Monday, September 3, 2012

"You're gone from me...tragedy." Song lyrics

Dusting off the cover and re-reading "Tragic Ground," I found to be an entertaining read.

"Tragic Ground" is an example of the naturalistic style of American Literature where the character is placed in a situation beyond their control and the situation dictates the story.

Written in 1944, the story tells of Spence Douthit who moved from Beasley County to a Southern community to work during WWII.

During the war, people were recruited to this area to help provide things needed for the war. However, after the war, the manufacturing plant closed and work opportunities were slim. Many of the people were so poor, they didn't have the financial means to return to their original homes. The community where Spence lived became known as Poor Town.

Spence has two daughters, Libby, age twenty, and Mavis, age thirteen. Libby has a job and a boyfriend who is about to be discharged from a military hospital. Mavis sees how bleak the situation is at her home. She becomes attracted to boys and having a good time.

Since Libby men a man with money and prospects, Spence gets an idea of fixing Mavis up with a wealthy man to marry. His idea is that this would give the family the money to move back to Beasley County and everything would be fine.

The writing is in the fashion of the day with so little to hope for and dreams which will never come true.

A social worker comes to Spence's home about Mavis living at a place that is improper for young girls and this adds to the drama of the story.

I found the story to be interesting and compare it to Theodore Dreiser's work. The story provided a different look at a time and place in American history.

Reading the plight of Spence's family and those around him, makes the reader appreciate what they have and wish that things could have been better for those less fortunate.

6 comments:

Katy S said...

Sounds a bit of a downer for me, but then who am I to talk when I read about serial killers and such? Heh. But I've never been a fan of really realistic books, as they tend to depress me. Good review. I'm getting your posts via email, so I wanted to let you know that. Won't always comment, but I'll be seeing them, anyway :-)

Unknown said...

Thanks, Katy. I'm glad you enjoy my reviews and your analyses of this as a bit of a downer, is right on. He did add some humor to the book and that made the reading much more entertaining.

Patricia said...

Sometimes I worry too much about others' downfalls, and I fear I may end up there.
I did enjoy your review, Mike, but I think I might pass on picking up the actual book!

Patricia

Anonymous said...

Nice down load hyperlinks.
Also visit my webpage wupload.im

Anonymous said...

Its such as you learn my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the e-book in it or something.
I think that you can do with a few p.c. to force the message
home a little bit, however instead of that, this is great blog.
A fantastic read. I'll certainly be back.
Look at my website losless music download

yanmaneee said...

calvin klein underwear
kd 13
yeezy sneakers
moncler
moncler jackets
longchamp
supreme outlet
kyrie shoes
golden goose
goyard

Currently Reading

Currently Reading
Broken Promise