Peyton Place Research Paper

Have you ever wanted to read a book that set you into a different time but reminded you of life today? Or how would you act if someone said this to you. “There ain’t much a feller can do when he’s married to a born whore” (Metalious 4). An interesting quote from a book right? How would if feel if this person was calling someone you know a slut? Or better yet who would right that. Well it is very simple my friend this is a story from a book I greatly enjoy a best-selling novel known Peyton Place by Grace Metalious.

In this story, the locals are cruel and Judgmental to those ho are having some difficulties in their life or fall under the category of lower class. And gossip, as you can tell, was very popular subject due to this. Then again this isn’t new at all, at least in some point of life we can relate to this.

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Everybody talks. This novel attempts to portray how life is in a town in New England.

You know how small towns are in TV show drama hold many secrets and is relived through the through the lives of the residents; the main accounts you will hear about is from three women who have to deal with life through secrets, lies, and abuse, and ‘other’ road blocks. Sounds mysterious right? Scandals, differences social class, and murder. Something worth reading right correct? This novel holds many key points which were happening during the time and was believable by the reader in the 1950s to the 2010s. I’m not saying this because I like the book but it is a good piece of literature many for realistic fiction.

Peyton Place has many topics addressed in it but overall the book is about social anatomy of small towns. If you don’t what that means it basically gives us a view of the lives of Peyton Place’s residents. The hopes and dreams, victory, failures, violence, their many struggles, and sometimes (hardly anyone) their courage. Now to get one with the show the story is set in a small town known as Peyton Place, in New Hampshire, the most important residents of Peyton Place is Allison, Constantine, and Selena (go girl power).

Though the novel itself is an overall story of the town Peyton Place but out of the three important characters is Allison can be called the most important and how she leaves Peyton place and becomes a writer and sadly falls into the same footsteps s her mother. Which the book concludes with Allison publishing her first book Samuel’s Castel(about her hometown) and returning to her hometown which end the book but there is a squeal Return to Peyton Place. (l personally don’t like the squeal read it if you want or you can watch the TV show for both books).

Now during the time Peyton Place there are five characteristics. But for the sake of not boring you I will stick to two Abortion and scandals (don’t you Just love a good scandal yes we have voting ones but I mean the personal one? ). Since those two oints can explain most of the story going on. The characteristic of Abortion, can relate to our history because it was between the late 1930s to the 1950s in the U. S when it was a problem. Abortions increased during the Great Depression.

People didn’t have money to feed another abortion some would make it but luckily there were advances in medicine making it possible to save many women whom in the past before would have died from abortion related infections (diseases) or injuries. Though there had been many changes in the practice and conditions making changes in the investigation of bortion control during the time. You see during this time hospital illegally hospitals had much of the control of abortions. These controls were through therapeutic committees.

Also police and prosecutors, police increased raids of abortionist’s offices. Making abortion a crime and doctors losing their licensee. People saw it as immoral to have an abortion saying it was killing an unborn child, and they didn’t care if a woman was raped they saw it as you are with child and you must have that child. Scandals, well there are always some scandal on the news about politics or elebrities most or sex scandals or secret love children things likes that all to us pretty normal but back then is a different story.

If you were a single woman and you had a relationship with a married man then you were a scandals seductress and no good morally and if you had a child and he refused to leave his life for you well if you didn’t have an abortion and had your child you were basically trash unless you’re willing to lie and keep it a secret. Can you image being used having the hope to start a family, dreams, all to be crushed and your given a choice to get rid of your child nd lie life or keep it.

Constantine gave birth to Allison, her illegitimate child, because her father was already married with several children having an affair with Constantine (18). And he wasn’t going to leave his family for her so she came claiming to be a ‘widow’ and changed the birth year on her Allison’s birth certificate, with a great fear what would happen to her and Allison if anyone found out the truth about her child’s birth. This was because of authorial personality, meaning they would think lowly of Constantine and Allison.

And quite possibly could ruin their lives which happened for real since people with authorial personalities thought as lower classes and women like Constantine who had an illegitimate children. Basically you’d be treated like trash. Some were beaten and killed even so you would have never known since it could risk the safety of the mother and child. The portrayal of Peyton Place to me is a sense accurate and with much research Peyton Place is apparently very accurate to what was really going on. One of the important characters Selena gets raped (she’s only 14 during the incanted) by

Lucas, her step father, and becomes pregnant. Since being a mother at 14 would not do Dr. Sawin became involved and was given the troubling task to choose wheatear or not to give Selena an abortion. Thankfully he later does perform an abortion (184). Doctors during this time would still perform abortions even though they had a high possibility of losing their Job and go to Jail since performing abortion was a crime. This show the book is realistic the book as well since Dr. Sawin knew what could happen if he perform the abortion or if he didn’t. Meaning all hell could have broken

Overall life during the 1903s to the 1950s in small towns like Peyton Place was far from mild. Peyton Place was hard to understand and connect to which cause for me. I was a bit of a skeptic on how accurate the book was, though with after learning more about the historical topics I have a better understanding since theses thing were happening to people like it was to fictional characters. If you are from that time you can easily relate and understand the book. But if you want to fully understand the book and you have personal connection to the characters do some research prior to it.

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