Dysfunctional Families of the 1920s - Essay Example

You're 02 July 2006 Dysfunctional Families of the 1920's Within the time period of the 20's and 30's there were looming adversities that enshrouded many American families in fits of despair and fear. The primary compounding problem stemmed from the Great Depression which had overwhelmed the economy of the country. Of course some historians would claim that the complex issues which existed during the Great Depression are prevalent today but my main point is the fact that economic difficulties can compound these negative elements to the point that the deterioration of the family becomes evident. Even McBee (1999) points to the fact that "men enjoyed nothing better than staying out late and getting drunk" to wash away their more serious problems. Therefore societal issues such as divorce, discrimination, and economic distress as McBee (1999) describes, can be extremely damaging to the family's well being no matter what time table we are living in. They can in fact lead to the idea of the dysfunctional family. I do believe the Great Depression had a severe impact on the functioning of families in a way that led to many adversities such as drug abuse, alcoholism, and even sexual promiscuous in that defined time period. It is my belief that one of the greatest challenges for the male gender during this time period had to do with the beliefs and ideals that they were raised with. Men felt (and still do) that they had to provide adequate sustenance for the family at all times and if they could not do that then they considered themselves weak and became vulnerable to societal issues, specifically addictions. One of these beliefs is consequently the need to appear "perfect". Another belief that was evident in this time was the belief that men had in regard to the woman's role in the family. Because of the fact that men did not want women to work and also seemingly alienated them, as well as discluded them to a certain degree, it impacted the family during the Great Depression and promoted addictive behaviors onto women as well. However, Chasnoff (1989) claimed that women "were quick to seek help," while men lived in a disillusionment of what was really transpiring within the family, therefore creating more dysfunction whether it was intentional or unintentional. This of course was the central plot of beliefs that, in my opinion, created more disparity among the genders and of which promoted the psychological thought of dysfunctional families in America. In general it is true that there existed those who already had poor moral values, but due to the poorer outlook of the economy it promoted more of a hardship and again took many down a path towards mental incapacity and an inability to function normally on a daily basis. Addictions such as alcoholism, chronic drug use, eating disorders, and uncontrollable anger slowly began tearing at the families and disintegrating life as it was known in that time before the Great Depression. As was stated, the dysfunction of women was brought on by the acting of the men during the 20's and 30's. Therefore their inability to cope is far more understandable than the male genders actions were. After all, history has shown that men are suppose to carry the more heavy burdens for the family, not crumble beneath them like many men did during the Great Depression. "Many women turned to alcohol and drugs", according to Degler (1980) in order to try and wipe away their own inadequacies that society itself was placing on them. These stemmed from inequality and gender discrimination in their lives. For instance, women have been treated almost like property by men for a good number of generations and these feelings were very high in the 20's and 30's; specifically with so much economical disparity occurring all around everyday people. Women in society were basically "demoralized and held down" (Degler 1980). Although women desired to be treated as self-individuals many times in American society they were not and any form of independence was discouraged by the male gender. Women faced oppression and discrimination on a daily basis and while some pulled through it with their sanity intact, and maintaining the ability to care for the family in a constructive manner, others felt so much shame and despair that they inadvertently turned to the comfort of the bottle, eventually leading them into stages of alcoholism and depression. This of course led to major dysfunctional areas within the family as it is well known that the female has always been the hallmark of symbolic strength in regards to a well balanced and stable household. Therefore when the role of wife and mother seems to be off key and derivative of an incapacity to manage the household fully the whole structure of the family seems to begin to decay as times showed in the 20's and the 30's. What led to the major depression within these women was the lack of trust they developed towards their own husbands, the lack of standard medical help that they needed to function properly and be understood, and that of the promises that were made by the government to improve upon the economy and make things better for the people yet seemed to be endless lies and useless false hopes at that time. Degler's literature study (1980) can validate this statement as he defines how women could not or were not able to receive the proper medical standards during that time and this alone created a more adverse environment of which lead to their depression worsening. Again, it