Bonnie and Clyde are notorious bank robbers from the 1930’s, but there is more to their life of crime than just robbing banks. There is more to both of their lives than most people know. Bonnie and Clyde never had dreams of being outlaws; Bonnie dreamed of being an actress while Clyde dreamed of being a musician. During The Great Depression both of their lives changed for the worse. For better or worse, both of their lives were changed forever. Even though Bonnie and Clyde may be considered Outlaws that got what they deserved; for Bonnie and Clyde this rough life was a way to survive during The Great Depression.
Bonnie Parker grew up in a time when being the child of a single parent ment that you would be impoverished. Bonnie was born October
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1, 1910 in Rowena, Texas. When Bonnie was four years old her father died and her mother was forced to move the family to West Dallas where they lived with her Grandmother. This suburb of West Dallas was known as Cement City. Many people here were struggling due to the depression and had little to no money. Although Bonnie’s circumstances were bad, she excelled in school and loved to write. Bonnie wasn't always known for being a criminal. As a girl in school she dreamed of being an actress. Bonnie was influenced by people at a very young age. At the age of sixteen, she quit school and married Roy Thornton who was abusive and later arrested and sentenced for five years for robbery. ("Bonnie Parker.") Bonnie’s life would never be easy because of her circumstances at home as well as the toll that The Great Depression was taking on everyone. Clyde Barrow also started off with a rough life as a young kid. Clyde was born March 24, 1909 in Teleco, Texas to struggling farmers. The dryness along with the dropping economy made the struggle of farming even worse. Because the price of crops dropped so low, his family also moved the Cement City where his father opened a gas station. Clyde dreamed of being a musician when he grew up and taught himself how to play the guitar and saxophone. Although Clyde was talented and could have succeeded in his dream, he quit school at the age of 16 and started committing petty thefts with his older brother Buck. At the age of twenty, Clyde was already considered a fugitive. ( "Clyde Barrow.” ) Clyde was affected greatly by his older brother, and Buck could be the reason that Clyde lived the life that he did. Bonnie first met Clyde in January 1930 at one of Clyde’s friend’s houses. Soon after they met Clyde was arrested and sent to jail for burglary. Bonnie went to visit Clyde in jail and during this visit, she smuggled in a gun to give to Clyde so that he could escape. Although he did escape, he was later recaptured but then paroled in February. This proved their commitment to each other and their rebellious behavior against the government. Some may argue that not everyone during this time turned into a criminal, but their location and neighborhood in West Dallas can not be forgotten. Bonnie grew up without a father; she never had anyone to show her a respectful relationship. Because of this, as soon as Roy Thornton showed any interest in Bonnie, she was in love with him. Whether their relationship was good or not, it was someone showing her attention. Even though Clyde was also a fugitive, he treated her with respect and later sent her back home after robbing a small store. Before Bonnie was ever wanted for being part of the Barrow Gang, Clyde first had to be released from jail or escape again. Once Clyde was caught, he was sent to Eastham Prison Farm and sentenced to fourteen years of hard labor. During Clyde's stay at Eastham Prison Farm he was physically and sexually abused by inmates as well as guards. This abuse along with the workload at the farm started to take a toll on Clyde. He devised a plan with another inmate for his axe to “accidentally” slip and cut off two of Clyde's toes. This act led to Clyde being let out of Eastham in February of 1932. Once Clyde was released from Eastham, his hatred of the government had grown even strong. He gathered up a couple friends and planned on getting back the money they felt was theirs. Clyde blamed the depression for his poverty. Once the stock market dropped, the price of crops also fell with it. Being a farmer at this time was tough enough because of the nation wide drought and having no income made things harder. Clyde had lost a lot in his life already and he didn't want to lose Bonnie. On the group's first crime spree, Bonnie came with Clyde. Bonnie isn't the fugitive that most people say she was. The first time she was on the road with Clyde, they robbed a locally owned grocery store. Bonnie was excited about this new adventure until she heard the store alarm sound. By this time Bonnie realized what was going on and panicked. After this Clyde realized that Bonnie should not be living her life this way and sent her back home on the next bus. Once Clyde was without Bonnie, the group was in need of money and decided to rob another grocery store. During the robbery a gun was fired and the store owner was killed. The store owners wife called the police and identified the two robbers as Clyde Barrow and Ray Hamilton. After this, Clyde knew that he would never be a free man and that he would always be running from the law. Before leaving Dallas, Clyde visited his family and Bonnie. He told Bonnie what happened and gave her the option of letting her coming with her, but fully explained the risk of coming with him or she could stay home. Bonnie decided to leave with Clyde and told him that she would never leave his side. Bonnie and Clyde never planned on their life being the way it was but they both decided to take the risk and run from the law. In the beginning, Bonnie and Clyde weren't both wanted criminals, but rather a love story. The Barrow Gang was careful to not be caught in the beginning; they were smart about their crimes as well as their transportation. The gang had multiple license plates that they carried with them in order to never be tracked by one number by the police. This was a good plan but also a downfall for the time period. Because the stock market had crashed and many had little to no money, they were