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| Hobos of the Great Depression |
For your Friday, April 15, blog, please post a comment of at least two well-developed paragraphs in which you contrast the depiction of characters defined by their relationship to the American road by Flannery O'Connor, in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" (1011-1014) and Jack Kerouac, in "The Vanishing American Hobo" (1124-1147).
After you post your comment, please reply in one well-developed paragraph to at least one of the other students' comments.
Reminders for next week:
Monday's reading: Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love,” 1361-71, and Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif,” 1398-1415.
Wednesday: draft workshop for research paper.
Have a great weekend,
Dr. K
Relationships to the American road are portrayed in both Flanner O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and Jack Kerouac's "The Vanishing American Hobo;" however, the relationship with the American road are based on different motives. The Misfit in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is on the run. His relationship with the road is because he escaped from prison and is on the run. The narrator in "The Vanishing American Hobo" describes a relationship with the road based on the want of freedom.
ReplyDeleteThe Misfit has to be on the road, rather than wanting to be there. When apologizing to the grandmother for not having a shirt on he says, "...we're just making do until we can get better" (1021). His relationship with the road is temporary and, probably, unwanted. He's just "making do." But, while his life on the road is only because he is escaping from prison: he is still getting away with it. He has done something wrong and is able to be on the road.
On the other hand, the narrator in "The Vanishing American Hobo describes a relationship with the road in which people want to be there. They seek freedom and can't have it. "In America camping is considered a healthy sport for Boy Scouts but a crime for mature men who have made it their vocation." So, while The Misfit, a prison escapee, can be out on the road- a crimeless man cannot be without being harassed constantly. The narrator, and the hobos he mentions, in this piece seeks nothing but to be free without having to hide and without be questioned and feared.
The relationships to the road in these pieces are different. One seeks to hide and be on the run and is able to live on the road with no problems. The other seeks to be free without hiding and lives on the road facing harassment and being feared.
I enjoyed your discussion of the contradictory situations between the hobos of Kerouac's work and the criminals on O'Connor's. I hadn't noticed that the criminals did seem to have control of the road they did not wish to reside in and the hobos being harassed by the police just for existing in the life they do. These are two different narratives, but seem to tell the same story. Kerouac talks about the demonization of the passive demeanors of hobos, while O'Connor portrays the men forced onto the street as the more trusted because they have an automobile that hobos don't.
DeleteGood point, pointing out the different freedoms of the American road in regards to the American hobos, and the misfit. I like the fact that you distinguished how the misfit (a serial killer) had some more freedom as opposed to the American hobos who more often than not, are crime-less men and women.
DeleteIn Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the characters related to the road are the Misfit and his gang. These men are mobile and call their home, and their freedom, the road. These criminals are the physical embodiment of everything that scares people away from long, lonely stretches of road. Portrayed without conscious or morality, O’Connor connect them to the highway as permanent, always-watching entities. They wait and wait for the perfect moment to strike some poor, innocent travelers. Like the highways, these psychopaths reach all corners of the map, making no place safe, not even one’s home.
ReplyDeleteJack Kerouac offers a different view of the inhabitants of the highways in his essay, “The Vanishing American Hobo.” To Kerouac, hobos that live nowhere, but reside everywhere, are harmless, if not a good kind of interesting. These hobos are not the Misfit that O’Connor speaks of. These hobos live their lives and “don’t bother nobody!” It is interesting because Kerouac defines these men as being beyond something, maybe society. They represent a higher way of life in a way, quite different from the degeneracy in O’Connor’s work.
I like how you said that the hobos are 'a good kind of interesting.' I agree that stories like O'Connor's are the reason people are so afraid of the open road. People, myself included, often forget how the different circumstances for homelessness, some of these people could be the most fascinating humans you could ever meet.
DeleteI like how you compared the American road to the Misfits, as I went straight to the heart of the story and immediately compared the family to the road. I also like the quote that you used from Kerouac's story. It is true, hobos are depicted so well in this story, when often in America we feel remorse and sadness for not helping out the wanderer we see on the side of the road.
