Covering Chapters 13-16 of Huck’s Raft
It’s 1971 and you are sitting down in your suburban (or urban) living room to watch some television, away from the daily grinds of being a homemaker. Just when you think it’s okay to rest, your partner begins to complain about, well, everything, and your long-haired son in a green army jacket and ultra-feminist daughter further infringe on your time. Your son wants money to simply go “hang out” with friends, and your daughter, after asking for money, mumbles something about your being a domestic slave. “Things used to be so much simpler when I was their age,” you think to yourself. Were they? Once your partner scuttles off to bed, and it is not totally clear when your children will be home, you turn off the television and add an entry to your journal.
Please be clear who you wish you inhabit for the sake of your narrative, i.e. “as a poor/wealthy/middle class woman (white, of color, etc.). Also keep in mind the following:
– Your views should sound either conservative OR that you see something of yourselves in your children
– Talk about what shaped your ideas about yourself, family, children, childrearing: WWII, the Cold War, your faith, the 1960s, etc.
– Be specific as to where in the US you live
– Are you optimistic about the future? Why or why not?