Changing Family Situations in a Small Community Author(s): Earl H. Bell Source: The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 35, No.

5 (Nov., 1932), pp. 462-465 Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/15410 . Accessed: 04/06/2011 01:04
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companyshe was foreed to live in poverty.3 And so themechanism day-dreaming of is invoked,all unconsciously, orderto in bring the individual those satisfactions that are denied himin reality. Emotions and desires may be thwarted and repressed,but generallythe organismfinds some way of gettingaround the thwarting influences, oftenbeing satisfiedwith mere day-dreams. In conclusionwe would emphasizethe fact that day-dreamsare not necessarily a baneful influencein the efforts the of individual to adjust to the realities of life. They may in fact be the very basis for great achievement. The danger enters when one is satisfied with the shadow in the dream and makes no at-

tempt to actualize the dream content. For parentsand teachersand otherswho are concernedwith assisting the young to make satisfactory and satisfyingadjustments to the manifold problems of living, the caution should be registered not to attemptto eliminate day-dreaming, since such a procedure would only serve to drive the child furtherwithin himself. He would not cease to daydream, but would merely refrain from telling about his day-dreams the perto son who would repress them. The daydream representsa real lack in the life of the dreamer. The proper procedure, consequently, is to inquire into the nature of the lack and to encouragethe person actually to do something toward the realizationof his dream.

CHANGING FAMILY SITUATIONS SMALL COMMUNITY

By Dr. EARL H. BELL
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

IN A

I
DURING 1931 a studyof a small Middle Western community was completed. The study was unique in that the ethnographic technique was exclusivelyused. The major purposes were to accurately record the old culture which preceded the introduction of machines, and to record the reactions of the culture as a wholeto the new situationbroughtabout by the change in its material aspects. In orderto studythelatterphenomena it was deemed advisable to choosea community which was comparativelyfree fromthe economiccrises so dominantin chosen industrialcities. The community was one entirelydependent upon agriculture,but whichwas not isolated from 3 See Caroline B. Zachary, " Personality Adjustments of School Children," pp. 54, 55. Charles Seribner's Sons, New York, 1929.

urban culture. Other variables were likewise ruled out. The followingbrief to will suffice makethis clear. description chosen, Iowa, the community Shellrock, is in a rich agricultural area located about thirty miles from Waterloo, an industrial city of about sixty thousand inhabitants. It consists of a village center,which has averaged a population of 811 since 1885. During that time it fromthat has not varied morethan fifty average. The countryincluded in the communityconsists of a population of about 1,600. The entire wealth of the comes fromthe surrounding community farmland. The town was founded in 1857, and by 1885 it had nearly reached its maximum size. It was founded largely by old American stock of the Protestant faith whose various sects are still em-

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braced by the present citizens. Shell- people, and participatingwith them in rock has never experiencedan influxof their group activities. blood. In fact,onlya verysmall foreign The questioning method was compercentageof new blood of any kind has pletely abandoned. Although the quescome in since 1890. Moreover,both the tionnaire easily lends itself to quanand agriculturalgroupshave titative study, it is likely to reveal commercial the same cultural and social origins. rationalizationsrather than actual funThe two groups are not hostile to each damental attitudes. Participation and other, but participate equally in the observation results in more accurate same social activities. Such a commu- information. nitycan not in any way be called typical, After the complete record of the and no such claim is made. community activitieswas concluded, an A thirdpurposewas to initiatea social analysis of the family situations was study which would approach the nature made. A portion of that analysis folof a controlledexperiment. Unlike the lows. chemist, social scientistis not able to the The most outstandingthing was the set up an experimentbut must content interrelationship betweenthe familyorhimselfwith describingthe social phe- ganization and the other social phenomena resulting from existing com- nomena. One large sectionof the study binations of variables. If the social was devoted to the family. In that studiesone group and chapterwas a great mass of material on scientist, however, the clearlydefines variables,he may lateir economic and othersocial life. Likewise, follow up with the study of anothei all the other chapters contained imporsituation which may differin only one tant material on the family situations. variable from the first. For instance, It would have been impossibleto accuthe above items have been noted in the rately record or understand the family Shellrock complex. Now if we followv situationsif they were isolated fromthe this study by one of anothercommunity entire social and economic complex. whichis similarto the first except,let us This close relationshipwill be still more say, in racial composition, should be emphasized by the points which follow. it possible to note crudelythe influenceol Life in the country, with the existing the racial factor in combinationwith a economicand social traditions,demands specific complex. This method, althougl the united efforts a man and woman. of less accurate, would approach that ol Agriculturerepresentsone of the most the controlledexperimentin the physi- primitiveindustriesof man, and, consecal sciences. quently, retains more of the primitive II traits of social organization than the The newspaper files, as well as any more recently evolved industries of other available written material, were manufacturing, found in the urban read, but they were one of the minoi areas. No provisions, for example,were sources of information. The most in- made in the organizationof agriculture formation, especiallythat concerning the to accommodate the single man or fundamental attitudes, standards and womaan. The tradition of certain work evaluations of the people, was obtained for men, as distinguished from other fromthe old residentswho are still liv- work for women,is still strong in the ing. Direct questioning of informants rural areas. The familyis the economic brought questionable results. The besi unit of farming. information was gained throughlistenWomen's workis largelylimitedto the ing to the group conversationsof the care of the house and the minor indus-

