Back in 1949 teens had more freedom, loved listening and dancing to music. Teenagers were able to buy more things like food, clothes and music because of an increase in spending money. Teenagers were expected to take life seriously. Males were supposed to go off to war or at least find a job so they can bring money into their family. But the females were taught to be housewives and take care of children, more preparing for a family instead of a job or career. The females were also very proper and formal, using words like "yes, sir" or "no, sir." The boys usually dressed in Levi jeans and a button down shirt, while the females wore dresses and skirts. Teens didn’t care what their parents listened to. They listened to the music of the new decade, rock and roll. Rock and roll had light melodies, sweet lyrics, and wholesome singers. Most of the songs in the early fifties had a “feel good” tune to them, these songs reflected the mood of post World War II in America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veyPHzxNjog&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
(Example of a song from the early 1950's)
The income for teens back then wasn't very much at all, basically dirt poor. But the income for people who were like Holden's parents had somewhat of a lot of money, so they were able to spend it on nice things and to be able to send there kids to good colleges. Some of the most common slang in the early fifties were, "Why, I oughtta' pop you one!" "Make it snappy!" or "Say there sonny boy." the woman were also referred to as "broads" or "dames."
I think its interesting that even though a new generation of music and culture was being born, females were still so proper and didn't rebel more than they did during this era
ReplyDeleteGavin, Mallory, and Cho Cho- Great first posting, just don't forget to include a works cited.
ReplyDeleteWonderful response Maddi, we can talk about this on Tuesday.
"Unemployment almost disappeared, as most men were drafted and sent off to war. The government reclassified 55% of their jobs, allowing women and blacks to fill them. First, single women were actively recruited to the workforce," (kclibrary.edu).
However, the latter part of the '40s, the men came back from war and the women went back into the home to focus on being a mother and a housewife. Women were expected to give up work once they were married.
Great information site: http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/tassava.WWII
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Maddi; it seems as though men were allowed to act however they wanted where women had to remain prim and proper at all times. They had to say "yes, sir" and "no, sir"...did the men refer to the women with ma'am?
ReplyDeletei also read somewhere that girls classes in school often were for cooking sewing and cleaning, and that if a school didnt offer those classes parents probably wouldnt enroll their daughters because thos were seen as the only practical classes a girl would ever use... along with edicate and dancing and all those other "girly" classes
ReplyDeleteoh and this is jenna... for some reason it puts nenja as my name...
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of things that were happening back then were kind of wierd. I mean, I see how things were different and all that, but some of it is ridiculous. The most insane thing, is the comparisons of now and then.... fyi this is Josh...google refuses my real name and uses an old email account from seventh grade.
ReplyDeleteI think that we all are still poor (teenagers). It seams like when we make some money we have to pay for something, like gas, or food, or insurance on the car.
ReplyDeletei think it was difficult to make a comfortable living back then for some people because there was a limit on jobs
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