHannah told the story of a young teenage girl riding the rails with her friend Ruth. Hannah's story was interesting, because it showed how much riding the rails changed these children. The main character did not even recognize herself when she looked in a mirror after only a few months on the rails. Her entire story was more of an internal battle, it was the main character coming to the end of her childhood. This point was emphasized in the Riding the Rails documentary, and Hannah did a great job emulating that feeling in her story. She used things like the Jungle and the stew to make the story believable. She also described the camaraderie of the children on the rails very well when she described the main character's friendship with Ruth. It was very realistic. Like many of the friendships formed on the rails, theirs was a one of necessity that grew into a strong friendship. Hannah's story was emotional, realistic and very well written.
ReplyDeleteJack's story was about a young hobo leaving his/her gang to go to Chicago, following rumors of jobs and opportunity. On the train, the main character finds out that thousands of other hobos are also going to Chicago, but the rumors aren't actually true. One thing I really liked about Jack's story was the way he showed the sense of false hope that the hobos often found in stories of prosperity in other parts of the country and crushing hopelessness that resulted in finding out that the situation was just as bad once they got there. Another thing that Jack did really well was making the characters come to life. The story had a lot of dialogue, which was written in the dialect of the time, which made it seem very realistic. Furthermore, Jack did a great job of using the dialogue to show the characters' emotions, which really made the story come to life. Finally, I think Jack's story made an excellent point, in that many teenagers at the time only really had one choice of what to do: they had to either ride or die.
ReplyDeleteMargaret’s short story gave an accurate display of the difficult times during the Great Depression. During hard times, it is very common for people to become selfish, for example the parents in the story who could not afford to pay for their kids anymore. Margaret crated characters who were the complete opposite. I really enjoyed how Margaret showed a very close connection between the main character Thomas and his brother. They were always looking out for each other and supporting one another and I found that aspect of the story to be very moving. Margaret also provided detailed descriptions of the problems these hobo’s faced. She showed how frail, starving, and poor people were by using descriptive details and visual imagery. These creative aspects helped successfully emphasize the desperation during the Great Description and made the reader really see the struggles at this time period.
ReplyDeleteMaya’s story, “Girl Problems”, did a great job of capturing a different side of life on the rails. Her main character was a girl who was a bit of a loner until she had to help a younger girl who had just gotten her period. This story was written very well. The language was clear and comprehensible and she did a perfect job of portraying the character from Paige’s story as well. I really like how different the plot line of this story is and I think that it accurately portrays the life of girl hobos. I also liked that the even though the circumstances of the plot was horrible, it ended a lot more positively than it could have while still remaining realistic.
ReplyDeletePaige’s story, “Red River on the Rails”, was surprisingly funny while remaining realistic for hobos during the Great Depression. The dialect of her main character was spot on and made the story really interesting to read. The story also made me feel really sorry for her, which made it even easier to sympathize with female teenage hobos. It accurately displayed many fears of girls during the time. This included being afraid of revealing that they were girls. Overall, this was a very fascinating and well-written story. I am very impressed with how well Paige and Maya did on telling the same story from different point of views. Their stories started off very differently yet seamlessly merged and created a strong ending.
ReplyDeleteJenny's story about a boy who tried to follow in his brother's footsteps to help support his family demonstrated the difficulties of many families at the time. Even after sending away the first son to try to find work, there was not enough food in the house to support everyone that needed it. Jenny's story also helped to show that although many individuals sought work outside of their hometown, there really was no work to be found and even to be allowed into the state, they would need to pay a ridiculous amount of money. The false hope is exactly what a lot of the hobos faced on their journeys before they had to turn around and come back home without anything to give their parents.
ReplyDeleteMelissa's story did a really good job of portraying family and loss on the rails. Her story follows a young girl and her brother Nickie as they ride they run away from home together. They are both very young, and neither of them really know what riding the rails means. This is very realistic, as many of the kids at the times had to learn quickly how to survive while running away from railroad bulls and trying to catch trains. Her character, as described in the title, has all the best intentions, but due to an unfortunate accident, loses the person who was supposed to stay with her. She does a great job describing the feeling of guilt and loss the main character is feeling. It made me really sympathize with her and her family. This was a very honest and realistic depiction of a child riding the rails in the Great Depression.
