Study Guide

for

Growing Up

by

Russell Baker

Overview:


This look at Russell Baker's story of growing up in America between the wars crosses several important themes in American history.  As you read, however, keep in mind these central questions:

 

1)     What was life like for Baker, his extended family, and other people he encountered during the Great Depression? 

 

2)     What effect did the Depression have on these everyday people?

 

3)     How did they cope with hard times?

 

Study Questions:

                     

  1. What role did Russell’s mother play in her son’s life?

 

  1. What values did Russell’s mother try to teach her son?

 

  1. How was Russell a different kind of person than his mother? 

 

  1. Describe life in Morrisonville.  Why didn’t Russell’s mother want her children to grow up there?

 

  1. In what ways are Russell’s mother and his grandmother, Ida Rebecca, similar?  How are they different?

 

  1. Compare and contrast Uncle Allen, Uncle Hal, and Uncle Charlie.

 

  1. How were Russell and his extended family able to survive the Depression? What strategies did they have for “coping?”

 

  1. Why did Baker write a whole chapter on Oluf? How do the experiences of Oluf shed light on the fate of many men during the Great Depression?   

 

  1. Why does Russell like Uncle Harold?  How is Uncle Harold different than his mother?

 

  1. How does young Russell adjust to urban living?

 

  1. How did Russell's family feel about Hoover, FDR, and government relief?

 

  1. How did growing up during hard times affect Russell and his sister’s childhood?

 

  1. How does Russell’s family react to the outbreak of World War II?

 

  1. How did Russell’s upbringing leave him at something of a disadvantage when he got to college?

 

  1. How did the Joe Louis fight affect race relations in Baltimore?

 

  1. How did Russell’s family react to the dropping of the Atomic Bomb?

 

  1. Do you think Mrs. Baker was a good mother to Russell?

 

  1. Do you think Russell Baker has any “lessons” he wants to teach his readers?

 

Thematic Questions:

1.  How does the Great Depression shape Russell's values and ideas about life, work, leisure, relationships?

2.  How did Uncle Allen's household reflect the challenging conditions of the Great Depression?

3.  What hints do we get about issues of race and gender roles from this book?  For example, Russell’s mother prides herself on being open minded, independent, and progressive in her views. Is she?  Is she for her time?  How about the other characters?

4.  Compare Russell's grandmother Ida Rebecca and her life to that of his mother and her life.  How does each reflect different value systems, goals, and desires?

5.  What kinds of entertainment are available to Russell during the Depression? Was Russell’s Depression life “depressing”

6.  Think about Russell's relationships with the men in his life: his uncles, his father, Herb.  What do these relationships suggest to us about the effects of the Depression on men, on families?