Final Reflection

 

The blog from third quarter that I would like you to read is entry two, “Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970)”. In this blog entry, I demonstrated my best work. I gave detailed summaries of Arthur A. Robertson and Ed Paulson. In addition to this, I gave my opinion on these two people and to support my opinion I used textual evidence. The blog from fourth quarter that I would like you to read is entry 9, “Larry Heinemann & Jean Gump”. I was very fascinated by these two people because their pasts were completely different from each other. Heinemann was a Vietnam Veteran, while Gump was a protesting grandmother. I did a good job contrasting these two people by sharing my opinion on things and using textual evidence. I believe these two blogs show my best effort and they also interested me the most.

Entry #9 Larry Heinemann & Jean Gump

I chose to read about Larry Heinemann because I really liked the Vietnam War unit in class and I felt like his story would expand my knowledge of the war. Heinemann is a Vietnam Veteran that is still shook up from the war. He describes both his memories during the war and after the war. In class, we didn’t focus much on the post-war for soldiers so it gave me a new perspective on things. In describing his experiences after the war, Heinemann said, “When I got back here, I was scared and grateful and ashamed that I had lived, ‘cause I started getting letters: So-and-so got hit, So-and so burned to death. My good friend flipped a truck over an embankment and it hit him in the head. I had been given my life back, I felt a tremendous energy. At the same time, I felt like shit” (Terkel 417). Heinemann showed his true emotions towards the war. He was glad that he was returning home. However, at the same time, it was bittersweet because he kept getting letters from people saying that a close friend had died. Heinemann showed that whether he was in Vietnam or in America, the war still impacted him greatly.

I chose to read about Jean Gump because I thought it would be a good contrast with a Vietnam Veteran. Jean Gump appears to be a normal grandmother. In reality, she had a very interesting past. Raised by a family of Christians, Gump first believed her role in life should be to follow the rules of her religion. This soon changed when she started to protest war by disarming missiles that would be used to kill innocent civilians. Gump later got arrested for her protests. In response to this, Gump said, “You know, I have never been so hopeful. If I can change my way of thinking, anybody can. I don’t want to be singled out as anybody special, because I’m not. We have to have a future for our children and we’ve got to make some sacrifices for it, okay” (Terkel 427). Gump encouraged the readers to change their way of thinking to save the future.  Gump expressed her belief in fighting for what you believe in, which means a lot from a religious woman.

Entry #8 Dolores Dante, Waitress & Roberto, Acuna, Farm Worker

Dolores Dante had been a waitress in the same restaurant for twenty-three years. She first became a waitress because she needed money fast. Since then, she has made the best of her experiences. When describing why she wanted to be a waitress, Dante said, “I have to be a waitress. How else can I learn about people? How else does the world come to me? I can’t go to everyone. So they have to come to me” (Turkel 330). Dante showed her optimistic view of being a waitress by showing the benefits that come with it. She learns about people, and she enjoys how she gets to know many people. Dante was very interesting to read about because she showed the bright side of work that may not appeal to people.

Roberto Acuna was born into poverty. He was raised in the fields by his hard working mother.  Acuna was very embarrassed of his poverty. “What really hurt is when we had to go on welfare. Nobody knows the erosion of man’s dignity. They used to have a label of canned goods that said, “U.S. Commodities…”” (Turkel 338). Acuna was really shook up from going on welfare and felt like he lost his dignity. Because of this embarrassment, Acuna joined the Marine Corps. “I joined the Marine Corps at seventeen. I was very mixed up. I wanted to become a first-class citizen. I wanted to be accepted and I was very proud of my uniform” (Turkel 342). Acuna felt like he was accepted more in the Marines and it was a way to lose his embarrassment. It was very interesting to read about someone who made the best of their job (Dante) and someone who escaped from their job (Acuna).

