Final Evaluation Blog

       The post from third quarter that I would like you to read is the first one about Leonel Castillo and C.P. Ellis. I would like you to read this post because I found both of their stories very interesting because of their different points of view. For example, Castillo's views on immigration were interesting as he was a man who was an immigrant himself but who also had experience as the director of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. Castillo's history made his point of view on immigration unique and different from most other peoples'. Also the story about C.P. Ellis was interesting because it was from the viewpoint of someone who was at one point a klansman, which was new to me. I found both of these passages strikingly and feel I true feeling in my responses which is why I would like you to grade them.
      The post from fourth quarter that I would like you to read is the one about Jack Culberg and Larry Heinemann. When writing about Larry Heinemann I felt passionate about my writing because I find the stories of war veterans interesting. I felt that my passion towards his story caused me to write well which is why I would like you to grade that entry. The other part of that entry was about Jack Culberg. I thought that what Jack Culberg wrote after being a wealthy businessman and CEO was interesting because he at times almost seemed to put down the wealthier people and CEO's in America. I thought he made interesting points and as a result I was able to blog passionately about him as well.

Jack Culberg & Larry Heinemann

I chose to read about Jack Culberg for a few reasons. I saw that he was a CEO and thought it would be interesting to see the views of a man who was financially stable and who could possible have had experience interacting with big-name people of the century. I also thought it would be interesting to hear the story of a man who was older and had many life experiences.

When I first read about Jack Culberg I initially predicted that he would be biased in favor of the upper class and feel little to no sympathy for the average worked. However I was wrong and Culberg seemed to not only have sympathy towards those in the middle and lower classes but showed distaste for men and women who live their lives with money as a top priority. Culberg expressed his disapproval of money-hungry workers when he added to saying that various important businessman rarely had time to talk by following up with saying, “I could be nasty and say, “Unless they can make a buck out of it”--- but I wont.” This shows how he believes that money should not be a top priority for people and that relationships and friendships are much more important. This also brings forth the concept that greed and love of money are problematic and can lead to negative events.

Also while discussing the topic of the economy and money, Jack Culberg expressed his concerns regarding the changing shifts of power in the business world. Culberg discussed how now there are more big corporations such as Target and Wal-Mart, and as a result less people in powerful positions. Jack Culberg then talked about how those men had the power to fire or lay off large amounts of people and how the competitive world today often results in people being forced to retire early or being fired. Culberg expressed this thought when he said, “The jungle has become worse. You can smell the insecurity and fear all over the place” Culberg expressed the difficulties of trying to make it in the world financially today and also brought forth the concept that people and constantly nervous and in fear of losing their jobs today, which of course is a problem.

The story of Jack Culberg connects to our class because we learned about the various changes in the business world such as the industrial revolution and the invention of the cotton gin. We also learned about various famous businessmen and their tactics such as Rockefeller and Carnegie.

I read about Larry Heinemann because he was a Vietnam War veteran, which connects to our current unit in class, the Vietnam War. A lot of Larry Heinemann ‘s opinions about the war connected to the views of other veterans, their families and politicians that we read about or heard from in class. For example Heinemann expressed disapproval of the reason for going to the war. He emphasized this when he said, “It was clear from the first day that it was a bunch of bullshit…Why are we fighting in Vietnam?”. Heinemann, just like many others at the time, did not support the war and questioned the decision to go to war in Vietnam. It is concerning that the just cause for the war was not understood by the American people as a whole.

      Heinemann discussed his post-war life and the lasting impact that the war had on him. He shows his struggle after the war when he explains, “I was going through classic symptoms of what is now called delayed stress”. Heinemann explained how the war impacted him and affected his life even after it ended. Heinemann struggled not only coping with his own experiences but also hearing about what happened to his friends after he left. The tragedies of the war bothered him mentally long after the war ended. 

Phil Stallings and Dolores Dante Entry 8

 Dolores Dante had been a waitress in the same restaurant for 25 years at the time of her interview. He picked up the job because he desperately needed money after her husband left her with three children and financial debts. Dolores Dante was a very passionate worker who believed in putting forth her best efforts at all times at work. She exclaimed that she loved what she did as a waitress and would keep that job as long as she could.

Dolores Dante interestingly discussed the views of labor in the time period. Dolores Dante believed that there were many hard working citizens in the country, and took a stab at stereotypically lazy business owners saying, “People say no one does good work any more….You know who’s saying that? The man at the top…” (334). This quote was interesting as it shows how easily people criticize others without a sense of understanding.

