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1-Page Summary of Hillbilly Elegy

Overview

The author of Hillbilly Elegy begins by explaining why he wrote the book. He distinguishes himself as a man who came from a poor family and was able to get an education despite his circumstances. Despite coming from a family with little money, Vance claims that the hillbillies are at fault for their own situation since they believe they can’t do anything about it.

The first chapter describes Vance’s childhood, which was unstable because his family moved a lot. He felt most safe in Kentucky, where he spent his summers with his grandmother. His father abandoned him and Vance’s mother dated many men but none of them stayed for long. The author says that this instability made Vance feel like he had to protect himself by watching out for danger early on.

Vance is upset about the decline of his hometown, because it has suffered from poverty. However, instead of trying to solve the problem, people just gave up and let their city deteriorate both physically and emotionally.

In the second chapter, Vance talks about his grandparents. Mamaw and Papaw were childhood friends who had a child at an early age. They moved from their hometown to escape criticism from family members, as well as find better jobs in Ohio. However, they faced similar criticism there for being hillbillies and did not fit in with their neighbors. Despite that, they managed to get out of poverty by moving into a bigger house when all of their children grew up.

After the couple had three children, their marriage began to deteriorate. Papaw started drinking and Mamaw warned him that she would kill him if he ever drank again. She made good on this promise when she tried to set Papaw on fire by pouring alcohol all over his body while he was sleeping one day.

Vance’s grandparents were married and had three children. Jimmy, the oldest child, left home at 18 and got a good job. Lori married an abusive husband but later divorced him. The youngest child was Vance’s mother who became pregnant when she was 19 years old and gave birth to a daughter named Bev (the author). She later divorced her abusive husband as well.

Vance then introduces Armco Steel, which provides people with a safety net. They do this by encouraging their employees to have a good life while at the same time discouraging them from striving for more than what they already have.

Vance’s mother remarried when he was a young boy. However, the couple fought frequently and his stepfather even hit Vance’s mother. The family moved to Middletown, Ohio where they continued fighting. His mother tried to commit suicide after her husband found out that she had cheated on him with another man and left her for good. She went back to Middletown where she lived with Mamaw (Vance’s grandmother).

Bev’s bad choices, which included staying up late to drink and yelling at her children, led to a tense family dynamic. She even tried to kill Vance but was arrested for it. After that, Vance began spending more time with his grandmother than with Bev. He also contacted his biological father and found out he wasn’t the person Bev had described him as; instead of being an irresponsible drunkard who abandoned his family like she said he was, he turned out to be a religious man who had a loving wife and kids. His father also introduced Vance into Christianity so that when times were tough for him in the future (which they surely would), religion could help him make good choices again. However, this meant that while Christianity can help people make good decisions during difficult times in their lives (like helping them resist alcohol), it also discourages people from being themselves if they’re not Christian because Christianity believes God is the only way one can go through life successfully without making mistakes or experiencing difficulties of any kind.