also not traveling very often. The police would sometimes notice a license plate that wasn't from the state that they were in at the time and look up the plate number and discovered that it came off of a stolen car. The police tried to catch Bonnie, Clyde and the rest of the gang, but weren't successful. Not everyone that crossed the gangs path was shot and killed. The gang decided to take a break and visit Bonnie’s aunt in New Mexico. A police officer saw their car a started looking around the area. When he went to go knock on the door, he was met by Clyde’s gun. Clyde forced the police officer into their car and drove away. Contrary to popular belief, they would let some people go. Even though the man was a police officer, Clyde drove for a while then stopped and let the man out of the car and then drove away. The police officer was unharmed. This was the beginning of Bonnie and Clyde’s fame. This was the first account of their names being in the newspaper. Later, the group held up a bank only to discover that there was no money in the bank. Many banks were affected by The Great Depression just as much as the citizens. This backs up Clyde's original plan to take back the money that was his. Because banks failed, the money that people had in the banks failed with it. Everyone that had money in that bank lost their savings. Clyde had a reasonable point to want back his money no matter how he acquired it. Clyde knew that they wouldn’t see their families for a while or ever again, so during Christmas they went home to visit their families. Both of their families knew what Bonnie and Clyde were wanted for multiple charges. They both understood the danger that Bonnie and Clyde were in coming to visit them. During their visit, they were never caught by the police. Although Bonnie and Clyde were outlaws, they still cared about the ones that cared for them. In March of 1933, Clyde's brother Buck was released from jail and joined the gang as well as his wife Blanche. On the way to Wellington, Clyde lost control of their car and it rolled into a ravine. Everyone escaped unharmed except for Bonnie. Bonnie was trapped under the car and the battery had started leaking acid onto her thigh. Bonnie’s leg was burned to the bone. Clyde was very worried about Bonnie and even called a doctor to come take care of her. He knew this was a dangerous move, but he also knew that Bonnie wouldn't survive without help. During this Clyde never left Bonnie’s side and even stole a doctor's car in order to have necessary supplies to care for Bonnie. During a time like this it would have been easy to give up everything they believed and to stop running from the law. The gang could have went home without the money that was rightfully theirs, and eventually be caught by police. They were so dedicated to what they were doing that Clyde carried Bonnie most places they went so that they could stay together. The Great Depression had taken a lot from the gang but this accident wasn't going to slow them down in getting what they felt was theirs. Bonnie and Clyde knew that they weren't invincible, and neither were the people traveling with them.
On July 18, 1933 the gang stopped at a tourist camp outside of Platte City, Missouri. The clerk at the camp watched them unload their things and saw Clyde carry Bonnie into the cabin as well as many guns. The clerk alerted the police of their unusual behavior. The police showed up to the cabins and knocked on the door and shouted “open up!”. Clyde was in the cabin next door to Bucks and heard the commotion. Clyde started firing at the officer. During the shootout, Buck was shot twice in the head. Blanche carried Buck to car that was parked in the garage and Clyde also carried Bonnie out to the car. Clyde knew that he would have to time the escape perfect in order to get away. Clyde drove the car through the garage door surprising the police and giving them a window to escape where none of the police were shooting at them. When the police finally started shooting at the car WD was shot in shoulder and then the back glass shattered. Some of this glass went into Blanche’s eyes blinding her. They continued to drive until a hunter spotted them and called the police. Clyde and Bonnie escaped on foot while Buck was caught and died three days later in the hospital. Blanche was also caught and served ten years at a women's prison. The law eventually caught part of the gang, but they never gave up. If they stopped running, they didn't have a life to go back to. Even if they weren't …show more content…
wanted for robbery and murder, they had no life to go back to due to the great depression. No one had money. They could never fulfil the life that they always wanted. Bonnie and Clyde knew that their time on the run was slowly coming to an end. On May 6 both Bonnie and Clyde visited their families one last time. Bonnie shared a poem with her mother that she later published in the news paper. ("Bonnie & Clyde." ) ‘“There's lots of untruths to these write-ups; they're not as ruthless as that. their nature is raw; they hate all the law, the stool pigeons, spotters and rats.” “They call them cold-blooded killers they say they are heartless and mean. But I say this with pride that I once knew Clyde, when he was honest and upright and clean.” “But the law fooled around; kept taking him down, and locking him up in a cell. Till he said to me; "I'll never be free, so I'll meet a few of them in hell"” “They don't think they're too smart or desperate they know that the law always wins. They've been shot at before; but they do not ignore, that death is the wages of sin.”’ ( “The Trail's End” By: Bonnie Parker) This is a couple stanzas from one of Bonnie’s poems. Even while with Clyde, Bonnie never quit quitting. She never fully gave up her dream. She knows that the law will always win. They will be caught. She also states that she knew Clyde before they were outlaws and that he was once a good man. Clyde isn't scared of the law of of death. Bonnie also knows that not everything that people hear about the couple in the newspapers is true. Whether people know the whole story or not, they will always be seen as cold- blooded criminals. Once Bonnie and Clyde left their families in Texas they drove to Louisiana.
