Historical facts of Texas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical facts of Texas - Essay Example In the book, ‘A memoir of a Texas childhood’ by Horton Foote, the themes of poverty, fear, depression, racism, marital strife and injustice are clearly highlighted in the text. The book tells of the author’s early formative years as a child in rural Texas where he grew up in an extended family. In the book, the reader learns of the Foote’s experiences in life, and lessons learnt from his diverse familial relations. Horton was able to experience first hand the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering that slaves had to go through in their life. In the book, the reader is given an insight into his thoughts in the excerpt where he narrates about the slave girl who begged his sister to buy her mother’s freedom (Foote 120). According to Foote, this scenario got Horton thinking about what kind of man his grandfather was because he was a church minister and at the same time involved in the sale of other human beings. Horton is faced with many dilemm as, which are brought about by conflicting loyalties for his friends and family. The theme of racism and inherited wealth comes through when he faced with the making the choice of upholding his family or friends. This is because he had to uphold his family’s legacy as slavers in the perspective of the Ku Klux Klan or to remain friends with his black friends from his childhood (Foote 98). This burden came from the fact that he was part of the people that inherited their grandfather’s estate and assets; therefore, it was their duty to uphold his legacy. The great depression saw Horton strengthen his conviction that America needed to change the way it related to own citizens. This because the great depression, significantly affected their huge farm in Texas because did not want the help of the minorities a fact that was being fueled by racism and discrimination. Horton reasoned that the collective and equal participation of all American citizens in the economy was the onl y way to successful recover from the effects of the depression. Horton’s principles and philosophies made him the first person, in his extended family, to become