Hillbilly Elegy Summary
5 min read ⌚
A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
A Memoir of a Family and Culture in CrisisWhat moves us into writing a memoir that contains everything about our lives? High hopes or difficult past?
We can all agree that this life has many crossroads, and taking the right path is easier said than done.
Let’s dive right into the details to find out what made J.D. Vance so eager to cut the pie into several pieces, which represent all the chapters in his life.
Who Should Read “Hillbilly Elegy”? And Why?
Hillbilly Elegy is one exceptional memoir that is designed to bring hope to all those hopeless individuals.
As such we highly recommended it to anyone with a desire to exploits its possibilities by encouraging you to take what is rightfully yours.
About J.D. Vance
J.D. Vance is a venture capitalist, born on August 2nd, 1984 in Middletown Ohio.
Although he is best known for his notable work “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance experienced success in various fields.
“Hillbilly Elegy PDF Summary”
J.D. Vance’s memoir illustrates the launch of a new rocket that landed to the highest point of Amazon bestseller lists and New York Times. Reaching the highest rank threw a shadow on many misunderstandings that later became the foundation for a brand-new media sensation.
Here’s how:
Vance realized how the media actually works, and with the help of “intellectual firing squad” managed to offer a comprehensive clarification covering many topics regarding the voting behavior of the white communities.
How did they convert from economic-oriented into political voters, who supported an underdog with very little tricks up its sleeves? This trickery later became a topic subjected to various arguments and quarrels.
Driven by a passion for avoiding the mediocrity in order to rise to a new cultural and social staircase, he had to confront a handful of conventional principles that his community imposed on its residents. When he obtained his B.A. from Yale Law School, Vance shared a sincere overlook covering the lives of the Appalachians who dwelled in Rust Belt towns.
Sad but true – many people are still absent choice and deprived of the basic human rights. To some of these individuals, poverty is so deeply embedded in their way of life, that they cannot even do without it.
On numerous occasions, you can hear Vance identifying with a troublemaking group that he believes is extremely talented despite its reputation. Known as outsiders and “refugees,” not in the traditional sense, he praises their attitude in spite of their urge for stealing, doing drugs, fighting and drinking.
“We” The Hillbillies represent the toughest group of people living on this planet.
Not a good nickname for many people, but these folks are proud of their origins and way of life. Fighting is something that is acceptable to full-extent in such community. In truth, such conflicts occur quite often. Vance’s Uncle once hardly punched a man, and later on, he even mutilated him by using an electric saw. What a sight, ha?
Not long afterward, Vance became a witness of the non-ending confrontations between Mamaw and Papaw.
Vance’s Mother wasn’t exactly the perfect match.
Vance’s mother later became a drug addict, but during the life-road, she was also prone to bizarre upbringing methods. Vance recalls, that when he was 12 years old, his mother became so furious while driving, that she even threatened to drive the car off a cliff.
Instead, she stopped the car and started beating him with no intentions of slowing down. Vance was forced to leave the car and run to a house next-door, whereby the householder called the cops.
Mamaw defeated the odds and turned Vance into the person he is today
Such painful memories are a solid foundation for developing into an unstable adult, which was not the case here. Although his childhood was filled with scandals, and difficulties, that later continued at the same pace in the teenage period, Vance had high hopes even though he lost interest in school.
The US Marine Corps became his family
Despite earning a high score on his SAT, Vance feared that he wouldn’t be able to fit into any high-profile University. Before enrolling at Ohio State University, he sensed an urge that the time is not right. Clueless about his future, and financial rights, he rejected the possibility of taking a loan in order to get a College Degree.
The College Degree and Vance’s ticket to prosperity.
After serving his country, Vance fulfilled his promised by enrolling at Ohio State University. He, later on, joined the Yale Law School and saw that he is not an underdog, despite the classifications required.
Key Lessons from “Hillbilly Elegy”
1. Drastic times call for drastic measures
2. Find the perfect role model for yourself
3. Share your opinion with the public
Drastic times call for drastic measures
Being raised in a tough environment can give you the edge when joining the Marines. If something is not missing, that is discipline, practice, and principles.
On the brink of the Iraqi war, he signed up to join the Marine Corps and endured the physical regime imposed by the officers.
Find the perfect role model for yourself
Despite the explosive temper and emotional outbursts, Mamaw served as a role model in Vance’s life.
Young Vance was taught not to fight and focus on the learning process.
According to some testimonies, she made only one exception in her approach, when a school bully continued to harass many of his friends and classmates.
Share your opinion with the public
To change the public opinion regarding the Scots-Irish community and tradition he even wrote:
“Whenever people ask me what I’d most like to change about the white working class, I say, “The feeling that our choices don’t matter.”
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“Hillbilly Elegy” Quotes
What separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives. Yet the message of the right is increasing - It’s not your fault that you’re a loser; it’s the government’s fault. Click To Tweet Psychologists call it “learned helplessness” when a person believes, as I did during my youth, that the choices I made had no effect on the outcomes in my life. Click To Tweet Today people look at me, at my job and my Ivy League credentials, and assume that I’m some sort of genius, that only a truly extraordinary person could have made it to where I am today. With all due respect to those people, I think that… Click To Tweet People talk about hard work all the time in places like Middletown. You can walk through a town where 30 percent of the young men work fewer than twenty hours a week and find not a single person aware of his own laziness. Click To Tweet But yeah, like everyone else in our family, they could go from zero to murderous in a fucking heartbeat. Click To Tweet
Our Critical Review
From the moment we started reading this book, we were aware that our final response would be positive.
Not only that we give our thumbs up, but also, we’d like to encourage you to share something similar to this if you ever have the opportunity.
Emir is the Head of Marketing at 12min. In his spare time, he loves to meditate and play soccer.
