Time To Respond

Week #3 Responses required.

SSC-327

(M.N)

Who would you take with you to improve your chances of survival?

1) I would take with me my spouse because he would be my age; a pretty healthy age to adapt, and look for ways to survive, without any physical complications. I would also take one male relative from 18-35 years old so there is a male strength that accompanied my spouse, plus the other one would be left behind to provide them a safety net too. I would also take the 17-year-old single female because she would be the youngest of all and in those years one is careless so, in order to survive, we would need that carelessness to take risks, try things, and get as fast as we can to the other group.

Therefore, the one female married at age 19 would stay with the male relative, and the female married at age 26. Those two females are a bit older and might complain, and not be as careless as the 17-year-old. They would also be left behind (and taken care of) with the 80-year-old female relative and the 6-month-old baby. They require a lot of attention and are not adaptive to the situation. For instance, a baby needs to be changed, to be fed, and to sleep, just like the 80-year-old woman, in addition to its lack of physical ability.

Some of the supplies that would be necessary for the trip would be food, water containers, foraging and hunting supplies, and a map of the landscape. The food would be easy to eat and digest, so the group is not prone to any illness during the way. The water is essential to keep on going and actually survive the whole trip, and with the containers, we could store more if we see there are rivers on the map. The map would also be a key element to be guided and check for nearby resources where we could hunt and gather our supplies.

If we get to hunt something, we could exchange that with the group we are looking to meet, if we do not we can give a foraging/hunter-gathering supply or anything we have foraged in the way.

SSC-327

(A.C)

2) During the last ice age, as the number of hunter-gatherers increased, communities were forced to make a choice between feeding more mouths through agriculture or finding strategies to curb population growth. Some groups opted for the former option, failing to see the dangers of farming, and being captivated by the temporary abundance they experienced until population expansion caught up with increasing food supply. They drove or killed the hunter-gatherer tribes that chose to stay that way since even a hundred starving farmers can fight as well as a single healthy hunter. Not that hunter-gatherers gave up their way of life, but those who were smart enough to stick with it were evicted from all but the areas where farmers didn't want them to live. (Diamond, 1987)       Given that recently my tribe experienced a drought of several years that depleted our access to water resources and as a result to vegetation and additionally, animals that we hunted died or left the area in search of water our group is struggling for survival and is very much on its last leg speed is of the essence. It is crucial that the selection of who comes with the group is not made lightly as they will contribute to the future survival of the tribe. After the decision of who is coming is made next a plan is needed on how we will deal with the group we have identified as having resources across the mountains.       Although knowledge from an elder is not something that a tribe should think of as disposable this specific tribe is dying. As mentioned, there is a great necessity for our group to obtain resources. The 80-year-old female relative would be left behind due to the nature of the travel. Traversing mountains on a strict deadline can be perilous and the 80-year-old female relative is likely to not only slow down the group greatly but also will most likely endanger another more important member of the group by putting them in a perilous position. The 17-year-old female would be chosen to come as would the married 19-year-old female. The reasoning behind these decisions was made in large part with reproduction and future growth of the tribe in mind. The two male relatives would also come. Not only would they provide strength, but they could also pair with the 2 females to grow the group. My spouse and I would lead the group across the mountains, but the 6-month-old baby would have to stay back with the 80-year-old female relative and the 26-year-old female. The baby and the elderly relative would slow down the group but if they were to stay back with the 26-year-old female they would have a chance as surviving for a short amount of time while the main group goes to the new area. Later, if victorious, we could return for them. A quarter of the food would be left with those left behind and the rest would go to the group on the move.       Though hunter-gatherers generally fought less than the standard group of the time it has been reported that they “engaged in warfare at least every two years” (Ember, 2020). This group is hungry and thirsty and will do what they need to get control of these resources. Flint or bone-tipped bows and arrows and spears were typical weapons that hunter-gatherers carried, and these would be the tools they would use to make those resources theirs. Because we have nothing to exchange this will be one of those rare instances where a hunter-gatherer group would engage in warfare. A swift takedown of the group with the resources will happen in the evening under the cover of darkness. The group does not realize how dire the situation is for the traveling group so they will not expect this attack. This decision is one made from a group that has nothing else left to lose and has a small group waiting for them to bring them back as soon as possible.

LBS-498

(F.A.)

