Studs Terkel #7

In Studs Terkel, we see that after World War II the United States was improving in many different ways, but the people’s outlook on things were different from person to person. Kid Pharaoh, who is a con artist, did not have faith in how the country was going. He did not believe what the government told him, and he believed that the government played tricks on him. Kid Pharaoh had a lot of interesting views on the country and religion. Due to the fact that he grew up during the Depression he believed the strongest people cheat their way to the top. He showed this in his view of religion. He talks about how Jesus was a big scam and he got a dozen people to believe in him and it continued on and on. He did not believe Jesus was the son of God but as a scam artist. He grew up in a terrible time, and that is why he felt like he can live in any type of world. He felt that he could adapt to any situation better than others because in any type of world he can scam his way to the top. Kid Pharaoh showed a very interesting perspective of the country. We see that Kid Pharaoh still views the world in an extremely negative way because of how he grew up in such a terrible time. Kid Pharaoh shows that his viewpoints had a tough time changing as America started to prosper. Kid Pharaoh will always think of the world in such a negative way because he saw America in it's darkest of times. His story connects to many others living in tough times. People that grew up during a time of war have a different and possibly a more negative outlook on life and America. People that lived during the positive times in America have a higher chance of having a more positive outlook on America. I have a positive outlook on T.V. because I have always grown up with it, while my parents do not like T.V. because they grew up not liking it.

Tom Kearney was a policeman. Tom provides many different viewpoints of how we should treat people and also describes what he saw as a policeman. One of the most interesting opinions he had was the about his view on the ever-changing opinions and progression in America of the African-Americans. Tom Kearney saw the changes to America and decided not to fight it. He saw that African-Americans were not going to be taken advantage of or give up anymore.  The Jim Crow laws were still around after World War II despite the fact that African-Americans joined the war effort and played a significant role in World War II. Tom Kearney also was a cop from a catholic school growing up, and showed a lot of respect to his elders. The African American change he saw as a necessary an inevitable change for America and wanted everyone in America to accept the fact that times are changing and Africa Americans are going to have to be respected. Tom Kearney was a lot more open to the change than Kid Pharaoh. Due to the fact that Kid Pharaoh had a tougher childhood than Kearney, he could not view America any different from the views he had as a child. One’s childhood has a great impact on how you see things, and how well you are able to cope with things. Pharaoh had a different childhood than Kearney and could be large reason why their opinions on life are so different.