In this context, a Phoenix man on the other side of the ocean successfully counterattacked, rising from the bottom working class to the elite. Not only that, he also wrote a book about his self-growth experience and objective analysis of the bottom white people. Not only did he publish a book, but he also inadvertently explained the reasons for Trump's election and became a phenomenal bestseller.
The name of Phoenix Man is J.D. Vance, and his memoir is Elegy of Country People.
Vance was born badly;
First of all, America has a strong sense of race. Although Vance is white, he belongs to the bottom Scottish-Irish white and has been engaged in manual labor for generations. He is called a red-necked farmer and is not valued by Anglo-Saxon whites who have mastered social resources.
Secondly, he was born in the barren mountainous area of Alabama in the eastern United States. Affected by economic globalization, the heavy industry here has declined, job opportunities are few and far between, and poverty and hardship have been passed down from generation to generation.
Third, the bad habits of being born in a family, like natural shackles, are hard to get rid of. Vance's mother got married early, got pregnant early, and kept wandering among all kinds of men. The family is full of drug abuse and alcoholism, and it is not uncommon for couples to fight each other, children to leave early, and teenagers to get pregnant before marriage.
This kind of family background is tragic in China, but the author did not shout "parents are evil", but objectively described the limitations of the original class and his growing experience, revealing profound thoughts in a calm narrative.
Reading through the book, we can conclude that there are three key factors for Vance to realize class transition:
Faith; believe
Vance's mother's love life is unstable, and she keeps getting married and divorced. Even Vance's surname changed with her stepfather, which made him feel very insecure throughout his childhood. Later, my mother was addicted to drugs, unemployed and often out of control. Vance said that she is like a lost dog, afraid of the school bell every day and afraid to go home.
At this time, Vance's grandparents extended a helping hand and asked him to take refuge. My grandparents' home is also a place where I can study with peace of mind. Vance concentrated on reviewing here and was admitted to Ohio State University.
When Vance doubted himself, her stubborn grandmother always encouraged him: "Don't be like those cowards who always think that reality is bad for you. You can do anything you want. " This sentence also became the source of his belief and helped him survive various difficulties in his later life.
Breakthrough self
Although he was successfully admitted to the university, Vance was not confident that he could successfully complete his studies. The high tuition fee was also an insurmountable problem at that time, so Vance decided to become a soldier.
In the Marine Corps, Vance learned to work and rest regularly, live within his means and exercise, but more importantly, the army helped him overcome the "learned helplessness's disease" from his family.
Learned helplessness refers to the psychology of completely losing confidence and letting the status quo go because of repeated failures. In Vance's family, chaos and violence accompanied him throughout his childhood, which made him believe that he could not change anything and "felt that his choice was irrelevant".
And the Marine Corps helped him overcome this mentality. In strict physical training, Vance constantly broke through himself, established self-confidence and convinced him that "I can do it".
After his service, Vance returned to the university. By this time, he has been able to deal with all kinds of problems easily. The course is still heavy, and the tuition is still unfunded, but he took several part-time jobs while attending classes and completed his four-year studies in two and a half years.
Brush academic qualifications
At any time, education is the best ladder to cross the class.
After graduating from Ohio State University, Vance encountered a new problem: finding a job.
Like all diaosi, he applied for dozens of jobs, and none of them hired him. Vance came up with the idea of going to Yale University for further study after finding it difficult for the students around him to find jobs.
After coming to Yale University, Vance found that most of the students here came from the elite, and their ways of doing things were completely different. For example, you will get employment opportunities through alumni recommendation; Your relatives and friends can make a phone call and attend an interview with a big company; The school has a career development office to help them get through the relationship and arrange interviews. One year after coming to Yale, Vance got a six-figure salary, which was unimaginable before.
In addition to contacts and work, top universities have greatly expanded Vance's horizons and ideas. Because of his particularly tortuous growth experience, a law school teacher suggested that he write his own experience into a book, so this well-known Elegy of Country People came into being. Interestingly, everyone has heard of this teacher, Chua Meier, a famous "tiger mother" in China.
In fact, success will come sooner or later, regardless of one's background. Therefore, instead of lamenting the class solidification, it is better to try your best to fight once. Maybe when you look up, you will find yourself standing on a higher hill.