Bad Land: An American Romance
BadLand: An American Romance is a book written by Jonathan Raban. The author has used the book to describe the eastern Montana’s culture. The author uses the homesteads to describe the eastern Montana’s culture. The author portrays the people of eastern Montana as hardworking. In addition, the author explains how civilization has taken place in the region and the developments. He uses the book to explain the events and circumstances that took place in eastern Montana. The main themes in the book are circumstance and events. The author has used several illustrations to support the main themes. The author explains how the Homestead Act increased the number of homesteads in the region. The United States government enacted a home stead act that increased the number of homesteads in eastern Montana to 320 homesteads per hectare. In addition, the author supports his theme by showing how the United States government influenced the developments in the area. The United States government destroyed the developments in the area (Raban, 1998).
The topic covered in the book is important. The author has used the topic to educate the society in the need to embrace civilization. Further, the author explains how civilization affects culture. The author narrates how he came across the ruins of the eastern Montana community and the isolated homesteads. The community left the homesteads in early 20th century and moved to other areas to look for employment opportunities and better living conditions. The author argues that the community left the area after being influenced by the advertising of the rail road companies. The community left the area to search for better lives and a permanent agricultural community. The people in the community thought they would get a better place to achieve their dreams (Raban, 1998).
The topic being discussed in the book is important as they explain activities that take place in the modern society. For example, in the modern society people have moved from one place to another to search for better living standards and employment. Rural urban migration is common in many countries as the population has moved from the rural areas to urban areas. The author’s main theme is circumstance and events. This is because the author explains the events that happened in the community and the circumstances that caused them. For example, the author explains events like migration and what caused them. Also, the author analyzes the Homestead Act and its effect on the community. The Homestead Act is a major topic in the book as it has great influence on the people of eastern Montana (Raban, 1998).
There are various factors that the author believes caused the events. Examples of the factors include civilization and the government. Civilization contributed a lot to the events explained in the book. The author argues that civilization forced the community to leave the land. For example, emergency of technology led to rapid development in the area. Many companies were set up that led to migration of people. In the book, the author claims that the community left the land to look for better opportunities and living standards. Apart from civilization, the United States government contributed a lot to the events that happened in the book. The government enacted the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act increased the number of houses in the country to 320 houses per hectare (Raban, 1998).
There are no other books that have been written on the topic. The author has only produced several editions of the book bad land: An American romance. He produced the book three times. That is in 1996, 1997 and 1998.There is need for a new book on the topic bad land: an American romance as the topic is important. Author historians should publish other books on the topic. The topic is important as it explains how civilization affects the society. It teaches the society on the effects of civilization. This is because the community in the book migrated to other areas to look for better employment opportunities and living conditions. The community was focused on achieved the dream (Raban, 1998).
The topic of current popular interest as civilization is a common topic in the society. Most people have complained how civilization has destroyed culture in different communities. This is because people are aimed at bringing change in the society. Some have abandoned their homes to look for better employment opportunities and living standards. The effects of civilization like rural urban migration are being felt in the modern society. The author explores the expansion of the west as the community moved from one place to another looking for better lives (Raban, 1998).
The author has used enough evidence to support his thesis. The author has described the homesteads of the communities to support his theme. He argues that the community left their homesteads to move to other areas. The isolated homesteads in the book have helped tell more about the community. The community was aimed at bringing change and it had to move from the area. The author also explains how the society became established and the developments in the region. The society developed rapidly because of civilization. The society was able to attract other people like investors, businessmen (Raban, 1998).
The author has used illustrations to support his thesis. The author gives stories of various families in the book. For example, the author uses the Ned Wolaston family to support his thesis. Ned Wolaston family started their life planting crops in their 320 acres land. The family has helped him develop his thesis well (Raban, 1998). Later on, the author explains how the settlers in the region realize that the land could not support the people in the community. He uses the home stead act to explain this. He also explains the American government destroyed the developments in the region. The evidence used by the author has enabled the reader to understand the content (Raban, 1998).
The book has a bibliography. The author has developed a bibliography for the sources used. Also, the author has used footnotes, index and maps to support his thesis. The author has used illustrations to support his thesis. For example, he uses families to convey the message to the reader. He has used Ned Wolaston family to convey the message to the reader. The illustrations used complement the text as they help the reader understand the content. Lastly, the author has used charts to explain his argument (Raban, 1998).
The book targets scholars. The author requires the reader of the book to have prior knowledge in history before reading the book. This will make it easy for the reader to understand the content. The evidence presented in the book support the thesis statement. The evidence helps the author convey his message. The sources used in the book are adequate. They have helped the author develop the thesis well. The methods the historian applied to analyze the content are appropriate. The author has used illustrations to convey the message. He has developed the content well so as to enable the reader to understand the content. The author could have used more illustrations. The book is well written as the author has organized the content well. He has organized the content into different sections. The analysis is persuasive (Raban, 1998).
Reference
Raban, J. (1998).BadLand: An American Romance. Thorndike Press
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