Tobacco Road

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Tobacco Road is set in rural Georgia during the worst years of the Great Depression. It depicts a family of poor white tenant farmers, the Lesters, as some of the many small Southern cotton farmers made redundant by the industrialization of production and the migration into cities. The main character of the novel is Jeeter Lester, an ignorant and sinful man who is redeemed by his love of the land and his faith in the fertility and promise of the soil. a b c d e Caldwell, Jay E. "Wanting to learn more about his dad leads Erskine Caldwell's son to write a book of his own". Arizona Daily Star . Retrieved October 1, 2022. The Lesters are struggling to get by on their plantation. The Great Depression has turned the American economy upside down, and it's corrupting the Lesters' lives. Unfortunately, they have turned to morally corrupt antics, highlighting the historic racism of Southerners during this time period, among other difficulties. a b c d e f g h i "Erskine Caldwell Dead at 83". AP NEWS. Paradise Valley, Arizona. April 12, 1987 . Retrieved October 1, 2022. The audiobook narration by John MacDonald is good. The intonation matches the language of these uneducated, poor, depraved souls. Of course the dialog is filled with grammatical errors.

The precise setting of the novel is unclear. The Jeeters' home is said at one point to be located on "the most desirable soil in the entire west-central part of Georgia", but other passages describe it as being close to the Savannah River and Augusta, which are in eastern Georgia. These references would appear to place their home in Richmond County, of which Augusta is the county seat. The county in which the Jeeters live is also said to be adjacent to Burke County, which Richmond County is. However, the county seat of the Jeeters' county is not Augusta but the fictional town of Fuller. The Jeeters are also said to live near the fictional town of McCoy.

I think every book I've ever read that was placed during the 1930’s depression had a dark tone. The depression was not the best of times for America’s economy (or the world for that matter) and of course, it's citizens. One of the few times in my time here on goodreads when I feel like writing: OMG. ... OMG, and really meaning it.

Escrita en 1932, en plena Gran Depresión, esta breve y ácida novela refleja el triste destino de los pequeños agricultores arruinados por los cambios económicos que estaban teniendo lugar. I’ve never read anything like ‘Tobacco Road’ and although it’s interesting reading, it also evokes a sense of unease, disquiet, and rumblings of anger. The Lesters do not seem much better than animals, living pretty much instinctually, trying to satisfy hunger and sexual appetites. Their house is in disrepair and nothing is ever fixed. When the roof leaks, they just move to another corner of the room. Jeeter dreams about growing cotton, but no creditor will lend him money. They live on land once owned by Grandfather Lester, long since lost to creditors and taxmen. There are crazy, almost comedic fiascos that occur, but the world these people live in causes my humor to dry up. Jeeter demeans Ellie May because she has a harelip that he never could find the money to get fixed. What man would want to look at that face, he asks. He sells Pearl and leers at his daughter-in-law. A lot of times, these characters just seem dumb. What is primary: poverty or depravity? Actually, it is a vicious circle – poverty aggravates depravity and depravity exacerbates poverty and the process continues until human being is reduced to the bestial condition. And then man begins to exist ruled by animal instincts and physiological needs.

The people from that part of Georgia, around Augusta, despise Caldwell for his portrayal of the locals. But Caldwell wasn't trying to be sensationalist or funny. He believed he was calling attention to the plight of these dirt poor tenant farmers during the Great Depression. What it does call attention to is ignorance, the effect of zero education, of inbreeding, of exploitation of the poor by...well, by everyone. This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. While there were certain humorous passages, I did not find this book in the least bit funny, and I cannot understand the thinking of anyone who did.

I loved Caldwell's writing and will read more books written by him. It was all I expected and more. Caldwell, Erskine (16 May 2017). Three Novels: Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre, and Place Called Estherville. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-4547-6– via google books.Caldwell, Virginia Moffett, b. 1919". Dartmouth Library Archives & Manuscripts. dartmouth.edu . Retrieved October 2, 2022. Rich, Nathaniel (30 April 2012). "American Dreams: 'Tobacco Road' by Erskine Caldwell". The Daily Beast . Retrieved 2 October 2022. Caldwell was born on December 17, 1903, in the small town of White Oak, Coweta County, Georgia. He was the only child of Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church minister Ira Sylvester Caldwell and his wife Caroline Preston (née Bell) Caldwell, a schoolteacher. Rev. Caldwell's ministry required moving the family often, to places including Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. When he was 15 years old, his family settled in Wrens, Georgia. [11] His mother Caroline was from Virginia. Her ancestry included English nobility which held large land grants in eastern Virginia. Both her English ancestors and Scots-Irish ancestors fought in the American Revolution. Ira Caldwell's ancestors were Scots-Irish and had also been in America since before the revolution and had fought in it. [12]