When Would you like to grow up?

The two stories "Looking for Work" and "What We Really Miss About the 1950's" both describe life in the 1950's. "Looking for Work" was about the author, Gary Soto, as a nine year old boy. it describes a day in his childhood life. It describes him going out to find work, as well as swimming and eating with his family. Beyond all of this he brings up certain social issues, such as racism, that was taking place while he was growing up. This is a story of coming to terms with these issues. He describes that what he wants is the families that he sees on television. He realizes by the end of the story that this cannot be a reality. Soto is indirectly telling us that life in the 1950's was a lot more challenging for minorities, as they did not have the perfect atomic family.

"What We Really Miss About the 1950's" was another piece that described how different life was from the way many people think about it, especially for minorities. This work was more challenging for me to read, because of its use of just facts. I was constantly rereading things because my mind was wandering. It never really captured my attention. That being said, the piece was very well researched, and it delivered a strong point with a lot of supporting evidence.

Both works challenged the idea of family life in the 1950's, and they both did a good job of it. Life could have been like many popular television shows for some people, but the lives of others from different walks of life could have been very different. I think that this applies not only to the 1950's, in that there will always be a different side of the story, and there will always be some good and some bad depending on the time when someone grows up. The 1950's seem so good because it was the time where there was really no big issue dividing America.