Monday, February 3, 2014

Tyler Hedge Exploration two

1.
     The person that I admire the most so far in this book is "Steam Train" Mury Graham. There are a few reasons why I admire him. The first reason is that he became a hobo at such a young age and just simply adjusted to becoming a hobo instead of some of the many bad alternatives such as becoming a bum. According to his story, a bum is much different and worse than a hobo. It really interested me to see where the term "hobo" came from. I also admire that he wanted to be a hobo and work for things versus being a bum. When I read the passage that discussed what a hobo would do for work and he mentioned work ethic it really stuck out to me. He had been astray since he was thirteen and yet cares about work ethic and the way he goes about his life. That truly shows that he is a great person. Mury truly demonstrates his creativity through the way he lives and goes place to place while caring so much about who he is. Mury knows so much about the hobo life and he truly cares about it.

2.
      What surprised me the most in this story was how open the author is with everything that has happened in his life. Most people in his position usually put all that stuff behind them and try to just move on. Instead, Russell tries to use his and his fathers mistakes to justify the need for change with his son. Russell sees his son having similar feelings as he says on the last page, "that crushing sense of responsibility is exactly what I felt at the age of ten in the face of my father's drinking. My son wonders if I, too, am possessed." I learned the importance of always trying to ease the life of the young that way they do not have to learn the hard way you did.




3.
     How are the hobos of today like Mury Graham and do they still have the integrity that he does? Are there still communities like the ones he found?

6 comments:

  1. I like this story also. I wounder what it would be like to roam the US like he did.

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  2. I also hope that the hobos still think the way he does. My real hope is that a hobo society still exists because I am thinking of becoming one in the near future if this whole engineering thing doesn't work.

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  3. I also was very intrigued by the difference he made between a hobo and bum. Before reading his story I had always thought they were the same. It's admiring to hear him say he wanted to work for things instead of beg like the "bums."

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  4. I agree. The story of the Hobo's and how looking at their way of life, and what they did and why, was fascinating and really made me think of our current culture and society, and how it must have been to be around the hobo's when they were around. It also makes you think a lot differently about the definition of the word "Hobo", puts you in their shoes, and makes you think about what life was like for them, in their shoes.

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  5. I too admired Maury Graham, I wonder what it is like to have complete freedom like he had. He was able to explore America for free, and meet many people. I wish I could have the wisdom that Graham has.

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  6. I found it interesting that after reading "Steam Train" that anyone at any income level could be considered a hobo or a bum when one thinks about his definitions. However, today, the hobo ideology is becoming more and more rare as an age of instant gratification strengthens its grasp on daily life.

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