Storytelling
1) Ann Banks hooks the reader by retelling her Grandmother’s story from the Great Depression. I think this story appeals to most readers because it offers a different perspective on the economic situation. While most recent news stories have a negative outlook on the economic situation, this one gives us hope that everything will be okay and get better. It shows that people have faced worse economic situations in the past, but they were still able to overcome them.
2) The article goes on to describe many other situations that people faced during the Great Depression. Instead of just saying “times were tough,” the author gives specific examples, such as “Marie Haggerty, a Massachusetts housemaid who talked about how, when her employer left a $5 bill on the floor, “my face burnt like fire, for I knowed I was gettin’ tested.”‘ The author also uses other details like “They peddled cake flavoring and cased sausages, they auctioned tobacco, they fished and smuggled rum,” to really give the reader a feel of what people faced during the Great Depression.
3) For the conclusion, the author ties it all together by connecting the challenges they faced in the past to the challenges that we are currently facing: “These days, we may not be passing the hat at parties to come up with rent money, but we are in the midst of an economic meltdown.” The author then states how storytelling helped carry people through the Great Depression, and how it can help carry us through the current economic situation. “Listening to each other’s stories may grant us a sense of common purpose that money can’t buy.”
Filed by efsw18 at February 11th, 2009 under Uncategorized
