- Sep 12, 2008
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I just picked up a copy for $6. A bargain.
You can probably find it very cheap yourself. I would recommend reading it, not just to understand Thomas and his attitudes, but a major part of US history.
Thomas was third generation illegitimate. He met his father twice that he can remember, and he grew up in aching poverty and one of the more ferociously segregated areas of the south. When he was five he was obliged to move from a life of small cash to incredible squalor. When he was seven he was taken in by his grandfather and raised in a hell of Teutonic discipline and very hard work. Discipline was enforced with a belt and there was no backchat permitted. Ever.
His grandfather had managed to build himself a business by sheer force of will and perseverance despite being illiterate. Young Clarence began working for his grandfather in delivering oil at a very early age. During the summer, when the oil business was dead, they sharecropped a farm, and worked hard there.
As he grew up, he became a very angry young man as the civil rights conflict swirled around him. He is very honest about his attitudes and his anger.
His writing style is angular and direct. There are no metaphors or similes. Word lays on word like bricks in a wall. In his descriptions of growing up in segregated GA, this makes the picture more stark as he bleeds the color out of his prose.
I would encourage everyone here to read it, and learn a few things about themselves.
You can probably find it very cheap yourself. I would recommend reading it, not just to understand Thomas and his attitudes, but a major part of US history.
Thomas was third generation illegitimate. He met his father twice that he can remember, and he grew up in aching poverty and one of the more ferociously segregated areas of the south. When he was five he was obliged to move from a life of small cash to incredible squalor. When he was seven he was taken in by his grandfather and raised in a hell of Teutonic discipline and very hard work. Discipline was enforced with a belt and there was no backchat permitted. Ever.
His grandfather had managed to build himself a business by sheer force of will and perseverance despite being illiterate. Young Clarence began working for his grandfather in delivering oil at a very early age. During the summer, when the oil business was dead, they sharecropped a farm, and worked hard there.
As he grew up, he became a very angry young man as the civil rights conflict swirled around him. He is very honest about his attitudes and his anger.
His writing style is angular and direct. There are no metaphors or similes. Word lays on word like bricks in a wall. In his descriptions of growing up in segregated GA, this makes the picture more stark as he bleeds the color out of his prose.
I would encourage everyone here to read it, and learn a few things about themselves.
