Historical Time Period

MOON OVER MANIFEST

Text: Mind you, I don’t really say y’all, but it’s usually best to try to sound a bit like the folks whose town you’re moving into. (Page 12, Paragraph 8)

Interpretation: Y’all is an older, western language word use and is not commonly used now in our modern language. The information that the author chose to include in this time period (1936) was accurate, because in 1936, westerners used this word in their language a lot to refer to a group of people.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: But then, hard times are penny for a penny. They call it a depression, but I’d say it’s a downright rut and the whole country’s on it. (Page 13, Paragraph 5)

Interpretation: The Great Depression was happening in 1936, even though it started earlier. Money was hard to make and every penny was worth a lot in those times. Miss Sadie, was complaining about how bad things were, and how much a penny was really worth back then. The whole country’s on it means that everyone seems to be affected by it and it’s not only them.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: Pastor Howard lit a kerosene lamp and set it on a long bar top. (Page 18, Paragraph 4)

Interpretation: In the year 1936, it is a little late to be still using the kerosene lamp. However, they were cheaper in the year, and money was hard to make so that may be why it’s still around. It was invented in 1867, almost 100 years, the author’s information with this is a little inaccurate, assuming that the technology would have evolved since then.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: Hattie Mae’s been writing her column for almost 20 years; it’s no wonder that typewriter's about to give out.

Interpretation: It is correct that the typewriter was still in use in 1936. There weren’t any computers at the time, or they were very expensive, so typewriters were the most convenient. Hattie Mae used her typewriter so much, it was going to not work. The information in the text gives an accurate presentation of the time period.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: Not a folded-up road map, but a handmade one with worn edges. It was a hand drawn picture of places around the town, labeled with names.

Interpretation: In the time period, a hand drawn map was appropriate. People didn’t have the resources to print out the maps, so they had to rely on their hands and eyes to draw maps themselves. Some maps were very complex, and others were simpler, but mostly very accurate.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: Finally, I saw a grassy spot and jumped. The ground came quick and hard, but I landed and rolled as the train lumbered on without a thank-you or a goodbye.

Interpretation: People in this time period did use trains to get around, just like Abilene. Some people payed to get on and was treated better than those who didn’t pay and just jumped on. The hoboes( Non-paying costumers) were killed, injured, and even kidnapped for jumping on. There were guards to make sure that only the paying customers were on. Travel by train was quite dangerous back then and has greatly improved now.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: Gray, every third one was boarded up. The only awnings left were torn and shaggy. (Page 13, Paragraph 3)

Interpretation: This information is quite accurate with the time period. During the Great Depression, people didn’t have enough money to pay for repairs on their buildings. Many stores were boarded up and everything else was torn. I can infer that business during this time was bad and making money was hard.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: I hunted a good fence-running stick and rattled it along the first fence I came to.

Interpretation: This information is accurate to the time period. They were used by children to run along fences for fun in 1936, because most parents didn’t have the money to buy their kids toy to play with. This is just like Abilene when she arrives in Manifest.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: A man stood holding a pitchfork as tall as he was and only slightly thinner.

Interpretation: In the time period of 1936, farmers still carried around pitchforks. There wasn’t a lot of recent technology (Not like now) so pitchforks were used for farming. This piece of information is accurate to the time period.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Text: People need work and the mines need workers. It sounds like a good match but most don’t realize the mines will consume them.

Interpretation: Mining for coal is accurate information for the book and the time. It is true that the coal mining industry started around the 1930’s. The mines were a dangerous place to be. Some people die from carbon monoxide poisoning, no oxygen, starvation, or an avalanche trapping them inside the mine.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

The time period of the book, Moon Over Manifest takes place in the west in 1936. Back then they used a lot of older language, like “y’all” and more antiquated technology. Farming back then was important because you couldn’t just go to a store. Even though there were early stores, the prices were often high, and poor quality. The main character, Abilene is very curious and adventurous. I can infer this because she wants to know everything about Manifest and she needs to find out who the rattler is. However, Manifest is hiding something in letters and people. The author puts evidence telling what the time period was like and they are all an accurate presentation of the book with the characters in it.

HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD

Works Cited

Clothing of the 1930s. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. <http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/Mcphet/1920sand30ssites/Ryancl

othes1930s/clothing%20of%20the%201930s.html>.

Constantino, Maria. Fashions of a Decade, the 1930s. Ed. Valerie Cumming and Elane J. Feldman. Illus. Robert Price. New York: Facts

On File, 1992. Print.

Cool Men's Hair. Word and The Clear Line Theme, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. <http://coolmenshair.com/2011/08/william-clark-gable-

hairstyles.html>.

1930's Hairstyles. Vintage Hairstyles, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. <http://hairstyles.1930s-fashions.co.uk/>.

Hairstyles of the 1930's. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. <http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/Mcphet/1920sand30ssites/Paige1

930shairstyles/hairstyles1930s.html>.

BIBLIOGRAPHY