DeleteThe Misfit and his gang are able to live on their road, after doing something wrong, by hiding and getting away with it. Then there's the hoboes who get harassed for their life on the road. It seems a little backwards. The poor hobo's are choosing to live out their for the sake of freedom from life... not for the sake of freedom from prison, but they get harassed and bothered. People are fearful of them. Probably because people assume they're like The Misfit who, like you said, scare people away from "long, lonely stretches of road." The poor hobo's just want to live peacefully out on the road. /:
ReplyDeleteThere is a moment when the Misfit's voice cracks as he says that things might have been different. That and the fact that there is some mystery around his original crime suggest he might have been forced into this fugitive lifestyle. It is saddening, though I agree that the hobo gets the short end of the stick. The Hobo has the pure pursuit of individualism and only wishes kindness in each stop he takes, but does not find it, and that is unfortunate and heartbreaking.
DeleteI completely agree with your contrast on the homeless and then The Misfit and his crew. The two groups are compiled into one classification, which is absolutely more than unfair seeing that one is out to harm, kill and take advantage of the innocent, while the other is trying to live their own lives and enjoy what nature has to offer.
DeleteThe "American" road and the relationships it holds in the American culture is a steady one. The American road is something that had been glorified more now than ever in the early and mid 1900s. Many American consumers were buying cars and wanting to go places, take trips. In Flannery O'Connor, in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", There is a family who takes the journey on the open road, as a means of family connection and bonding. Its a tale all too well of the family vacation movies or stories that have proved how being on the road can bring a family closer together. In the case of "A Good Man is Hard to Find", this family is faced with death as they crash and are rescued by a serial killer on the loose.
ReplyDeleteSome times its not about taking the trip on the American Road in the car, sometimes this road is traveled by foot, and this is a valid point made in Jack Kerouac, in "The Vanishing American Hobo". Kerouac argues that America doesn't understand the cultural value of the American hobo and their "...definite special idea of foot-walking freedom...". The American hobo are expressing their free nature by taking the initiative to travel by foot, explore, and find peace. The American road is, for the simple fact. all the American hobo really has.
I liked how you compared the journey taken on foot versus by car. The family in the car seems tense and not very happy while the American hobo felt free and at peace while he was on foot. It also showed how dangerous it is to be on the road but the danger was more prominent in the story with the cars rather than on foot. Really interesting concept and idea.
DeleteThe road plays an important role in Flannery O'Connors "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and in Jack Kerouac's "The Vanishing American Hobo." In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" the Misfit lives his life of crime on the road with his group of baddies. This Misfit feels as if he belongs on the road because of the life he has chosen for himself. He believes himself to be the bad guy. In this story, it's easy for the Misfit to live his life on the road and yet the reader can tell that he has trouble. He doesn't have a shirt on and they're just "making do" until something better comes along.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in "The Vanishing American Hobo" Kerouac makes the point that it's becoming more difficult for a hobo to live out his life on the road because of "police surveillance of highways, railroad yards, sea shores, river bottoms, embankments and the thousand-and-one hiding holes of industrial night" (1139). There was this idea of freedom attached to the idea of being a hobo. You could wherever you wanted and you had nothing holding you back. It wasn't seen as a disability or something bad but it soon turned that way and no, hobos are seen as pitiful almost. It turned into a crime and a man who wanted to camp out and leave everything behind could no longer do so. The Misfit embodies what is bad about the road while the American hobo tried to define what was good.
I like your take on how the evil and good of the american road. The misfit is the embodiment of everything bad about the road and the American hobo is trying to define what is good about this life style. You had great points, I like how you mentioned how in the American Hobo, it was harder to be a hobo because of stricter police surveillance. To me, this seems to highlight the hobos intent to seek freedom much more.
