Hillbilly Elegy
Chapter 4
by Vance, J. D.Chapter 4 of *Hillbilly Elegy* begins with the author reflecting on his birth in 1984 and his grandfather’s political shift, voting for Reagan despite his disdain for Mondale. This anecdote highlights the cultural divide between working-class Appalachians and Northern liberals, a theme that resonates throughout the chapter. The author’s grandfather, a lifelong Democrat, saw Reagan as the lesser evil, illustrating the complex political loyalties of Rust Belt communities. This moment foreshadows the broader societal and economic tensions explored in the chapter.
The chapter then shifts to Middletown, Ohio, the author’s hometown, which serves as a microcosm of the Rust Belt’s decline. Middletown, once a thriving manufacturing hub, retained its working-class character but showed early signs of economic strain. The author describes the town’s stagnant population, aging infrastructure, and reliance on Armco, the local steel mill. Despite its challenges, residents viewed Middletown as a proud, self-sufficient community, unaware of the impending economic collapse that would later devastate the region.
The author paints a vivid picture of Middletown’s social and geographic divisions, from the affluent neighborhoods near the high school to the impoverished areas surrounding Armco. He reflects on his childhood perceptions of these divisions, questioning whether his family’s neighborhood was truly distinct from the “really poor” areas. The gradual decay of public spaces, like Miami Park, symbolizes the town’s decline, with stolen bikes and neglected facilities marking a loss of communal trust and prosperity.
Finally, the chapter contrasts Middletown’s vibrant past with its bleak present. The once-bustling downtown, filled with local businesses and bustling malls, has become a ghost town of abandoned storefronts and empty lots. The closure of iconic establishments like Kmart and Dillman’s underscores the town’s economic unraveling. The author’s observations capture the slow, painful erosion of a community that once epitomized American industrial success, leaving readers with a poignant sense of loss and nostalgia for a bygone era.
FAQs
1. How did the author’s grandfather (Papaw) view political candidates like Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale, and what does this reveal about the cultural divide in American politics?
Answer:
Papaw voted for Reagan despite disliking him because he strongly disliked Mondale, whom he saw as a “well-educated Northern liberal” culturally disconnected from working-class Appalachians. This illustrates the cultural divide in American politics where voters often prioritize perceived cultural alignment over policy specifics. Papaw’s subsequent loyalty to the Democratic Party (“party of the workingman”) despite his Reagan vote also highlights the complex interplay between cultural identity and political affiliation in Rust Belt communities.2. How does the author describe the socioeconomic and cultural landscape of Middletown, Ohio, and what parallels does he draw to Jackson, Kentucky?
Answer:
Middletown is portrayed as a generic Rust Belt town with a working-class majority, conservative culture, and racial demographics split between white and Black populations (the latter from the Great Migration). The author emphasizes its economic reliance on Armco steel and notes how Appalachian migrants recreated their Kentucky culture there—even transplanting county rivalries, as seen in the workplace sign referencing Morgan and Wolfe Counties. This underscores how migration patterns preserved cultural ties across geographic distances.3. What symbolic changes in Middletown’s physical environment does the author use to illustrate the town’s economic decline?
Answer:
The author points to decaying infrastructure (e.g., faded tennis courts, broken basketball nets), the closure of local businesses like Kmart and Dillman’s grocery, and the transformation of malls into parking lots or walking tracks for the elderly. These details symbolize gradual economic erosion. The theft of bikes—a stark contrast to Mamaw’s childhood when bikes were left unchained—further underscores the community’s decline from a once-thriving industrial hub to a place struggling with economic stagnation and social change.4. How does the author’s childhood perception of Middletown’s neighborhoods reflect broader themes of class and self-identity?
Answer:
As a child, the author mentally divided Middletown into three areas: the “rich” neighborhood near the high school, the “really poor” area near Armco, and his own middle-ground block. He later questions whether these distinctions were real or a coping mechanism to avoid acknowledging his family’s poverty. This introspection reveals how class identity is often internalized and how individuals might construct narratives to distance themselves from stigmatized economic statuses, a theme resonant in working-class communities.5. Why might the author’s description of Middletown’s decline resonate with broader discussions about Rust Belt communities in America?
Answer:
Middletown’s trajectory—from a bustling industrial town with a vibrant downtown to a place marked by vacant storefronts and job losses—mirrors the Rust Belt’s broader post-industrial decline. The author’s focus on gradual change (“erosion, not mudslide”) highlights how deindustrialization unfolds over decades, often unnoticed until it’s irreversible. This narrative aligns with national conversations about economic displacement, the loss of manufacturing jobs, and the cultural disillusionment of communities tied to America’s industrial heyday.
Quotes
1. “I never liked Reagan much. But I hated that son of a bitch Mondale.”
This quote captures the complex political identity of the author’s grandfather (Papaw) and many working-class Rust Belt voters. It illustrates how cultural resentment often trumped policy preferences in their voting behavior, explaining Reagan’s appeal despite Papaw’s lifelong Democratic leanings.
2. “We saw ourselves as a really fine community, on par with Shaker Heights or Upper Arlington. Of course, none of us knew what would happen.”
This reflection from a longtime resident highlights Middletown’s former self-perception as a thriving community, while foreshadowing its economic decline. It establishes the contrast between past prosperity and future struggles that shapes the chapter’s narrative.
3. “Middletown is generic in other ways. It exemplified the economic expansion of the manufacturing-based Rust Belt town.”
This concise description positions Middletown as a microcosm of Rust Belt America, explaining its significance as a case study. The author uses Middletown’s “generic” qualities to make broader points about industrial towns and their shared fate.
4. “Looking back, I don’t know if the ‘really poor’ areas and my block were any different, or whether these divisions were the constructs of a mind that didn’t want to believe it was really poor.”
This introspective observation reveals the author’s childhood perspective on class while demonstrating his adult awareness of economic realities. It speaks to the psychological coping mechanisms of working-class families facing decline.
5. “If Middletown had changed little by the time I was born, the writing was on the wall almost immediately thereafter. It’s easy even for residents to miss it because the change has been gradual—more erosion than mudslide.”
This metaphor powerfully describes the slow, insidious nature of industrial decline. The “erosion vs. mudslide” comparison captures how economic deterioration often happens imperceptibly until it’s too late to reverse.