Phil Stallings was a 27-year-old married man who worked at the Ford assembly plant in Chicago. He worked from 3:30pm to midnight. Phil Stallings’ story reflected the difficult working conditions of his time period. Phil Stallings worked in a small, “two- or three- feet area” (354). He was forced to stay in a small area for hours on end and push the same button repetitively. During his work, he also was burned by sparks frequently.

    Both Phil Stallings and Dolores Dante discussed the competition amongst the labor force and the high demand for jobs. Dolores Dante expressed that by saying, “In life there is always someone who wants somebody’s job” (333). Phil Stalling expressed the idea of competing for jobs by saying, “Should I leave this job to go to the bathroom I risk being fired.” (355). By expressing how easily he could be fired, he emphasized the easiness of the company to replace him with a new employee.

Introduction+Tom Kearney+ Chester Kolar Entry 7

Tom Kearny brought up the concept that the great depression impacted people’s entire lvies, not just the years of their lives while the depression was going on. I never considered what people missed out on because of the depression, because people eventually recovered from in economically. However, Tom Kearny discusses the things he never got the chance to do because of the depression. He starts a response to one of Terkel’s questions with “If the depression hadn’t come along…” (263).  He then goes on to discuss how the depression impacted his entire life, and disabled him from doing things that even as an adult he wished he had done in his past.

Kearney also made various points comparing the newer generation to older ones. He simply stated that, “Today things are changing” (265). Kearney followed this by discussing various ways in which society had changed from his past to his present.

One of these changes Kearney discussed was integration and the change of social acceptance. He talked about his belief of integrated schooling, addressing Americans about other ethnicities saying, “You’re going to have to get along with them. They’re here, so you might as well go to school with them and get along with them” (265). This showed how Kearney believed everyone should simply learn to live together

Kearney also touched on the change in religious belief. He stated,  “It isn’t a big deal anymore” (266). By this he meant that times were changing and for the most part people in general were not as stubborn about changing their religious beliefs or acknowledging the different beliefs of others.

Kearney also discussed the industrial changes and progress made in the country throughout his life. While talking about machines and factories he declared, “One man can do the work of ten today” (266). By this he simply meant that technology had advanced a lot since his past and the industrial world changed significantly since he was younger.

Both Kearney and Chester Kolar discuss the generations following theirs, which would be the people closer to our age. One comment Kearney made that stood out was he said, “They seem to accept other people more easily than we did” (270). This was interesting as I have heard this before and wonder if it is because there was so much racial tension in past generations.

Chester Kolar discussed our generation by talking about the impact of the media and television. He brought up the idea that all of the unfortunate news did more harm for the people viewing and hearing it than good by saying, “I think this news we’re having is doing us more harm than good” (273). This shows how the media coverage of unfortunate events such as deaths of war can negatively impact people.

Peter Ota & Betty Hutchinson Entry 6

Peter Ota made a strong point when he discussed the beginning of his evacuation. While discussing his family’s perspective on the situation he said, “For a few days we didn’t know what happened” (205). This emphasized the poor treatment towards those of Japanese descent during the war. The fact that they did not know why the events were happening shows a clear constitutional violation.
One specific part of the Japanese internment camps that was not heavily discussed in our textbook was the separation of families. Peter Ota discussed the difficulty of his family being split up. Peter Ota’s mother died during the time period from tuberculosis and Peter and his sister were separated from their father. Peter expresses being separated from his family as a young boy by saying, “It was just my sister and myself. I was fifteen, she was twelve” (205).

  Betty Basye Hutchinson brought up very interesting points regarding the lifestyle changes that occurred on the homefront during the war. One way she did this was by discussing her first hand experience of becoming active and making efforts to help the United States succeed in the war. Betty explained this by saying, “Immediately, I was going to become a nurse. That was the fastest thing could do to help our boy” (211) Through this statement Betty showed her willingness and eagerness to help the war effort from the homefront.
Betty Hutchinson also discussed the faith that the people had in the government, and more specifically President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Betty discusses the internment of many Japanese during the war, but comments that in her mind she thought, “It must have been okay if President Roosevelt said it was okay” (211). This statement represents the trust that the American people had in their government of the time and the faith that the president was making the right decision. This is very different from today where people are questioning every step of political action taken around the world.
Betty Hutchinson talked about the general lifestyle change that resulted from the war. Hutchinson stated that the lifestyle change was drastic and changed significantly from the months before the war to the culture during the wartime. Betty Hutchinson commented on the war saying, “It meant an end to all that life I had known just a few months before” (212). This emphasizes the impact the war made on the homefront.