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tries of the farm. Among the latter is included the care of the garden. In Shellrock,the division of labor incident to plant culture corresponds with the patternof woman as the horworld-wide ticulturalist,while man appears in the role of agriculturalist. In the case of the dominant woman who can make her husband take part in the gardening,the latter usually plants the seeds in the corn rows, and, rather than hoe it, he plows it with the corn cultivator. With regard to the divisionof income, is the generalrule of the community that the income from all major activities of the farm belongs to the man, while the income fromminor activities conducted by the wife belongsto her. This is well illustrated by poultry raising. Under the old systemthe woman cared for the chickens and received the money acquired fromthe sale of eggs and surplus roosters. With this moneyshe financed of the household. Since the introduction the coal or oil hover type brooder,and custom hatching, chicken raising has become less tedious and uncertain and the financial returns greatly inereased. With this change in the financialimportance of poultry raising the men have taken it over and the income no longer belongs to the women. Otherchangesin materialculturehave reduced woman's work. Formerly, all the bread, as well as cake, cookies,pie and other pastries used by the family, was baked by the housewife. A large portionof the vegetablesand meat were canned, dried or cured by the wife for use durinig the winters. The family As used to be practicallyself-sufficient. late as 1912 the worst thing that could of be said regardingthe shiftlessness a familywas, "They live out of a tin can and paper sack.'" It was only the lower classes who lived in that way, but now the trait has percolated upward to all classes. This increased dependence upon the

outside world has raised the cost of living. The increased cost of the necessities, plus the increased number of luxuries desiredas the resultof advertising, has resulted in a decrease in the numberof childrenper family. In three generationsthe average numberof children has dropped from six to two per family. From talks with men in the harvest fields and conferences with and womenone is given the impression, oftentold openly,that childrenare accidents. Four childrenare consideredan indecently large number, and usually have such large famionlyne'er-do-wells lies. Birth controlis taken as a matter of fact and is not even considereda debatable matter. When asked why they do not have more childrentheyplead economicpressure. This economicpressure,however, resultsfromthe desireforluxuries,such automobiles as automatic refrigerators, and electric light-plants. Not infrequently one hears a woman remark as she looks enviouslyat a new automatic "We were going to get one, refrigerator, but now that we had the baby we must give it up, one has to give up so much for their children." Children, moreover, are a greater social liabilitynow than formerly. Since the shift away fromhome-maderecreation thereis no place for the small child or pregnantwoman. Pregnancy is discussed as if it were a disease, and the pregnant woman is "pitied" by her friends. Often one hears such remarks as "Poor Mary, she feels so badly about having anotherbaby." The child no longer has an important place in the family. With the increased of importance educationhis contribution to the economic process has, been reduced to a minimum,while his needs have become a greater strain upon the familyfinances. entertainThe shiftto commercialized ment has made recreation become an individual ratherthan a familyactivity.

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Anotherforceoperatingto weakenthe This not only weakensthe family,but is a source of internalfriction. While the family is the lack of economic opporthe tunity for the young people within the familywas the unit of entertainment control of the young group was com- community. This lack of opportunity paratively simple, for they were under causes the youth to look toward the attitudes the surveillance of the elders. The outer world. The community automobileand the individualizationof reflectthe recognitionof this scarcity. recreationtake the young people out of The parents expect their children to leave home upon graduation fromhigh the range of adult supervision. as has become an indis- school. The community a whole exThe automobile pensable tool of courtship. As yet the pects them to leave. In the opinion of going to the cityis a step familyis not organizedto meetthe prob- the community lem presented,and a great deal of con- toward success. To remain at home fliet results. Each boy is certain that after graduation is considered an indiwill cation of lack of worth. The boy who out his famnily, of sheer perversity, not permithim the use of the car, and remains in Shellrockand takes over his his parents are equally sure that "he father'sbusinessand runs it successfully doesn't care if we get to go anywhereor does not enjoy the prestigeof his classnot." Both sincerelybelieve the other mate who leaves town and is fairly sueto be selfish. The boys seldom get the cessfulin the city. machine until after much coaxing and III many temper tantrums on both sides. In conclusion we may say that the Because the boy never knows when he ethnographic study of Shellrock gave will get the car the "dates" are made four importantresults. "on the spot" ratherthan in advance. First: The familysituationcan not be Neitherthe parentsnor childrenknow studied alone but mustbe analyzed in its how to cope with the problem. The cultural matrix. elders look tlothe past as their guide, Second: Primitive characteristicsof while the children face the immediate organizationare retained until new maproblemand get their way throughany terial traits are introduced. Then there tactics. The most pitiful conversations is a breakdownof the organizationand overheardare those in which a group of an aimlessgropingafteranotherform. parents stimulateeach other with tales Third: The introductionof our new of how thoroughly theyuphold the estab- material culturehas weakenedgroup orlished group sanctionsin their families. ganizations, and, temporarilyat least, For a few moments,away from the strengthened individualism. actual dilemma,they play the part of Fourth: The family ties are being bold champions of the old order. A severely strained by the new material showsthat theyare only culture and the social results incident check,however, play acting. thereto.