Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2002-03-27 01:57 pm
azurelunatic) wrote2002-03-27 01:57 pm
My summary paper rough draft
Summary of “People Don’t Know Right from Wrong Anymore
Lillian B. Rubin first interviewed Marguerite Jenkins for her book Worlds of Pain: Life in the Working Class Family. At the time of the interview, Marguerite had been married, twenty years old with two young children, and a husband who routinely lost jobs. Now, twenty or more years later, Marguerite was divorced, and her high school age daughter had just gotten an abortion. Marguerite was infuriated, and worried that Candy, only seventeen, would make some of the same unfortunate choices that led to her own situation.
In the old America where Marguerite got pregnant in high school, marriage was a given if the girl got pregnant. Neither of the young couple may have been particularly happy about it, especially the groom, but it was what you did, if you got caught. Marguerite’s husband Larry abandoned her and their three children. Marguerite went on welfare and believes, now, that getting married was one of the worst mistakes she could have made. Neither partner was mature enough to take on the responsibilities of marriage and raising and supporting children.
Unfortunately, Marguerite is not alone in her experience. Lillian found that over half of the couples from her earlier interviews had been divorced. Almost all of the men had remarried. The women had all suffered severe financial crises when abandoned; now, more than 1/3 of the women of the split couples remained single and in a constant state of monetary predicament.
Given this history, proof of the instability of teenage marriage, one would expect Marguerite to look more calmly on her daughter’s choice, to be more compassionate. Digging deeper, we find that Marguerite was terrified at the concept of pregnancy, and she expected her daughter to be so as well. Candy was in fact terrified, but reacted differently to the idea of marriage. Marguerite had been scared that she wouldn’t get married. Candy was scared that she would.
Working-class parents who have been through the cycle of pregnancy, marriage, and divorce know that forcing their children into marriage is a bad idea. This doesn’t make them any happier with the idea of their kids getting in trouble. Worse than getting in trouble is the perceived lack of shame. Marguerite’s generation had known all too well that they’d done something wrong, and were ashamed of themselves. Now, when they look at the attitudes of their children, and see in them none of the shame and guilt that the same actions would have caused twenty years ago, the parents feel that they have failed to pass along a sense of right and wrong. However, today’s young people feel shame and guilt just as sharply as their parents. The causes of the shame and guilt are different, today. An evolving society holds different things to be acceptable and unacceptable with each generation.
Candy was not ashamed like her mother when she got pregnant, because today’s society allows for that. Marguerite was horrified by her daughter’s pregnancy, but was not ashamed to be divorced. Marguerite’s mother’s generation would have had the same horror of divorce, the same level of scandal. Today’s youth views lovemaking between two people who are in love as perfectly fine, whether or not marriage is involved.
Some factors involved in this changing attitude toward sex include attitude changes about female sexuality, divorce, and the growing numbers of women, especially married women, working. A girl dreamed of being a bride, twenty years ago. Today, a young woman dreams of living life to its fullest: a good job, traveling, before finally settling down with a husband and children: the right husband. Statistics chime in to support this: 1970’s numbers show that most women married around 20, men at 22. In 1990, women married at 24 and men at 26. These days, it is far less surprising to find either men or women who are still single at 30. Longer lifespans contribute to this. Older parents will still be alive for their children; longer lifespans mean a longer time with the partner; it is essential to pick the right mate.
The marriage statistics for the black community tell a sad story. Rather than the drastic number of unmarried black women being a result of a cultural value set that puts less stress on marriage, it is in fact due to a shortage of eligible partners. The unemployment rate for white men is 6.8%; the unemployment rate for black men is 15%, and most likely higher due to the people who never make it into the statistics. Of those black men of the best age to get married, those who have jobs earn approximately 1/3 less than the comparable white male. Raising children alone may be rough, but better than having no children at all, according to some of the girls interviewed.
