Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance shows the struggles that a person living in Appalachia faces on a daily basis in one way or another. These struggles may be ones that you face personally, or they may be ones that someone you know or love is facing. Some of the struggles discussed in this book might even seem foreign to people who don't live in Appalachia. The author's purpose or reason for writing Hillbilly Elegy was to chronicle the struggles that the average Appalachian resident goes through. In many parts of the country and world, people do not have to worry about growing up with a greater risk of poverty, a greater risk of themselves or a family member becoming addicted to drugs, or a greater risk of becoming addicted to drugs. having a bad education. All of these factors play a role in everyday Appalachian life. Whether it's finding a job, getting into college, wanting a specific house or car, these factors related to living in Appalachia play a role in many aspects of life. I believe the end goal of this book was to give more insight into the people of Appalachia and how they are like everyone else: they want and fight for the chance to make something of themselves . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay To give examples of life in Appalachia, the author used many different sources. He used his own personal life, he used statistics at one point when it came to church attendance in Appalachia versus the Midwest, and sometimes the resource he used was his own inference about the way he viewed people outside of Appalachia about Appalachia and the land. himself. The sources the author used were accurate, but they seemed a little too biased at times. For example, he would sometimes mention his terrible home life with his mother and how he eventually got out of it and moved on to bigger and better things like the military and college. While this is a good anecdote, it doesn't apply to most people in his situation. Many people who grow up in bad homes lead bad lives themselves. If they grew up in an abusive home, they often become abusers. If they grow up in a home with a drug addict, they often grow up abusing drugs as they get older. The whole idea of ​​a mountain man's life is complicated, even though it may seem simple to those who don't have to experience it. To say there is little bias in Hillbilly Elegy would be an understatement. I feel like most of the book is biased. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a negative thing. Vance's goal was to write about his life in Appalachia. His sole purpose in writing this book was to address the idea that regardless of your statistical disadvantage, you can achieve the unthinkable. While I wholeheartedly believe in this notion of “determination will get you anywhere,” I also realize that there are some people in certain situations who literally cannot get out of their negative situation. For example, a North Korean citizen grows up under a dictator. Even if their lives are getting worse, they can only wait for the government to do something. They don't have the freedom to go to a good university and get an education that will help them improve. This is not to say that the education system is broken, but Vance came out of Appalachia and iswent to Ohio State, then to Yale. Growing up in North Korea, you can't do that. One form of bias (and what seemed to be a bit of arrogance) that I found interesting was when Vance wrote "Why didn't anyone else from my high school make it to the Ivy League" ( Vance, 2016, p. This seems like an arrogant and very biased statement given that many people can say that no one from their high school went to an Ivy League school. The Ivy League is not easily accessible to any social class. Yes, upperclassmen have access to better education, but they must prove their academic abilities like the rest of the candidates. The text does some very good things though. I was born here in West Virginia and Vance talks about a lot of things I've seen in my life. He talks about his life at home growing up. His mom and dad argued (sometimes physically), his mother was a drug addict, he never had a formal father figure, and he sometimes had to fend for himself. These are scenarios that make for a depressing story, but these things happen every day. Not just in Appalachia, but around the world. The problems we face here in Appalachia are problems all over the world. Vance is good at showing that just because he grew up in a bad situation, he hasn't let any of that hold him back in his life thus far. This book is good for motivation. Vance's story motivates you to get out of your bad situation and make something of yourself. An example of this is on page 197 when he talks about applying to colleges and he didn't apply to Yale, Harvard, or Stanford at first. He then speaks with his friend Darrel who has a friend from law school who transports tables. It was then that Vance decided to “give a try to Yale and Harvard.” The theme of upward mobility in this text is what gives the most hope. In the introduction, Vance explains that he graduated from Yale Law, left the woes of poverty behind, and ultimately became successful (LitCharts, 2019). He also explains that people in Appalachia have low social mobility. Poverty rates are high, drug addiction rates are high, and there is a misconception that people in Appalachia work harder than people outside the region. Despite all of these negatives, Vance found a way to get away from his mother, live with Mamaw, and focus on school. He then enlisted in the army. After that, he went to Ohio State and then to Yale. All of these factors combined led him to achieve upward mobility and helped him become a stronger person. Sociology says that you are a product of your environment. I believe it is true. Yes, the environment Vance grew up in was negative, but it was also his environment that shaped him into the man he is today. His environment taught him that no matter how hard life is, you always have a chance if you put in the work. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, Hillbilly Elegy is a book about the misfortunes of growing up in Appalachia. There are a lot of negatives in the book about Appalachia as a whole, but Vance brings things to a positive point when he talks about all the little things that made him who he is today. Vance’s story is just one example of the possibility of upward mobility. If you can see it, you can achieve it and memoirs like this show millions of people that, 12(3), 237-248.