The Worst Hard Time

In this work of non-fiction Timothy Egan expresses his wish for sounder government policy to avoid natural disasters. Egan’s The Worst Hard Time is a harrowing tale about farmers who decided to stay on the plains stretching across Texas’ panhandle, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado during the major drought in the 1930’s. The disaster, known as the Dust Bowl, is largely regarded as a human caused problem. Egan, who is a national correspondent on environmental issues for the New York Times, expertly incorporates historical facts from the time with real accounts from those who stayed.Although Egan sees farming as the direct cause of the drought, winds, and dust, he portrays his characters as hardy entrepreneurs who were duped onto unsustainable farm-land. These individuals, who were known as â€Å"Sod-busters†, started moving into the area during the 1800s when federal government was selling land for next to nothing. They quickly tore up huge regions of rece ntly settled grass-land to plant wheat. This quick change in topography caused high winds to blow off top soil that had been accumulating over millennia.High temperatures and dust storms ravaged the area killing animals and humans in its wake for most of the ‘30s. On April 14, 1935 the region saw its worst dust storm which rained more than 300,000 tons of dirt and dust. This day became known as Black Sunday because those who witnessed it said it blotted out the sun. The dry grass became fuel for praire fires that were sparked by lightning. Swarms of grasshoppers and rabbits plagued the region. In one story Egan describes a story in which the bunnies are brutally beaten while they’re assailants are still dressed in the Sunday best.The worst effect was the endless wind and dust. One young mother, Hazel Shaw, lost her baby daughter and grandmother within hours of each other to dust pneumonia. Using personal stories such as this, Egan tries to point out that this disaster c ould have been prevented with more cautious government policy. Egan portrays his characters as innocent victims of railroad companies and the government. However, as the situation got worse no one told them that their promises where founded on speculation.Egan describes how Germans, who had been lured to Russia by Catherine the Great to serve as a human buffer from the Turks, headed for the American plains when her promise of free land and no taxes was found to be false. One such man was George Ehrilich. He didn’t â€Å"flee the czar's army, survive a hurricane at sea and live through homegrown hatred caused by the Great War just to abandon 160 acres of Oklahoma that belonged to him and his 10 American-born children†. In stories like this Egan portrays his characters as resilient and even stubborn. To survive they did what they had to do but did not give up on their dreams.Egan follows the stories of families that move into new lands in the region that rarely turned ou t worthwhile. In one story a family moves to an inhospitable area after grueling journey. Upon arrival their horses fell over dead and their owners were forced to drink the blood from a sows ear to stay alive. Egan expertly incorporates facts and vivid stories to gain sympathy for hard working Americans and reveal the root cause of the Dust Bowl. Hopefully Egan can reach enough people that control government policy to prevent another catastrophe like the Dust Bowl. The worst hard time What lessons, If any, have we learned from the dust bowl catastrophe-?about how human actions, well-intentioned or not, can lead to environmental damage? Is there anything comparable on the horizon today? 225). What lessons, If any, have we learned from the dust bowl catastrophe-?about how human actions, well-intentioned or not, can lead to environmental damage? Is there anything comparable on the horizon today? Drawing on more contemporary examples of environmental disasters or concerns, write a paper that explores how this debate continues to be timely or hat takes a stand on this debate. . According to the Houston Chronicle, â€Å"The Worst Hard Time documents how government and business with the best of Intentions can facilitate the destruction of an entire region. † Explain how this Is true with regard to the Dust Bowl, and then extend your analysis to include the relevance of this statement to more recent events. What parallels to current events do you see? What are the implications for our society today? 3. Watch the 2012 documentary film by Ken Burns called â€Å"The Dust Bowl† (PBS. Erg/sunburns/dustbins), and then write a imperative analysis of the documentary film and Jean's book. Note any conflicting accounts of the dust bowl or the presentation of events or any additions of details In one account that aren't present in the other, and then reflect on the significance of these differences. Do the accounts share the same purpose and audience? How do the messages vary? Analyze how the different medium and genre-?a historical book vs.. A documentary film-?employ similar or differing strategies to appeal to the audience and carry out their message. 