ReplyDeleteJenny’s story gave a very accurate view of what it felt like to be a hobo and the situations they faced. In the story, many aspects of the Great Depression were touched upon, which made the plot seem very realistic. For example, she discussed the bull officers, the dust bowl, and the hobo jungles. Jenny also included large amounts of imagery that made her story come alive. One key points of imagery was when she described the starvation her character was facing. Also, I really liked how Jenny started the story explaining that she left home mainly for her mother. Then she ended the story apologizing to her mother. I felt that this choice of ending brought the story together and showed the reader the disappointment her character was feeling. This creative choice helped the reader see the emotions people were experiencing during the Great Depression.
ReplyDeleteJulian’s story addresses the struggles that teenage hobos faced in everyday life. The story starts with a conversation between the narrator and an old jungle buzzard. This gives good context to what the narrator had gone through and grabs the reader’s attention. The dialogue successfully represents the dynamic between hobos and buzzards, while also being accurate with its information. He describes the dustbowl well, and continues with a believable story about why the character left home. After the conversation, the narrator reports his day as it is happening. He mentions some of the hardships he often faces, such as watching others die, discrimination, and hunger. Toward the end, the narrator contemplates his decision of leaving home. These common thoughts for teenage hobos introduce an internal conflict with the main character. The last few sentences explain that although he had was a difficult life, he couldn’t change it. Overall, Julian’s story is historically accurate and has a good theme about accepting adversities in life.
ReplyDeleteEthan's story gave an accurate portrayal of the struggles of a black teenage hobo during the great depression. Clarence in Ethan's story is a black teenage hobo that runs away with his friend Jimbo. The portrayal of Jimbo being kicked out of his family so it would be easier for his dad to feed him and his mom was very realistic and historically accurate. Later on Jimbo is beaten up by the bulls with clubs. Ethan does a great job of describing the fear that the hobos had of the bulls. Another historically correct aspect of the story was the treatment of the African Americans. Clarence could not get food as easily as the white people in one part of the story. This racism was the sad truth of the great depression. The dialect Ethan wrote it the story in greatly helped show the emotions of the character. For example, when Clarence is attacked in the jungle it is written in dialogue. Overall Ethan's story was historically accurate and portrayed a teenage hobo well.
ReplyDeleteTaylor's story was very well detailed with imagery and factually accurate. The most interesting part of her story was the conflicting relationships her main character Willie had with his family and his best friend Roy. The relationship between him and his family showed how much he loved his family and how much he cared for them and they cared for him. His father's continuous struggle to find clients showed Willie that leaving would be the best option for the benefit of his family. He needed to leave so that he could come back with money to help support his family. That leads to his conflicted relationship with his best friend and travel companion Roy. Taylor did a nice job of showing how Willie's feelings of hatred toward the fact that his friend has it easy and is traveling for fun opposed to Willie's attempt to find money for his family back home, and then his only companion then dying in the dust bowl, a natural occurrence that neither of them planned for. The conflicting feelings toward his best friend builds a strong and complex character.
ReplyDeleteEmily’s story, “We Don’t Treat Bums”, captures the essence of the extremely difficult times that were prevalent the Great Depression. Her story focuses on a pair of siblings trying to survive in poor conditions as they rush to a medical center. The sister has got sick from the thick dust in the southern plains. The story strongly connects to the Great Depression in the overall feeling of a hopeless time embodied by different details such as the poor condition, freight travel, and dying faith and opportunities.
ReplyDeleteIn “All The Best Intentions”, Melissa shows the toll that the Great Depression had on families, especially the children. Kids had to either stay at bad conditions at home, lacking things like basic food or clothing, or pursue something unknown. A feeling of desperation and loss portrayed in the story showed the clear cut that children had to make from their family when they try to survive by themselves. This was shown specifically in this story by the loss of the main characters little brother while attempting to get on the train, showing the difficult lifestyle that one had to struggle through to survive. Melissa uses a lot of descriptive language to share images and emotions straight from the time of the Great Depression. Her story is factually accurate, portraying things such as freight train travel, family separation, railroad bulls, and the difficulty of the hobo life during that time.