appears that the male gender was the main reason that women themselves suffered in the harshest of times during the Great Depression. History defines "The Great Depression" as having caused pain and suffering onto a lot of people, with men seemingly covering up, and lying "about the issues of lack of employment or even being employed" to their families (McBee 1999). However , it would appear the women were the main bearers of this pain while the men (many of them) did not do what was expected of them in taking any of the pain off of the women or alleviating them of the main care taking of the family either. This isn't being said of all men but a percentage of them were more focused on drinking their worries away or getting stoned instead of being supportive husbands and fathers. Many women worried how the bills were going to be met, how they were going to afford food or pay their mortgage payment, often ending up homeless with no where to go. A percentage of the men, as the literature of McBee (1999) depicts, seemed as bad as the government giving empty promises to their families and ensuring them everything would be ok while in actuality they were not even employed but out sitting on a street corner with a tilted bottle in their hand, while at home the mother and wife was attempting to relieve her anxiety over her concern for the family by tipping the glass as well. This was to common an occurrence during the Great Depression and as has been stated it left many families destitute and without anywhere to go. It also led to many getting divorces due to the incapacity of the male head of household not sharing his shoulder of the burden and helping the woman hold onto some form of normalcy. Various devastating affects took place during the 20's and 30's era and hopelessness did run rampant for quite some time. For instance, during a depression some people have to live off of charity just to support themselves and their families. Also the people who get the charity money, clothes, and food face personal embarrassment due to the fact that they need the money and feel ashamed that they can't afford to support themselves, which during the Great Depression it was really no one's fault. However, as has been stated the men, instead of wallowing in their own self pity, could have given more support to their families and less time focusing on their own sorrows which did not help the situation and of which did lead to the higher possibility of the occurrence of "dysfunctional families" during that time. The Great Depression caused a high percentage of marriages and birth rates to decline extensively (as has been mentioned). If an individual were a younger person in that time and they did not have a job, plans for weddings and future births of children would be delayed until they did have enough money to pay for their later goals. This of course could only be blamed on the Depression itself. The Depression caused people to lose faith in themselves, in their families, the government, and overall in the whole of the future. This is due to the fact that when people are unemployed for a long time they simply reside themselves to the idea that nothing is ever going to get better and again the inability to cope comes into play. It is apparent that alcoholism was the number one destroyer of the family in that time period, which the study carried out by Degler (1980), has clarified. This of course was not just because of the Great Depression because the Depression did not last forever. It was also due to the spur of the "roaring twenties" that soon took hold of the people. When the dust began to settle following the Depression, things started improving in family life, or it could be said what was left of the families following the Depression. Again, men were to keen on drinking, dancing, and having a country high time instead of keeping in mind the respect of the family that they should have had. As Parker (2003) defines in his literature, even though the Great Depression might have been one of the "largest economic movements in history" that did eventually turn around for the better, there was still much distress within the family structure for quite some time, with much of this being caused by the drinking and party going on within the male population. However, the main turning point away from economic disparity for women, according to many studies carried out by some historians appeared at the end of the 1930's (Demos 1986). Women eventually had acquired the strength to resist much of the temptation and despair going on around them and went about restructuring the family, both during the economically straining times and then in the swiftly changing times of the roaring twenties. "The American dream took a hold of many people and the idea of riches and fame became an overpowering identity" (Demos 1986). Women found hope for the future through their own strength, perseverance, and faith in religion. Those families that did stay together were alleviated of the burdens of poverty and unemployment over time and as the economy gradually improved. Also, despite the fact of higher divorce rates and sexual promiscuous, many families did return to a normal living pattern and survived through the questioning ethical times and the economically despairing times (which is being emphasized). Demos (1986) depicts many families as having stronger morals in the mid 30's as due to an improving economy and more employment opportunities families were able to begin having faith in their life again and trust in