Families in the 20th century had lives of hardship. More significantly, the African American families had it the worst. In the short stories “The Rockpile” and “Blues Ain’t No Mockin’ Bird” displayed accurately what life was like in those times. They also are similar and different in the ways they display the working class in different areas of the country. Regardless, the authors clearly had a good depiction of how classes of people lived.
“The Rockpile” accurately shows the life of average people during the 20th century. Within the story see the setting in a fairly rough neighborhood in inner city New York where African American children have to make up their own entertainment. In their neighborhood they couldn’t afford many toys so they use a gigantic rock in an empty lot to play on. Women were seen as superior to men back then and it is clearly shown through the job roles of the father and the mother. The mother is at home doing many house chores and the husband is at work all day long and even on Saturdays. When the parents of a boy, Richard, have to drag their drowned son, white policeman just stand by as spectators. This certain part in the story displays even the small injustice that the African American community got. The story perfectly displayed the hardships of the…show more content… The African American family lives a simple life on a small farm house. The children gambol through the fields and swing on the swing as children do to make their own enjoyment. The grandmother stays in makes cakes while Granddaddy was out hunting. They quietly keep to themselves and enjoy their lives peacefully. Their lives were quite simple and carefree but were depicted by the camera men as living poor and miserable lives. The lives of the family in the rural area of the 20th century were portrayed excellently in “Blues Ain’t No Mockin’