"Homeward Bound" by Elaine Tyler May

Paper Summary:

The writer of this paper clearly describes American life in the 1950s as vividly detailed in Elaine Tyler May's novel "Homeward Bound." In order to reveal the roots of the 1950s family, May discusses intimate relationships in a sociological setting during the depression years. The author's novel also clarifies the structure of the 1950s marriage with its emphasis on both self-sacrifice and togetherness. This paper describes the content of each chapter in May's novel. In chapter 3, "War and Peace Fanning the Home Fires" women's roles continued to grow, as their labor was required to build the machinery that would win World War II. While chapters six and seven, "Baby Boom and Birth Control" and "The Commodity Gap" tell of the changing values during the 1950s. This paper also discusses the author's various methodologies to explain the restructuring of the family that followed the depression and WWII.

From the Paper:

"In order to reveal the roots of the 1950's family, May discusses intimate relationships in a sociological setting during the Depression years. In Chapter 3, Hard Times at Home, The Depression years, according to May's statistics, this period had both the lowest marriage and birth rate of any other period of time during the Twentieth Century. May submits that the depression of the economy caused many young couples of that time to delay marriage and children because of financial insecurity. She also notes that women's roles at that time were very unlike those touted in the 1950's. She maintains that couples who chose to wed at that time expected a relatively equal marriage with both the husband and wife helping to support the family economically."

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