Depression Era Essays

  • From Depression to Prosperity: Roosevelt's Era of Change

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    exclaimed, "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." The time period outlined from the 1930 's to the 1950’s is the movement from the Great Depression to an era of economic prosperity. The Great Depression was marked with excessive financial collapse. Gradually, new policy, innovative programs, economic affluence, and financially stability emerged. Additionally, the Second World War and the Cold War surfaced. The New Deal

  • Depression Era Struggles: Farmers' Underrated Hardships

    2200 Words  | 5 Pages

    lower class. Farmers were hit especially hard because throughout the twenties they were already practically living in a depression of their own. In the thirties there was a man who went from farm to farm in the thirties named Pete Wettach, who would later become known for the photos he took. The Dust Bowl is mostly what people think of when farmers had to deal with in the Depression. They believed that was the only bad weather they had to deal with, however imagine living through not only that, but

  • Prejudice and Discrimination During the Depression Era and the Dust Bowl

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... J. (2011). AFRICAN AMERICANS AND PAROLE IN DEPRESSION-ERA NEW YORK. Historical Journal, 54(4), 1065-1086. doi:10.1017/S0018246X11000392 3. Takaki, Ronald T. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown &, 1993. Print. 4. Depression Era: 1930s: Repatriation for Mexican & Filipino Farm Workers. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. . 5. "Unit 11 The 1930s: The Great Depression." Welcome. New Jersey State Library, 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

  • Depression Era Gold

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    gold was an afterthought. No one wanted to deal with it. It's heavy, hard to store safely (especially in any kind of volume), and it's expensive to ship. It lacks convenience, liquidity, and the market can be confusing. And isn't it only for Depression Era folks? Well, not anymore. Not only is gold popular with Baby Boomers and even younger investors, the new popularity makes it a more liquid and convenient investment tool. And if you follow a couple of simple rules, it's really not all that confusing

  • Road to Perdition

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hanks. An unstated assumption is that the movie’s pedigree makes it an obligatory cultural or quasi-cultural experience for certain social layers. It is a gangster film with darkened images meant to impart an art-house quality. Set in the early Depression era, it is also insinuated that a social insight or two can be found lurking in the shadows. Road to Perdition, even more than Mendes’ previous much-acclaimed film, American Beauty, is fool’s gold. The filmmaker has once again wrapped up crude banalities

  • O Brother, Where Art Thou? - From Greek Classic to American Original

    3138 Words  | 7 Pages

    O Brother, Where Art Thou? - From Greek Classic to American Original In the winter of 2001, American audiences initially paid little attention to Joel and Ethan Coen's Depression era, jail-break, musical "buddy" comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? The film's reputation lingered, however, and over the next seven months O Brother eventually grossed a significant $45.5 million (imdb.com). Loosely adapted from Homer’s The Odyssey, the film focuses on Ulysses Everett McGill’s (George Clooney’s) journey

  • The Female Entrepreneurial Role in James M Cain's Mildred Pierce

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Female Entrepreneurial Role in James M Cain's Mildred Pierce A woman's place in the post-depression era is usually one where a woman would commonly be known to have a role in the economy; only to be waiting in her kitchen to cook for the "money-making husband." It was often rare to encounter one woman who had the ability to take her inner interests and turn them into an entrepreneurial role in society. Yet, through this novel by James M. Cain, one will encounter Mildred Pierce, in which

  • Prejudice Runs Deep in To Kill A Mockingbird

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prejudice Runs Deep in To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in small town Maycomb, Alabama, a depression era town where people move slowly and twenty-four hours seems longer.  The narrator of the story is a six-year-old girl named Jean Louise Finch, a tomboy who hates wearing dresses and goes by the nickname "Scout."  Scout's being a tomboy is of no little significance because while we are treated to a sweet and affectionate portrayal of Maycomb at the novel's opening, we

  • Grandpa - The Life of a Golfer and Great Man

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    him for a while, since he has many stories to tell. I would like to tell you the story of how he became the golfer that he is, since it is an accomplishment of his no one knows much about. Luke Sutton was born in 1915 and grew up during the Depression Era in Henry, Illinois, a small suburb of Chicago. At age 9 he and his older brother found jobs as caddies at the Ravisloe Country Club. He was two years younger than the age limit for caddies, but he persuaded management to allow him to caddie for

