cultural,+social,+intellectual+and+religous+influences

=Consider the cultural, social, intellectual and religous influences in the lives of the members of the Meredith family. In what ways did this family lead an impoverished life?= Culturally the family are the typical aussie working class family- Jack stays away from the bohemian and gang scenes and Davy wishes to be left alone. David's father, Jack, was at a lower social status to his mother Minnie and in many ways Jack snr. resents this. After returning from the war many people's views and morals were changed. Bitter at the world for what has happened to him, Jack snr. is jealous [Is this the right word?] of the sucess of his children. He tries to bring his children down to his level- Jack and Davy aren't encouraged to continue their education and his sisters are married off early (to war veterans). A justification for his treatment of his children and wife is through Jack snr.'s view of religion, evidence of this is given by the monthly "sin" beatings. [There are some huge sweeping statements made here. the essence of the points are OK, but some teasing out of the ideas and the values needs to happen.] The Meredith family seems to be split in 2. Minnie, Davy's mother, came from an educated, wealthy background whereas Davy's father, Jack senior came from an impoverished background as one of 19 children. Davy is more like his mother in the way that he reads his book and writes stories (something strongly discouraged by his father) whereas Jack is like his father; angry and resentful to the world around him. The Meredith family are christians, though not in the way Christians are seen today .[Explain this]. This is shown through 'confession' at the end of each month where thier father beats the boys to the point of passing out - clearly not a christian way. The family itself doesn't have many friends, except for the wounded soldiers Minnie brings in after the war. [Some very strong statements made in the eaarly part of this paragraph. the contrast between the parents and the children is something that I would like more fully explored as I think there is much to be made of this. The beatings and the implied relationship to christian beliefs is in need of a stronger defence.]

Life in Melbourne after the war is very different to the way it is now, many wives widowed and many returned soldiers unable to work made it hard to make a living and supply for their family. In the era the Meredith family were a typical familly of the times and weren't looked down upon as scum. They helped out the families of many returned soldiers by giving them a bed to sleep in. For Minnie the life she was living with the boys' father was different to what she grew up with, being from a wealthy backgound but for Jack senior he had never known any different and wasn't driven to be better than they were. The boys were recognised as 'good' kids and even though Jack had trouble and encounters with gang violence he refused to be part of the gangs and never incited violence.

Johnston refrences Judasim. The question suggests that these influences lead to an impoverished life....why?? [I don't think that the question implies that religion, intellectual, social, or cultural aspects of life lead to an impoverished life. What I think the question is getting at is that life can be considered to be rich in more ways that just in terms of finances. The Meredith family were in a comfortable position, they did not go without food or clothing or shelter during the depression, so cannot be considered to be poor. However, you could consider that the family was lacking in appreciation for the arts - there is not much emphasis on books, paintings, performance, writing, etc These pursuits are often identified with the upper middle class]. They seemed quite poor because of choices that they made and their choices are pushed onto the children. For example when Davy is around twelve he is sent to a tech school simply so he can get a job and contribute to the family. Choices such as selecting to have a limited education, a dead-end job etc.

Religious. The father has his own brand of confession.

The family leads an impoverished life by pulling the boys out of school to get apprenticed so they had more income to help pay off the mortgage, pianola and the old chev. They are intellectually challenged as they have no schooling and Jack fails his apprenticeship as a plumber.

Shelia, an educated irish catholic, is the biggest stirring influence in the Meridith family, who are protestant. Her difference in religion and beliefs are irritating to Big Jack, but the other members of the family find her differences refreshing and embrace her. [Not just because of her religious beliefs I am sure]. Her getting pregnant out of wedlock and living 'in sin' lowers the families class standing even further and you can see the similarities in choices by big Jack and Minnie and young Jack and Sheila.

The Meredith family were not necessarily poor but the neighbourhood and it's inhabitants made it worse than the slums as it says in the book. The two high school gangs, always trying to recruit Jack, seem to take control of the neighbourhood with their ruthlessness. //"The gangs fought occasionally with razors, but more often with sticks and stones//." Chapter 3, page 34. Religous views often tore the family apart, especially with Sheila being an Irish Catholic.

Intellegence separates David to be intellectual and Jack to be aggresive.

The children were beaten monthly for their sins which is encouraged by their father's warped beliefs.