relationships began to blossom were previously many were on the verge of divorce. To conclude this research on how dysfunctional families can develop but also on how they can find hope and begin readapting to the changing times, there has been a thorough discussion on how economic disparity can create confusion, discord in the family, and over all despair for society as a whole. At the same time it can develop into stronger hopes and dreams, and can also evolve into ways to manage and cope through the difficulties as a whole family unit. It seems to be defined by personal choice, strength, fortitude, and a will to survive as a family. "While some families did not have the ability; nor willpower to stay together others did, and became stronger through the most straining time known to American history" (Himmelfarb 1994). In finality, the family is representative of many things in America but the one more pronounced out of all is the will to make it in the most trying of circumstances. Those who do are enriched and driven to set examples to show that the unit of the family should be the most important element in life to maintain and keep alive no matter what might try and tear it down. The Great Depression built stronger, longer lasting families as well as having reshaped the economy into one that has become dependable and of which families rely on once again for the sustenance to survive. It has taught American families that it is the couples working together which makes the family unbreakable, not the pulling apart. Men and women have discovered respect for one another and have developed an understanding that has in actuality stemmed from periods such as The Great Depression. Although there might be ethical issues that still exist in life, they are of a personal choice which has been stated. The main goal has been met and that is a reuniting of the most important aspect of the American dream: the capacity of the American family to function correctly and flourish. Annotated Bibliography Chasnoff, J. "Drug Use and Women: Establishing a Standard of Care." Academy of Science, 562, (1989): 208-210 Chasnoff (1989) discusses how women throughout the years have been faced with alcoholism and drug use due to the many economical situations that they have been faced with, such as in the 1920's and 30's "The Great Depression". Also other ethical issues such as inequality, lack of gender recognition, and violence within the family often caused many women to develop problems that affected their ability to care for the family appropriately. Degler, Carl. At Odds: Women and the Family in America from the Revolution to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press (1980): 5. Degler (1980) focuses on aspects of the woman's role in years past, especially the Revolutionary Time period. He shows how many different economical and sociological relationships impacted the family's life which created a maladaptive environment for the children and even the women as well.. Demos, John. Past, Present, and Personal: The Family and the Life Course in American History. New York: Oxford University Press (1986): 44-47. Demos (1986) discusses the history of the family and the many adversities that families of the 20's and 30's were exposed to. Men often were dealing with unemployment while although some women worked and faced similar problems the main concern for the women was an inadequacy to properly care for the children due to lack of economical stability. Men turning to alcoholism and other drug usage (women as well) further complicated the social adversities. Himmelfarb, Gertrude. "A De-Moralized Society: The British/American Experience." Public Interest 117, 1 (1994). Himmelfarb (1994) gives a detailed look on exactly what created demoralization within the British and American experiences during the earlier time periods. The Great Depression took its toll on many families and Himmelfarb gives accounts of exactly what types of incidences concreted the problems more and lead to higher dysfunctioning within family life. McBee, Randy. "He Likes Women More Than He Likes Drink and That is Quite Unusual: Working-Class Social Clubs, Male Culture, and Heterosocial Relations in the United States, 1920's-1930's." Gender & History 11 (1999): 84-112. McBee (1999) gives relevant data which details how many men in the 20's and 30's did not have their priorities together to properly provide a well adaptive environment for the family. Due to many sociological pressures that men faced they often turned to booze, partying, and have extra- marital affairs to cover up the more serious problems that were occurring within their personal lives. However McBee also shows that some men just preferred this lifestyle and didn't care about the consequences of their actions. It gives a comparison of what these similar social interactions are like today and how families now function compared to the 20's and 30's. Parker, Randall. Reflections on the Great Depression. New York: Norton & Company Publications (2003). Parker brings great relevance to how the depression took hold of American families during the 1920's and into how it eventually led to major economic developments for the country of America. However this does not in anyway change the fact of how the disparity that was rampant during the depression changed the view points of many American families. Parker does a great job of pulling all of the economic changes together in the early 1900's to make his literature a very insightful and interesting piece of work. Read More