A widening rift in the viewpoints of parents and children of the working class is responsible for the idea that the morals of the new generation are disintegrating. Working class parents view the other classes with suspicion at best: upper-class values are corrupt, the extreme lower-class is a low point they fear their children will fall to. Nowhere around them is a comfortable reflection of the values they were raised to uphold. Middle-class parents have been exposed to a broader range of ideas, opening their minds to some of the same ideas and ideals their children share; middle-class parents are far less likely to fly off the handle if they discover that their teenage daughter has been having sex.
More working-class young people are moving out on their own without getting married, as soon as they can support themselves. If they stayed at home, they would have to work just as hard to help support the family, and live with less personal freedom, more restrictions. More middle-class young people have started to remain living in the security of their parents’ homes, in the standard of living that they are used to, with nearly as much privacy as they would have living on their own. This holds true for the sons, at least. Young women may find themselves far more restricted at home. Studies, while vague, indicate only 20% of young women 25-34 live with their parents, compared to 32% of men the same age.
The restrictions imposed on the children of working-class parents may be only partially due to economic need. To some working-class parents, their children are their way of rising, socially. A well-behaved child who is everything their parents have ever aspired to be, is an outward mark of social status. Children who reject the strict control and move out on their own invite some parental wrath. Things have changed so drastically much from generation to generation that one father claims that if his sister had tried moving out on her own, she would have been killed by their father, while he can’t do much to prevent his own daughter from moving out. While paying lip service to the old values, parents are forced to accept change as their children embrace the new. Even staunch conservative public figures acknowledge the possibility that their children, or grandchildren, will do something that they would have found completely unacceptable in their day. When push comes to shove, most parents will side with their children.
Were the good old days really quite so good? No. They were different. Cultural values have been shaken up in the intervening years, the economy has been shaken, and now the working-class family doesn’t quite know where it stands. Statisticians deliberately misinterpret data, wishing the status quo to maintain itself, but the reality is, we live in an ever-changing society. Debates about how morality has disappeared from our young people only distract us from the underlying and all too real problems of government and economy that wrought some of these changes in the first place.
1322 words
...if you're familiar with the source piece, feel free to critique for accurate summary. Anybody else, critique for grammar, usage, phrasing, etc. I need to get this down to 600-900 words.
Lillian B. Rubin first interviewed Marguerite Jenkins for her book Worlds of Pain: Life in the Working Class Family. At the time of the interview, Marguerite had been married, twenty years old with two young children, and a husband who routinely lost jobs. Now, twenty or more years later, Marguerite was divorced, and her high school age daughter had just gotten an abortion. Marguerite was infuriated, and worried that Candy, only seventeen, would make some of the same unfortunate choices that led to her own situation.
In the old America where Marguerite got pregnant in high school, marriage was a given if the girl got pregnant. Neither of the young couple may have been particularly happy about it, especially the groom, but it was what you did, if you got caught. Marguerite’s husband Larry abandoned her and their three children. Marguerite went on welfare and believes, now, that getting married was one of the worst mistakes she could have made. Neither partner was mature enough to take on the responsibilities of marriage and raising and supporting children.
Unfortunately, Marguerite is not alone in her experience. Lillian found that over half of the couples from her earlier interviews had been divorced. Almost all of the men had remarried. The women had all suffered severe financial crises when abandoned; now, more than 1/3 of the women of the split couples remained single and in a constant state of monetary predicament.
Given this history, proof of the instability of teenage marriage, one would expect Marguerite to look more calmly on her daughter’s choice, to be more compassionate. Digging deeper, we find that Marguerite was terrified at the concept of pregnancy, and she expected her daughter to be so as well. Candy was in fact terrified, but reacted differently to the idea of marriage. Marguerite had been scared that she wouldn’t get married. Candy was scared that she would.
Working-class parents who have been through the cycle of pregnancy, marriage, and divorce know that forcing their children into marriage is a bad idea. This doesn’t make them any happier with the idea of their kids getting in trouble. Worse than getting in trouble is the perceived lack of shame. Marguerite’s generation had known all too well that they’d done something wrong, and were ashamed of themselves. Now, when they look at the attitudes of their children, and see in them none of the shame and guilt that the same actions would have caused twenty years ago, the parents feel that they have failed to pass along a sense of right and wrong. However, today’s young people feel shame and guilt just as sharply as their parents. The causes of the shame and guilt are different, today. An evolving society holds different things to be acceptable and unacceptable with each generation.