DeleteIn Flannery O’Conner’s A Good Man is Hard to Find the characters of the family are set as traditional 1950’s southern family system. There is a mother and father, three children, and a grandmother. This family dynamic shows the structure of American values. Although, the children in the family are a little brazen and wild they still represent family values. The Misfit on the other hand shows the dark underworld of an almost shinny and happy setting of a good wholesome family vacation. The Misfit’s demented attitude brings this story into that of horror. The Misfit doesn’t see any pleasure in killing it’s almost like second nature to him, “It’s no real pleasure in life” (1024)
ReplyDeleteThe Vanishing American Hobo by Jack Kerouac shows us a different side of the world, one that is invisible to those who never have to go through it. Kerouac shows the nature of how the better off people of the world deal with the impoverish. Hoboing used to be considered a useful way of life, something of wanderlust, “a definite special idea of footwalking freedom going back to the days of Jim Bridger and Johnny Appleseed” (1140). But then the media portrayed a different idea of a hobo as, “ the rapist, the strangler, child eater” (1140).
Both stories represent an idea of the American Road, O’Conner shows both the joy and the horror of discovering the open road with a feisty family, whereas Kerouac shows the hidden lives of many people who are stranded in a particular depressing way of life.
I really like how you said "is invisible to those who never have to go through it" because their lifestyle is almost fake to us. We do not know what they have gone through to be in this position or if they're doing it for the "wanderlust" you also said they have. They can have interesting stories but since the media has portrayed them as something so frightening we don't give the opportunity to learn them.
DeleteToday's media aids in inciting fear of "others" such as those individuals who travel the road. Folk stories and music have created a hero among those who lived long ago, and people do tend to ignore what is no longer romanticized, but is real, sad, and heartbreaking; turning them into criminals before they have committed a crime based solely on their disadvantaged position in life. I preferred "The Vanishing Hobo." I happen to find comfort in false nostalgia. This was a great blog, Katie!
DeleteThe concept of living on the road is portrayed in both Flannery O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find,' and in Jack Kerouac's 'The Vanishing American Hobo,' but in fairly different ways. O'Connor introduces us to The Misfit and his henchman, terrifying, murderous characters living on the road as a means of hiding from the police.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast with the predatory nature of The Misfit, Jack Kerouac portrays the American Hobo as peaceful people who are not looking to bother anyone, but are still forced to be wary of the police. He had a more artistic view of living on the road, while in 'A Good Man is Hard to Find,' the Misfit has no other choice but to be on the road, Kerouac portrays many hobos as willing. He talks about important icons like Walt Whitman and Benjamin Franklin as travelers of the open road. He deems it unfair that hobos are viewed negatively and feared.
The stories illustrate the subjective nature of concepts like "The Road." Things are often what you make them, so while the hobo values the road as his way of life, the criminal see it as the only place he can go. Thus the road can be seen as either a home or a prison, depending on one's perspective. This is seen in the Misfit's statement that they are "just making do." By contrast Kerouac's hobos are on the road because they choose to be. The freedom of the hobo is being infringed upon because the public assumes one would only be on the road if they had to be, usually because they were a criminal.
DeleteThere is a certain type of man associated with the American road. He does not belong in a particular place therefore spends his life on the road. Because of this nomadic freedom, he is disliked by those that are stationary, the ‘normal’ society. Often times this stems from or leads to a sense of abandonment and loneliness.
ReplyDeleteIn Flannery O'Connor’s "A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the Misfit is as his name means, a misfit. His father noted early on that he is in the group of people that “has to know why it is” therefore he is “going to be into everything.” This attitude already establishes a sense of restlessness as well as a need to explore. Therefore, the Misfit is destined for the road. Though it could have been his choice in the end, the Misfit is forced into this life by his first “crime” which he cannot even remember. His forced criminal identity leads him to the conclusion that “the crime don’t matter,” one will become a hated outcast either way. His negative outlook forms his opinion that his actions are “no real pleasure in life.” Throughout the story, the reader assumes the Misfit takes some pleasure from his actions and has a hardened heart in which he feels no remorse. This assumption is questioned when he claims if he “was there [he] would have known and [he] wouldn’t be like [he] is now,” suggesting if there was a change in his situation, in how he handled his life or others handled him, he wouldn’t be the ruthless criminal he is at that moment. The unfortunate situation of the Misfit embodies the lonely outcast of the man on the American road.