4.As noted at the end of the book, in the section on â€Å"Notes and Sources,† Egan conducted the research for the book using multiple methods and by compiling various types of data. Besides consulting public documents (like U. S. Census reports), local public library collections, local ne wspapers, and other historical societies and historical sources, Egan also did primary research by visiting the High Plains and interviewing people who lived through the Dust Bowl. What is the effect of weaving personal stories and stories of individuals and families Into his historical account?What is the effect on you, as a deader, and your understanding of this historical event? Carry out your own project In which you 1) consult a secondary source on a local historical event (environmental, political, or cultural) and then 2) interview an older relative or acquaintance or community member who has a recollection of the event. Write a report on the event, followed by a reflection on how your understanding of the event and presentation of the report were affected by these deferent types of evidence. 5.Conduct further research on the political and social events coinciding with Jean's Dust Bowl portrayal Ђ?such as the Stock Market Crash of 1 929, the Homestead Act, the Hoover admi nistration policies, the election of FED, the New Deal programs implemented by FED, etc. Then write an analysis of how an understanding of the larger cultural, historical, and economic context can deepen our understanding of the Dust Bowl. As an alternative, you might research and write a project that examines the local context in Kansas, drawing on Kansas History resources (see the links at assassinations. Us/ dustbins. HTML).Or, explore, In particular, the political effects of the Dust Bowl. How multimedia project-?a website or video-?that integrates print, audio, video, and images to capture the multi-layered experiences of various families and regions portrayed in Jean's book, along with the multi-sensory experiences of the Dust Bowl. You might create a timeline or use maps, oral histories, photos, etc. To help convey the experience via a multimedia format. Or you might focus on a key event or issue, such as Black Sunday, dust pneumonia, static electricity, soil 8 | Face u I t y G u I d e erosion and conservation, etc. ND organize your multimedia presentation around en of these topics in order to deepen and enrich understanding of these issues. 7. Write a response to the question: â€Å"How is this book relevant to 21st century readers? † You might consider the most serious ecological or environmental issues that we currently face, and the responses and actions of individuals, communities, activists, and governments. Or, as a group collaborative project, define an ecological or environmental problem, and outline a proposal or solution that might address the problem. Present this as a multi-part paper or website. . During the Dust bowl, a umber of people left their homes-?a migration about which Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath is written. But most residents chose to stay. Write a response in which you evaluate why the residents stayed. Would it have been better to have left? Which choice would you have made? Use illustrations and examples from the book to support your analysis. 9. Create a class environmental blob in which you include discussion threads of historical accounts of environmental disasters-?such as the Dust Bowl-?along with accounts of current environmental events or concerns.With he purpose of creating collective action, include concrete steps that individuals and communities might take to address environmental concerns, and include links to relevant national and local organizations and community groups. 10. Imagine that the sequences of diary entries from Don Harebell in Nebraska (pages 244-48; 274-78; 294-302) were presented in the current day as a wobble or blob. Harebell, like many floggers, has chosen to leave the entries open to comments from readers. Write a comment in response to one of the sequences of diary entries. Harebell's last entry name in the form of a poem (page 302).Analyze the significance of that poem, or write a response to that in the form off blob entry. 11. Jean's historical account incorporates multiple disciplinary perspectives ranging across the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. While the environmental perspective is crucial to Jean's account of the Dust Bowl, he is also interested in effects on human psychology, family behavior, marriage, labor conditions, agriculture, the food industry, the liquor laws and trade, political systems, religious systems, economic systems, music, the arts, etc.Drawing on your own academic (or personal) interests or the subject area or field in which you are planning to major, look for appearances of this interest/area of interest in the book. What role does your disciplinary interest (or related interest) play in Jean's historical account? Or, if you don't see your area of interest or study represented in Cantor's account, explain what role it might have played had it been factored in. Links to further questions for discussion or short writing prompts.