Summary Of Inspiration From A Humble Past Hillbilly

Inspiration from a Humble Past Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance, is a memoir of his family’s hillbilly origin, starting with his great grandmother and father to himself today, achieving the American dream. Vance’s main points brought up throughout the book center around the decline of the American Dream. From bad personal choices to policies that do more harm than good, he builds an image of hillbilly communities with little to no way out, and the American dream being only a distant fairy tale. To those not from the Appalachian area, Vance’s description can make it seem as if that is what most families go through in the “hillbilly” state of Kentucky, but the number of actual communities like this is exaggerated in the book; this is simply due

While Vance’s book brings up concerning problems in the US today, it is what he and others around him have experienced, it is important to keep in mind the struggles of other communities don’t always have the same solutions. Every family has their problems, as Vance says, but some families treat their problems differently. In the book, hillbilly culture held family in the highest regard; while also treating each other rudely, screaming was the way to communicate; and talking to others outside the family about inter family workings was considered forbidden. In the story, money is a recurring problem in most of the book- and for good reason, as money is always at the center of the American dream- with themes of drug, alcohol, and emotional abuse mixed in. In this hillbilly culture, where family is near, and usually abundant, the American dream isn’t a matter of having the perfect family- as in their culture, they embrace their family quirks- instead, it is about being able to work hard enough to be able to provide for their

Distinguishing what makes these people struggle and what their struggles are, is important when considering the decline of the “American dream”. In Vance’s hillbilly community, it is true that the American dream was deteriorating, as the work ethic of these towns was extinguished after many companies left town, stranding the hillbilly immigrants in places where they were socially and economically suppressed. While the government may feel the need to step in and fix this problem of economic struggle in a socially suppressed state, their “help” typically does more harm than good. Vance brings up that when they provide section 8 housing, they keep them with other financially struggling communities, never letting them see a better way of life, furthering the social cycle of economic hopelessness. Vance brings up an excellent problem with government intervention in problems where no magical policy will fix it. While segregating the lower-middle working class from the middle working class will limit the economic improvement the lower-middle working class is capable of, from how it works, the government also provides no incentives to improve economically among the lower-middle