My grandfather, J.B. Landry, grew up during the early to mid-1940’s. Better known as Paw Paw J.B., he was born and raised in the small town of Lettsworth, Louisiana. My grandfather’s parents strongly believed that physical labor was the best way to earn a living. Paw Paw J.B. always lived on a farm, where money was scarce and manual labor was plentiful. Soon he will realize the importance of an education and making a better means for yourself.
J.B.’s parents felt that an education did not get you anywhere but back where you started, farming. It is not that they liked or that they disliked farming, but it was all they knew and grew up around. My grandfather was the oldest son, which meant a majority of adult responsibilities fell upon his shoulders within the family. J.B.’s family was always expected to farm as well as J.B., so his parents did not believe that an education was of great importance. They actually believed that he was getting ahead of others in school that did not know how to farm. As a result, he would occasionally miss school to help out his father with everyday chores.
As J.B. grew up he realized that the world was evolving and had more to life then farming. J.B. wanted to gain a lifelong experience so in 1954 J.B. was around 25 years old, when he decided to join the United States military. He explained his experience there as a jungle war with booby traps, snakes and unheard sickness. An education was spoken highly of within all branches of the United States military during the Vietnam War time period.
One day my grandfather was sent into an office for some business reasons and randomly met my grandmother, Theresa. He described Theresa as a tall, skinny woman with dark, brown hair that wore perfume that smell...
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...e glass in an automobile accident. With all the excitement and let down going on it still embedded in his mind, J.B. viewed all the negativity that he received from his family. As determination to achieve his goal because he knew he was going to better his family and most importantly himself.
In conclusion, my grandfather received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. J.B. did teach some high school classes, worked with the soil conservation, helped with 4-H workshops and he also farmed on the side. My grandfather used education as an adjunct to improve a way of life that he was most familiar with. As he got older, new things were introduced in his life. J.B. and Theresa moved to Donaldsonville where she was from and eventually had a total of four children together. Additionally, he created a bright future for his wife, his children, and his grandchildren to come.
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In this memoir, James gives the reader a view into his and his mother's past, and how truly similar they were. Throughout his life, he showed the reader that there were monumental events that impacted his life forever, even if he
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...e views of his elders pushed down him made it a struggle growing up in the small town.
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The Cultural Revolution, especially the Down to the Countryside movement, effectively eliminated any economic and practical incentive to get an education. The narrator, Beanpole, illustrates this quite clearly through his experiences. Despite being “the only one among the Educated Youths in the whole branch farm who has actually finished his secondary education” (128), there is no indication in the entire story that Beanpole will use his education for any meaningful purpose other than to teach. In fact, from the very first sentence, Beanpole states what he has spent the past seven years doing with his education: “working in the countryside” (123). He then proceeds ...
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A woman I had not seen or spoken to in 21 years called to make an appointment for her husband. As I was about to hang up, she asked if she could tell me a story.