On the contrary, the American hobo in Jack Kerouac’s “The Vanishing American Hobo,” chooses to live the life to pursue the freedom once valued by the American culture. However, similar to the Misfit, the Hobo is faced with discrimination and viewed as a criminal and distasteful member of society. Unlike the Misfit, he is not a criminal, only a person pursing individualism. Kerouac points out many well-known individuals pursued this life, Jesus, Buddha, Benjamin Franklin, and even Beethoven are hobos. Therefore Kerouac asserts that the hobo lifestyle is one that merely fights conformity, a quality “vanishing” from our society. In addition, the hobo, too, is lonely and yearns for love and a home or simply for people to “be kind, be nice, [and] smile.”
Both the Misfit and Kerouac’s conception of the American hobo are characterized by their nomadic nature stemming from their status as outsiders to the social norm. Whether they choose to or are forced into a life on the road, they remain lonely and unhappy.
The hobos described in Jack Kerouac’s “The Vanishing American Hobo” are bound to the American road simply because they have “nothing to do with community but with himself and other hobos and maybe a dog” (page 1142.) They enjoy the “special idea” of footwalking freedom going back to the days of Jim Bridger and Johnny Appleseed” (page 1140.) This story, unlike common people today, take pride in the hobo, mentioning people who were hobos such as Benjamin Franklin, and the homeless man who gave Shirley Temple the Bluebird. The American road to these people is their home, it is their sense of freedom in the world where they are free to wander wherever the road takes them.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” depicts the American road as a means to vacation. It is a place where they take for granted as they are anxious to get in the car and arrive at their destination, leaving behind the views and the beauty of nature outside the car. The American Road to Bailey’s family is a where they go in order to get somewhere else, it means nothing to them compared to the hobo’s views of cherishing it. On the other hand of this story, the MisFit and his gang might as well be hobos, as the American road is their home and the place they do their “business.”
In Jack Kerouac's "The Vanishing American Hobo" and Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the character depiction illustrates a cause and effect relationship between the rise of crime in America and the mistrust of the American hobo. The stories also show the difference between people who enjoy the journey versus those who only care about the destination.
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor uses the characters of the grandmother and the owners of the roadside diner in particular to illustrate the growing mistrust of strangers as America moves into the modern period. Unfortunately, the illicit actions of a few individuals (such as The Misfit) cause stereotypes to be drawn for large classes of people. Because crime was on the rise, any person who had a vagrant demeanor or looked out of place was immediately suspect. Kerouac notes the repercussions of criminal activity when he states, "I was surrounded by three squad cars in Tucson Arizona at 2 A.M. as I was walking pack-on-back." Due to the climate of suspicion in America, people no longer had the freedom of the classic hobo to meander about with no real purpose other than for the enjoyment of it. This is evidenced by the police inquiring as to why Kerouac would want to sleep on the beach. "Just because" or "because I'm studying hobo" apparently weren't good enough reasons any longer.
O'Connor also notes the tendency for people to be focused so much on the destination they cannot enjoy the journey as well. This is seen when John Wesley says, "Let's go through Georgia fast so we won’t have to look at it much." This is contrasted with the grandmother, who wants to "stop and smell the roses" and see a stately old mansion she believes to be on the way to their destination. This paradigm shift from enjoying the journey to the impatience about arriving at one's destination is a reflection of modern America's shift toward a product/results oriented mentality that values quantity over quality, with the result that most of us live in the future instead of enjoying the moment. What Kerouac describes as the ideal of the American Hobo is the hobo's focus not on where he is going so much as the travels he makes between points.
In summary, O'Connor and Kerouac describe the changes in America that resulted in mistrust of or impatience with those who take the time to travel for the sake of it. Rising levels of crime created suspicion of the hobo. National impatience created a reluctance to know what lay between point A and point B.
In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” she sets up a stereotype and a new persona for America to be afraid of. It is portrayed that if you are out living on the road and not under a roof, you are a dangerous criminal that everyone should be frightened of. She emphasizes the idea that she remembers “the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more” (1017).