Division Street: America (1967): Dennis Hart and Tom Kearney

Tom Kearney is a very interesting man. He has been a policeman for “twenty-three hard years”.  He is a Chicago native. One key idea I learned from his interview is that the Depression changed people’s lives completely. Tom Kearney lived a completely different life because of how much the Depression affected his family. He said, “If the Depression hadn’t come along, my father would have been able to do more educational-wise for us. He couldn’t provide. There was no money for two years” (Turkel 263). Because of the Depression,  Kearney’s family had no money and no way of earning money. Another thing that struck me about Kearney is that he witnessed many protests by people. One group of people that he witnessed protest was nuns and priests, which surprised me a lot.  Kearney witnessed very interesting things in his lifetime, which many people may never see.

To some people, Dennis Hart may seem like just an ordinary cab driver. After reading his interview, my thoughts about him changed completely. I learned that Hart has very wise thoughts on war and freedom. In his interview, talking about dropping the Bomb, he said, “Freedom is the most important thing in your life. We’re facing an enemy today that’s gonna annihilate us unless we retaliate in one way or another. We have to face up to it, Bomb or no Bomb. Otherwise, we’re a bunch of cowards” (Turkel 238). Hart is saying that the U.S. can’t be cowards and instead needs to make a clear decision to drop the bomb or not. Otherwise, our freedom may be in danger. Hart is very insightful in what he believes in and isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

Entry 6: Peter Ota, Nisei and Betty Basye Hutchinson, nurse

Peter Ota, Nisei: Peter Ota, a fifty-seven-year-old Nisei, experienced a lot during the war. His family was taken into concentration camps. At age fifteen, he was sent to a different concentration than his parents, and soon after, his mother passed away. Ota described his experiences in the camps as inhumane. He said, "I can still picture it to this day: to come in like cattle or sheep being herded in the back of a pickup truck bed" (Turkel 206). When they were being moved to the camps, they would be treated like animals rather than humans. If I could choose one word to sum up this interview I would pick the word irony. What was ironic about Ota's experiences was that he had to fight in the war for the U.S. while the rest of his family was being help in poor conditions. He said, "It's ironic. Here I am being drafted into the army, and my father and sister are in a concentration camp waiting for the war to end" (Turkel 207). It disturbs me how poor people of Japanese descent were treated in the U.S. at the time of the war. Betty Basye Hutchinson also experienced a lot during the war. When Hutchinson heard about the war, she immediately decided to become a nurse to help the soldiers. She never realized how hard being a nurse could be. For example, when she first started her job, she witnessed an injury she couldn't handle. "As soon as we got back to the nurse's station behind glass, I went to the bathroom and threw up" (Turkel 214). In addition to seeing disturbing injuries, Hutchinson also saw disturbing actions taken by the government. "Two little Japanese girls, sitting in front, who had come into class like me- why in the world are we saying goodbye to them...But I knew those girls should have been nurses" (Turkel 211). Hutchinson saw two girls that she had worked with being taken to concentration camps and she knew that they had done nothing wrong. While Ota experienced inhumane actions taken by the government, Hutchinson witnessed the actions take place and was upset. It was very interesting to read about two people who went through a great deal of disturbances in there past.

Entry 5: Peggy Terry and E.B. Sledge

Peggy Terry and E.B. Sledge show two completely different memories of World War II. Peggy Terry, an American originally from Paducah, Kentucky shares her memories from the war. At the time of the war, all she worried about was working to stay alive. She said that the war benefited her in that she had more job opportunities. Terry never thought of the meaning for the work that she was doing. “It didn’t occur to us that we were making these shells to kill people. It never entered my head” (190). It amazes me how at the time, on the other side of the world, thousands of Americans were being killed. However, all Terry and many others staying in the U.S. worried about was making a living. E.B. Sledge, a front line soldier at the time of the war, shared his memories of the war. His memories were a little more brutal than Terry’s. He stated, “A matter of simple survival. The only way you could get over it was to kill them off before they killed you. The war I knew was totally savage” (197). While some people were fighting to make a living in the U.S. at the time, soldiers were fighting for their lives. Sledge had to wake up every day knowing that he could die that day. In America at the time, Peggy Terry woke up every day not even knowing that she was making shells that soldiers would use to kill people. It’s very interesting to see two completely opposite memories from the war.

