A number of writers have contributed a lot of contextual studies to the subject or literature of American family life and cold war era. One of the major contributors in this regard who has also been widely acclaimed is Elaine Tyler May. The aim of this paper is to critically assess the book entitled, “Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era” written by Elaine Tyler May. The aspects that would be focused in the paper include the assertions made by the author in order to illustrate the story of American life in the post-war period. The manner in which the author has collected and presented the data will also be well-understood.
It will not be incorrect to state that the framework that has been followed by the author in the book is narrative coercion. In simpler words, it can be said that May has tried to discuss the American life in the Cold War era from two different points of view. The first stance that has been well-woven through content in the book by May is domesticity. The second in this regard remains the ideals of anti-communism. It clearly shows us that the approach of the author in the book is rather argumentative. Herein, one can note that this is one of the effective ways of bringing an in-depth assessment of the subject (May 98).
May insisted that throughout the time of research, she found out that post-Cold War era was a time when Americans were more inclined towards getting married and make bigger families. May has rather used a number of claims in the book to prove the ideology of sustaining a family life. One side of the story mentions that it was because Americans wanted to have a life that as secured in every best manner. In order to make sure that the marriages were successful, many writers asserted that sex was important in order to make the life successful. As mentioned in the book, “It is interesting to note that although he thought this trend had gone too far Affirming the postwar concern with the importance of sex as long as it was contained in the marriage” (May 113).
The argumentative stance in the book allowed the readers to come across varied point of views. For instance, a lot of chapters in the book have been provided to the idea of American families being prisoners during the Cold War. Many important aspects and literature have been cited in all those sections where May has tried to show that home became a place of endangered concepts. The fact remains that a sensitive issue such as containment of women was another issue that became equally problematic in nature as any other issues of America such as the energy crisis. Also, issues such as keeping women at home to make sure that children were nurtured carefully and effectively were in the talk making American lives more dependent (May 122).
The context in which May discusses sex and marriage are an open and colossal idea of consumerism. Children became a way for the markets to penetrate. There were many aspects that were facing horizons in American life after Cold War. The credit for such a new development and efficiency of marks goes to the marriage and the sexual satisfaction. It also kept the men going since they were destined to become dominating in the bed. It was important that men were happy with their wives for which movies were showing the working women as bombshells.
In a similar manner, the book also discussed the issues of women who went outside the home. It was marked that by any chance if women took control of their financial spheres then they had to be labeled by the slang word of bombshell. May has been able to make such an important claim in her book with the help of Hollywood examples. The films that were released in Hollywood were providing the audiences with a new figure of women i.e. a woman who was supposed to be completely naked spiritually if she is out of her home (May 164).
One of the platforms that have been given more assessment and content remains women homeland. In other words, men were taking all the positions in the higher level of social institutions (specifically government). American society was more inclined towards making a difference to get away with the depression of war. The future was being shown by literature and the government where women were taking control of their lives within the bounds of homeland. On the other hand, men were taking control of everything that made a different on a larger spectrum (May 117).
May seemed to be able to provide her claims on the basis of argumentative prophecy that was largely hidden in the written works of other writers. She claimed that the strict views after Cold War allowed men to transform their world, but it rather pushed women back to the early stone ages. However, in the recent times, as predicted by May, the sphere of women life was to change vastly. The change, as evident in the modern, is in regards of the decisions that they make in order to get their children going on a road that is not bound. Also, women are now presenting themselves as the leaders in every walk of life. However, the fact remains that the impact of the cold war was widely noticed after the years of ideological change. This assertion or claim by May has been considered as predictive and fairly true in its contextual background (May 127).
I would rather state that the corresponding assertions and claims as presented and well-cited by May in her book is a commendable act. It can be said that she has been able to bring different views regarding American life after Cold War in a very effective manner. It is merely a timeline of concepts and ideology that proved Americans to become completely dependent upon their situations. The depression of war rather pushed them to the point where they could not understand their merits. It was yet again a remarkable success of the author to note that Americans were expected to be better than what they become after the Cold War era (May 143).
Works Cited
May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era. New York: Basic Books, 2008. Print.