3) There is a theory by psychologist Abraham Maslow called “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” in basic psychology. In this theory, it is suggested for humans to reach their full potential or “self-actualization,” there is an innate hierarchy of needs that must be met for this to occur. Coincidentally at the base of this pyramid is the category of physiological needs, which contains “shelter.” Shelter is a necessity for humans to survive the bitter cold or the blazing heat. Some of the shelters people use may be viewed as primitive by some, but it serves its purpose to protect the people from the element. The shelter used by the farmers in the South during the Great Depression, as described in Agee’s writing and Evan’s photographs were unique to the impoverished people and provided a first-hand view into their lives.

Agee’s account of the Gudger house provides many valuable details. Agee describes the house as being “rudimentary as a child’s drawing, and of a bareness, cleanness, and a sobriety of which only Doric architecture” (Walker and Evans 127). Agee also mentions that the house was, in fact, elementary, and it did not have any forms of embellishment. Agee writes the following when describing the place “Not any one inch of lumber being wasted on embellishment or on trim, or any form of relief” (Walker and Evans 126). I find these details exceptionally valuable because they powerfully demonstrate the level of poverty experienced by the people living in the houses. The fact the shelters were raw, rudimentary, lacking symmetry, and baren of trim echoes the sentiments of times these people experienced. However, these single-walled and roughly constructed homes provided shelter and were seemingly as tough as the farmers.

My view of the tenant farmers has become more apparent as we progress through the book. I find myself moving from a feeling of sympathy for the farmers to a sense of respect for their true grit. Agee and Walker’s work provides a raw and close encounter on the details and shelters the tenant farmers and sharecroppers used during the Great Depression.

LBS-498

(A.M.)

4) If the goal of the question is to say which detail gave you a clearer picture of the depravity that tenant farmers lived in (which was one of the goals of the book), I found details about the bedding, the rooms,  and the smells in the shelter to be most valuable in accomplishing this goal.  Agee says that the walls “in the course of years absorbed smoke and grease and dirt into a rich dark patine so labored into the wood that sweeping and scrubbing affect it as scarcely as if it were iron; so that even in the kitchen, where two windows are not shaded with porch or trees, but are free to the sky’s whole blaze, the brightness though powerful is restricted, fragile and chemical like that of a flash bulb, and is blunted or drowned in the iron blackness of every wall (173).”  These blackened walls held smells similar to “old wet garments and corrupted meats (173).”   

He describes clothes hanging on nails that weren’t bothered to be washed with soap if they were washed at all and smelled of sweat and were caked with dirt.  He further describes bedding as “dead-gray with dirt, the dark, crudded cotton leaking from its wounds (167).”  Agee described the beds as smelling “old, stale, and moist, and are morbid with bedbugs, with fleas, and, I believe, with lice (154).” The pillows were the same and stained urine yellow from the hair of the people sleeping on them.   The children slept on the floor where rat feces was clearly seen.   

These details were unapologetic and hard-edged and honest.  To me, they gave a clear picture of the stench of the home which a photograph doesn’t secure.  The photographs didn’t capture the bedbugs and the lice and the fleas and the rat feces.  It didn’t pick up the stained pillows or bedding.  The text in this particular case added a dimension that the photographs didn’t reflect.  The worst part about it was that it wasn’t the tenants’ fault.  Even sweeping and scrubbing couldn’t get it out.  They had no money to buy soap.  Water was hard to constantly fetch, which made hygiene difficult.  There was no way to really wash the bedding.  The house was full of holes for vermin to get into.  They were fighting a losing battle, and after years and years, it is understandable how one would just give up.  They could hate the house and the conditions, but they had no choice and learned to live with it. 

LBS-201

(E.S)

What makes a person laugh typically is determined by what interest them. For a person to find humor in a joke or something they see it must have something that stimulates there amusement. For examples the expression “when pigs fly “used for someone in disbelief about any particular reason is pretty a common phrase but what if someone actually saw a pig fly? Honestly how hilarious would that be? Maybe for some it would be hysterical but for me not so much, the point I’m trying make is that depending on what intrigues their mind. Laughter can come from various situations such as being tickled or hearing a good joke. Other instances of creating laughter can from a emotional episode of reminiscing or nervousness or simply being embarrassed like if you fell in front of friends and you all found humor in that moment.  What is language ambiguity? It’s a way of expressing yourself with an open dialogue without misinterpretation. For most gentlemen laughter is a language of love when courting a women. Speaking from experience when I would make a women laugh then I could open a conversation with her and possibly lead to more engaged conversations and more opportunities to make laugh.