The police knew that they would come this way after visiting their family and lay in wait on a secluded dirt highway near Sailes, Louisiana. The group in wait included local police officers as well as Texas Rangers. As Bonnie and Clyde approached the hidden policemen, the officers and rangers opened fire on their car instantly killing Bonnie and Clyde on May 23,1934. (“Bonnie and Clyde”) Clyde Barrow was shot seventeen times and Bonnie Parker was shot twenty- six times. This was the end of their run. They were finally caught by the law. Always on the run knowing that there wasn't a better life for them back home. They never got back the money that Clyde said was his, but they always held onto the dream. Even though they were called murders, they were also in love. They never went anywhere without the other. The great depression hurt many people in many different ways, but Bonnie and Clyde tried to not let this stop them. Even in the end Bonnie was a poet. She was never an actress, but she will still always be known for her poems. Clyde was brave and always faithful to Bonnie. Although he was wanted for murder, he was always the honest and upright man that Bonnie said he
was. To some Bonnie and Clyde will always be cold hearted murderers, but to others they are an inspiration. Even during tough times they never gave up. Through injury and danger, the gang always stuck together. This life that Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow led was just another way to survive during The Great Depression. This was just another way to struggle without any money. Even though they were outlaws charged with multiple crimes, they never let this slow them down from enjoying life. The Great Depression took a lot from people, including Bonnie and Clyde, and they planned on taking everything that they lost back from the government.
In the legendary period of American history known as the Old West, the law of the whole nation had yet to tame that frontier which was spottily settled. This resulted in lawlessness seen in the personage of those known as outlaws and lawbreakers whose notorious reputations often exceeded their very person to mythical proportions. Belle Starr was one such outlaw. From her association with outlaws such as Jesse James and the Younger brothers, she reached a level of fantastic infamy that today leaves the facts of her life not always distinguishable from the fiction. Belle's life is an odyssey of many marriage's and affairs with felons, petty criminals, and unsavory characters. Belle Starr’s legacy will live on forever reminding us of the past events that still connect with current societies events.
Bang! Pow! Bullets are raining down on the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. It is a standoff with the local police department. Bonnie and Clyde are in trouble again; robbing a liquor store of their cigarettes and their liquor. It seems as if Bonnie and Clyde were the greatest pair of criminals in history.
Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker burst upon the American Southwest in the Great Depression year of 1932. At the time of Clyde’s first involvement with a murder, people paid little attention to the event. He was just another violent hoodlum in a nation with a growing list of brutal criminals, which included Al Capone, John Dillenger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Barker Gang. Not until Bonnie and Clyde joined forces did the public become intrigued. The phrase “Bonnie and Clyde'; took on an electrifying and exotic meaning that has abated little in the past sixty years.
Jesse James and Billy the Kid are almost perfect examples for the definition of outlaw. Billy and Jesse lead a life of defiance, always running from the law, their lives clinging to existence, hoping death was not a breath away While running from a governor or robbing a bank, both Billy and Jesse were not the type of men that stop and smell the flowers. It is hard to think that these two men were proud of all they had done, but their choices lead them to become legends and icons of the wild wild west, and their fast lives created senerios in the minds of young and old people everywhere. Their stories were embedded in the history of America, stories of two not so different men.