ReplyDeleteIn Jack Kerouac’s “The Vanishing American Hobo” he argues that the “American hobo has a hard time hoboing nowadays due to the increase in police surveillance” and that they are vanishing. Now in American, “camping is considered a healthy sport for Boy Scouts but a crime for mature men” you are more prone to be afraid of a couple of men on the road than any other human being. He argues that they just want to be free and keep to themselves.
I agree with you on how O'Conner puts out this stereotype of people who live on the road must be criminals. She reminisces of the past alot and believes she lives in a new scary society.
DeleteThat's an excellent point made about the change in perception for people living on the road, cause it's very true. Nowadays, people aren't likely to trust a person like the hobos in the second story, because all they picture is the Mistfit's gang seen in the first. It is fitting then that The Vanishing American Hobo was written after A Good Man Is Hard to Find, as the former describes that increase in police surveillance and view of criminal intent on the part of any homeless man, no doubt a result of incidents like that depicted in the latter.
DeleteI agree with you on how O'Conner puts out this stereotype of people who live on the road must be criminals. She reminisces of the past alot and believes she lives in a new scary society.
DeleteIn O'Connor's “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, the family's relationship to the American road is depicted as a pleasant and leisurely one. They are traveling together to Florida for a family vacation. They can take their time getting there are not worried about where they will sleep or eat. The hobos in Kerouac's “The Vanishing American Hobo”, in contrast, are being shown as having an an acrimonious relationship to the road. In the past, they were able to travel the roads of America to experience freedom and, even though they were homeless, they knew they could sleep wherever they pleased and find a meal when they needed to. For the modern hobo, the road is now dangerous thanks to the changing atmosphere of the United States. Police are more prevalent than ever and, supposedly due to boredom, are cracking down on hobos and jailing them at every opportunity.
ReplyDeleteDue to the way these relationships are depicted, the family in O'Connor's short story is depicted as being something approaching the American ideal of a family at the time. As a collective family, they travel and experience the trip. Although it is the grandmother's white lie that leads to their deaths, stopping to see attractions is seen as part of the American road trip. The hobos, in contrast, are shown as noble from Kerouac's point of view. Although they live nowhere and depend on the road and the occasional kindness of strangers, their pursuit of freedom on the open road and general independence is portrayed as a noble and valid way to live.
The ideas of the American Road and those who make it their home are contradictory in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and Jack Kerouac’s “The Vanishing Hobo.” O’Connor uses the man on the road to represent a very real danger of “others” when traveling. The Misfit is a murderous rapscallion who is loose on the highways of America; hurting those he encounters which creates an ominous cloud that casts a shadow over the very pavement that links communities together, and enforcing a real distrust of the individuals that make up America.
ReplyDeleteJack Kerouac’s characterization of the classic Hobo is one that is romanticized in “The Vanishing Hobo,” and is now in danger because of society refusing to allow his existence for fear of his “otherness.” Kerouac argues that the hobos of the past represented a freedom that is now gone. He mentions the legend of Johnny Appleseed stating, “a definite special idea of footwalking freedom going back to the days of Jim Bridger and Johnny Appleseed and carried on today by a vanishing group of hardy oldtimers . . .” (Kerouac 1140). The story addresses the dwindling population of classic hobos, being replaced by individuals who are not only down and out on luck, but who are no longer trusted within society because of their position in life.
These contrasting ideas of the men of the road cannot be reconciled, therefore they are a representation of the current beliefs of the time. Danger, nostalgia (though perhaps a falsity of that nostalgia), and the oppression this population face are the greater questions raised by the two texts.
At its core, the American road is not a decent place as depicted in either story. A place for homeless, runaways, criminals and the like, the American family is better off in civilization and away from these people. The consequences of doing so are much graver for the family in A Good Man Is Hard to Find, who find themselves on the wrong end of a trio of killers' guns after becoming stranded on the road, while hobos are depicted in The Vanishing American Hobo as not bothering anyone, which is really where the differences start.