Candy was not ashamed like her mother when she got pregnant, because today’s society allows for that. Marguerite was horrified by her daughter’s pregnancy, but was not ashamed to be divorced. Marguerite’s mother’s generation would have had the same horror of divorce, the same level of scandal. Today’s youth views lovemaking between two people who are in love as perfectly fine, whether or not marriage is involved.
Some factors involved in this changing attitude toward sex include attitude changes about female sexuality, divorce, and the growing numbers of women, especially married women, working. A girl dreamed of being a bride, twenty years ago. Today, a young woman dreams of living life to its fullest: a good job, traveling, before finally settling down with a husband and children: the right husband. Statistics chime in to support this: 1970’s numbers show that most women married around 20, men at 22. In 1990, women married at 24 and men at 26. These days, it is far less surprising to find either men or women who are still single at 30. Longer lifespans contribute to this. Older parents will still be alive for their children; longer lifespans mean a longer time with the partner; it is essential to pick the right mate.
The marriage statistics for the black community tell a sad story. Rather than the drastic number of unmarried black women being a result of a cultural value set that puts less stress on marriage, it is in fact due to a shortage of eligible partners. The unemployment rate for white men is 6.8%; the unemployment rate for black men is 15%, and most likely higher due to the people who never make it into the statistics. Of those black men of the best age to get married, those who have jobs earn approximately 1/3 less than the comparable white male. Raising children alone may be rough, but better than having no children at all, according to some of the girls interviewed.
A widening rift in the viewpoints of parents and children of the working class is responsible for the idea that the morals of the new generation are disintegrating. Working class parents view the other classes with suspicion at best: upper-class values are corrupt, the extreme lower-class is a low point they fear their children will fall to. Nowhere around them is a comfortable reflection of the values they were raised to uphold. Middle-class parents have been exposed to a broader range of ideas, opening their minds to some of the same ideas and ideals their children share; middle-class parents are far less likely to fly off the handle if they discover that their teenage daughter has been having sex.
More working-class young people are moving out on their own without getting married, as soon as they can support themselves. If they stayed at home, they would have to work just as hard to help support the family, and live with less personal freedom, more restrictions. More middle-class young people have started to remain living in the security of their parents’ homes, in the standard of living that they are used to, with nearly as much privacy as they would have living on their own. This holds true for the sons, at least. Young women may find themselves far more restricted at home. Studies, while vague, indicate only 20% of young women 25-34 live with their parents, compared to 32% of men the same age.
The restrictions imposed on the children of working-class parents may be only partially due to economic need. To some working-class parents, their children are their way of rising, socially. A well-behaved child who is everything their parents have ever aspired to be, is an outward mark of social status. Children who reject the strict control and move out on their own invite some parental wrath. Things have changed so drastically much from generation to generation that one father claims that if his sister had tried moving out on her own, she would have been killed by their father, while he can’t do much to prevent his own daughter from moving out. While paying lip service to the old values, parents are forced to accept change as their children embrace the new. Even staunch conservative public figures acknowledge the possibility that their children, or grandchildren, will do something that they would have found completely unacceptable in their day. When push comes to shove, most parents will side with their children.
Were the good old days really quite so good? No. They were different. Cultural values have been shaken up in the intervening years, the economy has been shaken, and now the working-class family doesn’t quite know where it stands. Statisticians deliberately misinterpret data, wishing the status quo to maintain itself, but the reality is, we live in an ever-changing society. Debates about how morality has disappeared from our young people only distract us from the underlying and all too real problems of government and economy that wrought some of these changes in the first place.
1322 words
...if you're familiar with the source piece, feel free to critique for accurate summary. Anybody else, critique for grammar, usage, phrasing, etc. I need to get this down to 600-900 words.