ReplyDeleteMaya's story did a very good job of explaining her narrator's, Adelaide, family background. The detailed descriptions of hearing her parents trying to cope with the hardship as well as the great imagery as she leaves the house and then is on top of the train makes it very easy to understand the dynamics of her situation. Then once she is on the train Maya expresses Adelaide's loner personality as she tries to survive life on the rails. As Maya finishes the story by connecting her plot to mine, she does a great job of transitioning the loner into someone who can actually as a good companion when she enters a situation that only girls can understand. By helping the younger girl deal with her period, the two girls form a bond that aids them both in their joineries ahead. Maya does a good job of contrasting her character from mine, with description of education means as well as age difference and maturity. Overall, Maya's descriptive language is all factually accurate according to the era, adding to the strength of the story.
ReplyDeleteHannah’s story, “In Jimmy’s Shoes,” excellently captures the vulnerability felt by a young girl on the rails. The story follows the thoughts of a teenage girl who has run from home to relieve her family from the burden of feeding her and to tries to make money to send home. She captures in her emotions and reactions the unknowing that each teenage hobo faced as they set off from home, only hoping that new life they had chosen was superior to what they had left. Hannah’s story also shows the adaptation that many teenagers had go through to survive the tough hobo life when the main character chops off her hair. The girl had to change from a meager and timid family girl to a rough and tumble hobo, capable of surviving on her own, reflecting how difficult life on the rails was. I thought the main character gave me a true insight into the inner turmoil a teenage hobo could have possibly felt.
ReplyDeleteEmily’s story is about a young boy, Lou, who losses his little sister to dust pneumonia while riding the rails. The story beautifully illustrates the responsibility children were expected to shoulder at a very young age. In the story, Lou is told it is his job to care for his baby sister at seven which he remembers for the rest of her life, placing the responsibility of a life on him when he was barely old enough to care for himself. While the responsibility to leave the house to prevent his parents from going completely broke is unspoken, it is still an expectation that Lou must deal with. Emily describes a very real situation from many children during the Great Depression, many faced with the requirement to grow up instantly and act years beyond their age. The story was also able to incorporate numerous details about the era that made it seem like the genuine retelling of someone who truly lived it.
ReplyDeleteEmma Grant
ReplyDeleteComment from Sam
As a history project, I liked the writing. It included a lot of pieces of history that we have learned about in this unit so far: bulls, leaving home for adventure, dissipation of businesses, hobo camps, train hopping, and a lot of other stuff. It really demonstrated your knowledge.
As a piece of creative writing, I did not like it so much. All of the tidbits of depression knowledge came across as a force. Although they seemed to spend a lot of time together, Jimmy left Mary pretty fast. It also did not make much sense that Mary was doing house chores when her father owned the biggest coal business in Virginia. The flashback was a nice addition and introduction though.
Andrew Fyffe
Comment from Sam
As a history project, I liked the piece. It included enough pieces of Reconstruction information to demonstrate your knowledge: parents forcing kids out so that they could survive, hobo camps, prostitutes at hobo camps, the age of some of the travelers, travelers helping each other out and some other stuff.
As a piece of creative writing I have mixed feelings. The accent in the writing was a force and made it a pain to read; I think that limiting it to the dialogue would have made it much better. The encounter with the mother also seemed rushed. Charlie did not seem to put up much of a fight or question her eviction. Even though Charlie may have understood the situation at the time, I would have expected more dialogue from a young man. I did like the flow of the piece. You included a lot of information but if presented out of context, I do not think most people would recognize this as a history project. The part where Charlie recognized himself as a man was a good addition.
Paige's story had a very interesting plot! While we had worked together to develop the tail end of our stories, reading hers through I was able to enjoy it as a whole for the first time. She created a very strong character. It was interesting how she didn't try to make her character %100 likable, which made her more realistic. Her character's dialect fit the era well, and all of her details wer accurate. I think her story in mine differed greatly in style and voice, allowing you to see the same situation in two totally different ways. I had a good time reading it, good job Paige!
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