Blog #3 Jane Yoder / Peggy Terry And Her Mother, Mary Owsley

Jane Yoder-

In this short story we learn about the struggle that took place during the great depression. While reading this I remember feeling appreciative of what I have got. When Jane was in fourth grade she was extremely cold and she had no blankets, and no coats. Her older sister bought a coat and Jane remembers taking the coat in order to be warm. She, "...took that coat home and [she] waited till Sunday and wore it to church. And then everybody laughed. [She] looked horrid" (Terkel 127). At this time, Jane did not care how she looked, or how others viewed her as a person. Jane needed to do, what she needed to do in order to stay alive. If that meant that she had to wear an ugly coat in order to stay warm, then she would do it. I commend Jane for not caring how others viewed her. She had a strong sense of what was important in life. She didn't understand how people could have thirty blouses, or ten sweaters because she would think, "I have no desire to think where I'd hang them" (Turkel 128). When reading this I thought of how selfless Jane is and how she doesn't see the need to have so many things. I think that has a lot to do with what she already had, and how she learned to accept what she had and learned how to survive. When reading "Tom Yoder, Jane's Son" he said something that stuck with me. "But it's only human nature that we all want to go on and find something better" (Turkel 130). Do you believe that statement is true??

Peggy Terry And Her Mother, Mary Owsley-

I really enjoyed reading reading this. There was something that started Terry's thinking. It was when she was reading about President Roosevelt's cuff links. She had read that some of his cuff links were rubies and precious stones. She will never forget. She recalls, "I was sitting out there in the hot sun, there weren't any trees. And i was wondering why it is that one man could have all those cuff links when we couldn't even have enough to eat" (Turkel 144). That would make me angry too if I read that. If I was in her position reading about how the president is going by with out any suffering that I would despise the president. I would be thinking how unfair it is that the president isn't doing anything, and things that are not that important (like cuff links) are being made for him with rubies and stones. A little later on in the story she read "Grapes of Wrath" After reading this book she became proud of poor people, and she never thought that she would ever do that. She said, "I think that's the worst thing that our system [government] does to people, is to take away their pride. It prevents them from being human being" (Turkel 145). People who grow up poor never feel a sense of pride and joy because they are always comparing themselves to those of higher status. It's always a competition as to who is better than whom. I think that is why it built some self esteem in Terry after reading that book, and it's what she needed to help her feel good about herself. What do you guys think?