  • Comparing John Cheever’s The Swimmer and The Five-Forty-Eight

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    Comparing John Cheever’s The Swimmer and The Five-Forty-Eight Two stories by John Cheever, The Swimmer and The Five-Forty-Eight (5-48), will be explored in terms of how the characters, genre and point of view in these stories give rise to classic fiction. The Swimmer is of a suburban man, Neddy Merrill, who decides to return home from work by swimming eight miles through all of his neighbors' pools along the way. At each pool he encounters a former mistress, distant and unfriendly neighbours

  • Purple Rose of Cairo Movie Response

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    He basically defined the theatre as a way for her to leave a life, which for the most part was bad, for a few hours. She had an abusive, disinterested husband and was having a tough time at work. All this coupled with the fact that it was the Depression era in American history make Cecilia's life extremely difficult. All of these problems, however, disappeared once Cecilia entered the movie theatre. I liked this because this is how many people feel. When you are bored, lonely, etc. you can pop in

  • The Importance of Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    of Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie Tom Wingfield is the narrator and a major character in Tennessee William’s timeless play, The Glass Menagerie. Through the eyes of Tom, the viewer gets a glance into the life of his family in the pre-war depression era; his mother, a Southern belle desperately clinging to the past; his sister, a woman too fragile to function in society; and himself, a struggling, young poet working at a warehouse to pay the bills. Williams has managed to create a momentous play

  • More Than A Grandfather

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martinez Sr. and Dora Martinez on November 11, 1929. My grandpa was born and raised in the wild and rugged terrain of Colorado Springs, Co. He was the youngest of five children, and was raised during a tough time in our history, the Depression Era. However, his family was rich in other ways, they had each other and they had the land they lived on, which was filled with magnificent aspen groves that blanketed the many slopes. To my grandfather their land was like his playground

  • Powerful Symbols and Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie is a classic among classics for a number of reasons. The narrator, Tom Wingfield, gives the reader an inside look into the lives of a common family living in the pre-war depression era. The members of this family experience a great deal, and their lives are made much more vivid and meaningful through Williams' use of symbolism. Three well-crafted symbols are the fire escape, which provides hope and an escape to the outside world

  • Jim Casey as a Christ Figure in The Grapes of Wrath

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    significant characters. However, the majority of each characters' individuality happens to lie within what they symbolize in the microcosm of the Joad family and their acquaintances, which itself stands for the entire migrant population of the Great Depression era. One such character is that of Jim Casey, a former preacher and long-time friend of the Joads. In this story, Casey represents a latter-day Christ figure who longs to bring religious stability to the burgeon of migrant families facing West.

  • The Role of Setting in John Steinbeck's Of Mice & Men

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout time man has encountered many trials and tribulations. One of these unpredictable changes was the depression era in the Western region of America. From the beginning to the end of the novel, Of Mice & Men (1937), by John Steinbeck, life is portrayed as cruel and an insurmountable conquest. During the 1930's the worst economic collapse of the world occurred : the Depression. The setting throughout this novel sets the emotions high because of the hardships that were encountered by two

  • Truths Exposed in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    life. To illustrate these hardships, Steinbeck takes the reader back to an era of bankruptcies, migrant workers, and drifters. Today, this time, the 1930's, is branded the Great Depression. The quest of George and Lennie, two migrant workers, is an example of the dilemma of thousands of homeless and unemployed men in America during the Great Depression era (Ito 39). The harsh circumstances presented by the Great Depression reveal a darker side of human nature. In order to survive, a man's priority

  • Book Report Angelas Ashes

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt A Look at Irish Culture during the Depression Era Frank Mc Court, the author of Angela’s Ashes, was born during the Great Depression. A few years after immigrating to the United States because their families believed they would find their fortune here, his Irish family moved back to Ireland in hopes of a better life. They were met with only more hardships in their native country. His book shows the struggle and small joys of daily life with siblings, school friends

  • Shirley Temple: Origins of the Optimistic Image

    3132 Words  | 7 Pages

    everyone's mind. She was the child actress of the depression era, winning over the hearts and pocket books of many. Films, dolls and even a drink named after her, her face and name were ones that couldn't be missed. She was Fox's gem and saviour. She was an escape from the hard life. She was a star. The image that she gave off, of love for the needy and pure optimism, must have had an origin. Did it rise from the social needs of the public to escape the depression or was it purely constructed by Twentieth

  • A Comparison of Migrant Workers in The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men

    2728 Words  | 6 Pages

    Migrant Workers in The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck wrote about what surrounded him. At the time he was writing, the nineteen-thirties, a great depression was plaguing the United States. Many people were out of work. Many farmers were losing their farms and homes. An extreme drought had also wrecked the farms of the Midwest and made them into what is now referred to as the "dust bowl". It was a terrible time to be poor, and most were. People died of malnutrition every