Annie Oakley was born on August 13, 1860 in Darke County, Ohio. Her original name was Phoebe Ann Moses, but her family called her Annie. Annie Oakley was short in stature, coming in at around five feet tall. She had wavy brown hair that fell past her shoulders and she wore costumes that she sewed herself. To maintain her ladylike attitude, Annie always wore a skirt and never wore pants.
They stood for the “American trust in collective action, and the fair legal process that transcended private feelings of what is considered right and wrong.”
A tragic event is difficult to endure, but it can be one that helps a nation in the long run. The event can bring light to a bigger issue, or it can be the final straw before conflict arises. Emmett Till was a fourteen year-old boy, black boy that was brutally murdered by two white men in Mississippi in 1955. The murder of Emmett Till was a shocking event that made the country stronger because it brought both African-Americans and whites in the fight for equality.
Bonnie and Clyde the most famous crime robbing duo, pushed the law enforcement to the top of their game trying everything they could to stop them. They left the police with no chance but to go for the kill when it came to shutting down the two. The duo will remain known for their jaw dropping crime spree.
All across the nation during the Great Depression people were jobless, homeless, and starving; nowhere was this truer than in the American Midwest. Not only did the farms and cities of the Midwest have to deal with the poor economic conditions but the Midwest's main source of income, agriculture, was being ravaged by the natural phenomenon now called the Dust Bowl. On top of low crop prices and a lack of employment farmland was ruined, went unplanted, and was often foreclosed on. These extra difficulties left the inhabitants of the Midwest with added resentments and frustration with businesses and government that seemed unable or unwilling to help. Out of this extreme hardship came a group of people who for many different reasons chose to make their own rules and live outside the law. These gangsters' exploits seemed to have been focused in Middle America from as far as Minnesota and Wisconsin to Texas and Louisiana. The Midwestern crime wave, which captivated a disenchanted public, involved brazen but personable gangsters who shot and robbed their way across country.
James A. Garfield was an outstanding man of many endeavors who went from driving boats down the canal to become a general of the union army to the twentieth president of the United States of America (The American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans). James A. Garfield was against slavery and had great plans for reconstruction, but sadly they were cut short. His term only lasted in the first year, as Garfield was shot by an office seeker and died many months later (The American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans).
In 1843, an ex-slave named Isabella Baumfree, heard the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to her. He instructed her to take on a new mission of preaching the people to abstain from sin and to change her name to Sojourner Truth (Sojourner Truth PBS). Sojourner left New York City where she had lived working as a housekeeper and going to spiritual gatherings for the past 15 or so years of her life. Traveling up the Connecticut River Valley, Truth gave speeches on rights for women and slaves as an itinerant preacher (Voices of the Civil War). Her work as an abolitionist and women’s rights activist made a difference for African-Americans, women, and the Union during and around the time of the Civil War.
In 1962, director of the Congress of Racial Equality, James Farmer and fellow CORE leader Bayard Rustin, resurrected an earlier strategy from the late 1940s that called for blacks to ride segregated trains and buses during interstate travel in the upper South. The earlier protest on wheels had failed miserably when the riders were arrested in North Carolina, convicted, and given month-long sentences doing chain-gang labor. This time, the protesters hoped that they would receive greater support from the federal government and the Justice Department.
Clyde and his acquaintances explore the possibilities of girls, and drinking alcohol. Eventually, these people steal a car, and Clyde runs away to keep himself from being apprehended by the police. His entire life has been changed because he has made a few bad decisions. Things turn worse and worse for Clyde as he progresses through the next few months, and he feels exactly the opposite.
Bonnie and Clyde held the attention of the American public. Their lives brought forth a story of romance, action and adventure during the 1920s and the Great Depression. They are known as legends, their lives caught the attention of the American people in a way that had never happened before, from the time they met, to when they became the felons they are known for being and even in their deaths they were always in the eyes of the people. They brought to light a new kind of criminal. Bonnie and Clyde’s lifestyle was greatly influenced by the 1920s and the Great Depression.
Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn in 1967, was a film about two lovers who robbed banks at the start of the Great Depression. It was filmed in America while the Vietnam War was constantly being broadcasted on television sets, and the “Summer of Love” was taking place in San Francisco and other major cities across the country. The Vietnam War was said to be the first American war to enter the peoples living rooms due to rise in popularity of television. America was already growing more and more violent in general but now it was beginning to take on an unreal quality, especially from the media perspective. In regards to the final scene, Penn said that it was influenced by media reports about Vietnam: “it seemed to me that if were