ReplyDeleteThe Misfit's crew is a set of runaway killers looking for freedom from incarceration and responsibility for their actions, quite similar to the absolute freedom sought after by the hobos. Naturally, though, their reasons differ from there. The Misfit is depicted (or, at least, sees himself) as a victim of the justice system, putting him away in a penitentiary for a crime he states he didn't commit, and the road serves as his freedom both literally and from the burden of guilt for a crime which, as he states, one can be charged with even if you "forget what is was you done" simply because "they [have] the papers on [you]." The freedom the hobos sought after is much broader, including from responsibility, authorities, and simply the freedom to wander anywhere one chooses, a freedom likened to Jim Bridger or Johnny Appleseed in the story. It's a freedom any of them would gladly "put with a few inconveniences like snakes and dust for the sake of."
In both readings from this week the relationships of the American road and it’s important roles are portrayed in both Flannery O’Conner’s “ A Good Man is Hard to Find” and in Jack Kerouac’s “ The Vanishing American Hobo. However, both portrayals contradict each other.
ReplyDeleteIn Jack Kerouac’s “ The vanishing American Hobo entails a relationship with the road that is actually desirable. The American Hobo thrives on that freedom and does no harm to himself or society with living on the road. Especially when he writes “ The hobo is born of pride, having nothing to do with a community but with himself” (1142). However, the motives are different when it come down to Flannery O’Connners “ A Good Man is Hard to Find”. In this portrayal it showcases how vagrants and people on the road can bring crime to the community. Such as with the misfit. like when it is said “ Everything is getting terrible. I remember the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more” (1017).
Isn't it crazy that to the Hobo, the road means freedom and exploration of life? To other people, especially now a days, being a hobo is depicted in a negative way. The American Road is where people want to travel with family and friends because they have created a life for themselves and means to allow them to have a vacation. But it's just a vacation! They still have to go back to the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Where as a Hobo has to freedom to go wherever they please because time does not mean anything to them. They have no where to be, but on the road.
DeleteBoth short stories have a different depiction on what it is like to live on the road and to be on the run. In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the Misfit is an escapee from prison. For him, his experience with being on the road has been treacherous. In an escape from prison, The Misfit and his clique don’t find the road to be anything comfortable, but also don’t have any other option because they are running away from the law. These men are willing to harm and kill any bystander that becomes stranded on the road.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to this, “The Vanishing American Hobo” depicts the realization of the homeless lifestyle. “The Vanishing American Hobo” highlights the lifestyle of a “hobo”. They are not trying to harm anyone, or take anyone’s lives. Kerouac gives an example of Boy Scouts being able to camp and live their lives within the wilderness, but the homeless not being able to do the same. These two stories are contrasted in what is harming and what is not harming people of our society. It is people like The Misfit that are giving the harmless homeless a bad name.
In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the family ventures to the open road in attempts to bond with one another. Similar to several American movies like National Lampoon’s Vacation. However, in O’Conner’s piece, the family is never given the chance to truly bond because of tragic events like a deathly crash and being rescued by what turns out to be a killer, The Misfit, and his buddies. Despite this works tragic tale, many pieces reflect back on the American road and how families travel together to learn more about one another and to spend time together.
ReplyDeleteIn Jack Kerouac’s “The Vanishing American Hobo”, we see the American road depicted in another sense. This piece is about the freedom you get when knowing you can travel where ever you please. It isn’t about family, it’s about the individual person and finding peace in life. While this may be all the hobo has, is the road, he uses it to his advantage; being able to find out about life, culture, and the world.
In both readings from this week the relationships of the American road and it’s important roles are portrayed in both Flannery O’Conner’s “ A Good Man is Hard to Find” and in Jack Kerouac’s “ The Vanishing American Hobo. However, both portrayals contradict each other.
ReplyDeleteIn Jack Kerouac’s “ The vanishing American Hobo entails a relationship with the road that is actually desirable. The American Hobo thrives on that freedom and does no harm to himself or society with living on the road. Especially when he writes “ The hobo is born of pride, having nothing to do with a community but with himself” (1142). However, the motives are different when it come down to Flannery O’Connners “ A Good Man is Hard to Find”. In this portrayal it showcases how vagrants and people on the road can bring crime to the community. Such as with the misfit. like when it is said “ Everything is getting terrible. I remember the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more” (1017).