Meridel Le Sueur's novel The Girl is a commemorative story of strong women during the Great Depression that takes place in a location called the German Village. The novel is a look at the women's struggles and solidarity to survive and support themselves during this trying time, the Great Depression. It is a story that makes you have much more respect for earlier women who gathered together to persevere and to have a sense of solidarity during the Great Depression.
In the beginning of the novel, Clara, a young woman, is giving a new friend, the "girl," a tour of the German Village. During this period they were "lucky to get a job in those bad times" because the jobs were scarce and being a waitress or a prostitute was the only jobs available (1). The "girl" put her trust in Clara from the start, to help herself learn the living she was to engage in. She said, "I was lucky to have Clara to showing me how to wander on the street," to give the view of the everyday life a woman of my age was supposed to live during this time (1). Depression was happening during this time and women could do nothing but take care of themselves anyway they could, even if that meant being a prostitute.
Clara explained to the "girl" about her being a waitress and bootlegging to survive, and the "girl" would listen "close to Clara as she could" to find what was expected of her (1). The "girl" told Clara that she was "scared most of the time" because terrible things could happen to her (1). Clara told the "girl" she "had to learn a lot" from her just to survive the bootlegging and the men (1). While Clara was talking to others, the "girl" "sometimes didn't even know the words Clara spoke" because she had to learn the new language Clara was using around the men, which made her feel uncomfortable (1). Clara would "roll her eye and shake her head like signals, but [the] girl didn't know what they meant" (4).
The "girl" also learned many tricks of the trade from Belle and Amelia. The "girl" thought, "will I ever be easy with a man like Belle and Clara" who have already learned the experiences to survive each day together (3)? The women worked together to outlive this time in their lives and did everything they could to help and protect one another. The "girl" trusted and believed every word Clara said because Clara was all she had now, and the "girl" was "a virgin from the country scared of her shadow" (2). The "girl" knew something was special about Clara to make her believe that Clara knew everything she would never know, and listening to her might give her a chance. The "girl" said, "we are growing, in a field that is cold, bitter, sour, and no chance for life" (52).
The men lived on their own from day to day, and sometimes even depended on the women to take care of them. The only support they gave the women was protection from the streets. Ganz, a heartless gangster, said to the "girl" that she "might as well know that they keep the place going" for all of their protection (3). He was saying that the men took care of the women by giving them shelter. The men did what they wanted to do day in and day out, and survived each day on their own, without each other's support. They lived as gangsters and bootleggers to survive the depression, the only way they thought they could live. They would depend on the women to feed them most of the time. The Booya that Belle cooked supplied most of the men food during the day. Belle said to the "girl," Ganz "wants you to bring him his Booya" (3). Butch, Bill, Honck, Ack, and Ganz acted like they didn't have a care in the world except they "gave the place protection" and had their own security in mind (3). The men didn't worry whether or not they would have a place to live, they just hoped they did. They didn't care about living out in the streets because most of them did anyway.
The women would actually worry about each other and "hated to see [the men] go out alone in the cold night" (7). The women would worry about where their next meal was coming from. Clara slept with a kid, and he wanted to see her every time that week for three dollars and that was their next meal. The "girl" said, "eating is just what we are going to do, eating is a good thing" to make us feel better (51). The women would try to make money to eat, and for a place to stay in case they were kicked out of bootlegging and put into the streets.
The women had enough solidarity to stay together as a group to get through this terrible time, and they figured it was for their best interest anyway. The men didn't care about each other because they were more concerned with living the lifestyle they chose for themselves. To the men it wasn't really a huge concern to survive or have a place to live. Although the women just wanted a place to stay and relax, and live through the Depression. I feel that this book gave the readers of our generation a deeper look at the survival tactics used to outlive the Depression, giving a good comparison between the vital struggles of daily life and what we now take for granted, enabling us to live without putting our lives in danger.
By Justin Perry, for English 102
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