Published in the year 2016, Hillbilly Elegy is a relatively new book by J.D Vance that revolves around his family and childhood that shaped him to be the person he is today. Vance writes this memoir for several purposes, however one major statement he tries to explain is: the life of poor people. He states, “I want people to understand what happens in the lives of poor and the psychological impact that spiritual and material poverty has on their children” (p. 2) and, he also adds that the Appalachians – the people he classifies with – “poverty is a family tradition” (p. 3). Poverty is widespread in America; it is important to understand why Vance feels that poverty is persistent in the region of Appalachia and nearby cities? This question can be answered by the following: when Vance identifies his character, when Vance’s stories about his family reveal facts and opinions about the Hillbilly culture, and when Vance talks about social and economic importance.
Throughout the book, Vance talks or relates to different themes that
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The book in centered around the lives of those living in the Appalachia, an expanse inhabited by coal workers, steel workers, and proletarian laborers. They are categorized with an income level at middle and lower middle classes. Vance tries to explain the reasons as to why his people have fallen on various hard times. He feels uneasy because he has moved from a lower class to an upper social class, he states, “Sometimes I view members of the elite with the most primal scorn… But I have to give it to them: Their children are happier and healthier, their divorce rates lower, their church attendance higher, their lives longer. These people are beating us at our own damned game” (p. 253). This helps us understand that Vance believes that if his people work harder and if are more committed, they too can reach a higher social class and beat