Entry 4: Introduction and Bob Rasmus

Reading “The Good War” introduction really opened my eyes to what the war really was about. If I had to pick one word to describe the war, I would chose struggle. Whether you were a soldier or just living in the U.S. at the time, everyone struggled. The war was described really well in the introduction. It stated, “Food. Fear. Comradeship. And confusion. In battle, the order of the day was often disorder. Again and again survivors, gray, bald, potbellied, or cadaverous, remember chaos” (165). Soldiers had all these emotions at the time of war and so did many people living in the U.S. at the time. Everyone suffered one way or another and experienced the chaos. Robert Rasmus was very interesting to read about because he showed his good and bad feelings at the time of the war. Rasmus said, “I remember my mother saying, “Bob, you’ll be in it.” I was hoping she’d be right. At that age, you look forward to the glamour and have no idea of the horrors” (177). As a kid, Rasmus was excited to fight in the war. He was looking forward to the adrenalin rush. Even when he was in the army, Rasmus still was in a good mood. He said, “I was constantly fascinated with the beauty of the German forests and medieval bell towers” (178). Even when knowing that he could die any day, Rasmus saw the beauty in the world. He was good spirited, at least until he finally realized he was in the middle of the war. “Now the party’s over. You’re within a few miles of the front. You’re off the train into trucks. You hear gunfire in the distance” (180). Once you hear guns being shot, everything changes. All of the sudden, what you thought was a happy place suddenly turns into your worst enemy. Rasmus shows a perfect example of a soldier at the time of the war. He was both happy and nervous.

Entry 3: Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970)

After reading about Jane Yoder's life, I realized how fortunate I am. Yoder’s family was in poverty at the time of the Depression. She mentioned how she was always cold and had very little to keep her warm. When she grew up and saw her children have many sweater and coats to keep them warm, she was astonished. She said, “We tell our boy: you have a black sweater, a white sweater, and a blue sweater. You can’t wear ten sweaters at once, you can only wear one” (Turkel 128). Yoder couldn’t understand why people have more than one sweater because all she had was one. She later talked about how the WPA saved her family. Her father got employed right away by the WPA and the pay for the father supported the family. Jane’s son, Tom Yoder talked about his feelings about the Depression. He said, “I’ve never gone to bed hungry- I wish I had. I haven’t, and probably never will” (Turkel 130). Tom realizes how hard times were and wishes he had the chance to suffer to really see how bad the time was. I feel very fortunate to have a house to live in and to never go to bed hungry at night.

            I had the same feeling when reading about Peggy Terry and her mother, Mary Owsley.  Their lives were similar to Jane Yoder’s life, as well. Both of them struggled during the depression. Mary Owsley said, “My husband was very bitter… He couldn’t see why as wealthy a country as this is, that there was any sense in so many people starving to death…” (Turkel 139). I believe that many people at that time had very similar thoughts as Owsley’s husband. As wealthy as the U.S. was, many still suffered. Mary Owsley also mentioned another family that suffered. She said, “I knew one family there in Oklahoma City, a man and a woman and seven children lived in a hole in the ground” (Turkel 138).  I can’t imagine living in a hole in the ground. But because families could not afford houses, this is where some had to end up living.

Repatriation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans

Being a U.S. citizen at the time of the Great Depression must have been very tough; but being a Mexican immigrant at the time was even tougher. Mexican immigrants had to work hard to barely support themselves, while at the same time trying not to get deported. Even though the U.S. was not stable at the time, Mexico was a worse place to be. Mexican immigrants came to America in search to live the "American Dream". In return, these people were being payed very little or were unemployed. Since many unemployed Americans were upset that illegal immigrants were working instead of them, Americans would deport the immigrants. In the reading, it even said that people who looked like they were Mexican would get deported due to how angry some unemployed people were. Imagine working one day and somebody thinking you were Mexican got you deported and you got sent to a country that you didn't even speak their language. From all the different groups of people that I have read about during the time of the depression, I would say Mexican Americans had it the hardest.

Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970)

After reading about Arthur A. Robertson, I realized that not everyone in the U.S. was in poverty at the time of the Great Depression.  Before reading this interview, the only stories that I heard about in class were about people in the U.S. that were hurt by the depression. Robertson on the other hand, was able to maintain his wealth. When it came to stocks, Robertson was a successful gambler. In my mind, his way of being successful was very smart. He said, “…I was known as a scavenger. I used to buy broken-down businesses that banks took over” (Terkel 100, 101). Robertson would take advantage of failed businesses and buy them and bring the business back up on its feet until he could sell it for a higher price. He had very smart tactics and knew when to stop. Other people did not know when to stop, such as Jesse Livermore. At times, Livermore was worth millions of dollars. However, he would never quit and take the money. He went bankrupt several times and later killed himself to end his misery. Robertson described Livermore’s situation as, “The poor fellow had lost everything he could lay his hands on. He asked for a $5,000 loan, which, of course, I gave him. Three days later, Jesse had gone to eat breakfast in the Sherry-Netherlands, went to the lavatory and shot himself” (Terkel 103). Livermore could have stopped and live a wealthy life, but he was too greedy just like the majority of the people at the time and gambled it all away.

When I read about Ed Paulson and his memories during the depression, I was stunned. I knew that times were rough but some things he said were jaw dropping. When Paulson was talking about trying to find work, I felt very upset. He said, “I’d get up at five in the morning and head for the waterfront. Outside the Spreckles Sugar Refinery, outside the gates, there would be a thousand men. You knew dang well there’s only three or four jobs” (Terkel 92). Out of one thousand men trying to get a job that pays very little, only four men would be given the job. 996 people would have to move on to find another poor job. The worst part was that this was occurring in towns all over the country. Thousands of people would be fighting for limited jobs. After not getting a job, Paulson talked about his mishaps on the freight trains. He said, “We grab the midnight freight and get off at Phoenix… We make an orange freight… Clear to Kansas City…” (Terkel 96). Paulson would go on freights to look for jobs in other towns knowing that the odds of finding a job were very slim. I feel very bad for people unemployed during the time of the Great Depression because it was very hard to support a family, and also very hard to find work.

Blog 1: American Dreams Lost and Found

C.P. Ellis can be described as a Ku Klux Klan member, a union man, and many more things. Even though Ellis was a Klansman, that does not necessarily mean that he is a bad person. At first, when I started reading about Ellis, I did not think much of him. I thought of him as another Klansman that did not see the good in anyone or anything. As I kept reading on, I realized he is actually a decent man. He was a poor white man that worked hard seven days a week in order to barely support his family. He was angry at his life and had to blame it on somebody so he decided to blame it on the blacks. He joined the Klan but later realized what he was doing was wrong. Talking about the blacks, he said, “I found out they’re people just like me. They cried, they cussed, they prayed, they had desires. Just like myself” (68). Ellis realized that despite skin color, there was no difference between the whites and blacks. This connects to the March on Selma. When thousands of whites saw how brutal people were treating blacks, they realized that blacks should be treated with the same respect as white because they are people just like whites. The one thing I was confused about was why would people nominate Ellis to be chairman of a committee that works to fix racial problems if Ellis himself was a Klansman at the time? Besides that, I gained respect for Ellis because he changed his thoughts on racism. The second story I read was about Leonel I. Castillo, the former director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. When reading this, I felt an immediate connection to the illegal immigration discussions taking place as we speak. Castillo opened my eyes even more about the topic of immigration. Talking about an illegal immigrant, Castillo said, “He works as a busboy all night long. They pay him minimum or less, and work him hard. He’ll never complain” (78). Illegal immigrants come to the U.S. to live a better life. In reality, they are being given low incomes and long work hours. What I wonder from this is why? Why does our country reward some of our hardest workers with very little?