Woody Guthrie’s book Bound for Glory is a story that captures the way that people felt

during the depression. The story of his life describes his creative abilities, and his search for

self. He explains how he came to be the voice of America through his music, as he paints a tale

of loss and friendship. The book is not only a story of his life, but a work that shows us the

sentiment of a generation.

Guthrie uses loss to portray how hard people were affected by the depression. He

constantly suffered from loss and uses it to describe his personal development. His family loses

their new home in a fire that traumatized him for the rest of his life. This fire shows him that

life is hard and things do not always go the way that people want them to. He then suffers the

death of his sister in a fiery explosion--he was with her in the last moments of her life. Fire

manifests itself again in his life scarring his father permanently. This same fire is the moment

when it is realized that his mother has gone insane from Hutchinson disease. Guthrie’s family is

shattered and he turns to the streets living in a shack until his brother comes and rescues him.

Living on his own allows Guthrie search out his identity. He begins to learn how to play

guitar and gets involved into painting; these in turn, becomes a way for him to create income.

As soon as he manifests his desire to create, he becomes a free man. Creating music or art is

Woody’s way of describing his feelings to the world. His songs let him express moments in time

and explain the anguish that he feels towards the world. After he leaves his family, he is truly

by himself. His creativity and optimism help him to make friends in the world as he travels.

Friendship and optimism are two of the driving factors in Guthries life. He is very good at

meeting people. The losses that he suffers in his life leave him with an empty space inside. He
fills this gap with friendship. Meeting people allows Guthrie to connect with others; from

sharing his spare food with drifters, to staying up all night drinking and singing songs with poor

old bartenders. Having friends keeps him from becoming lonely and gives him a crowd to

constantly entertain. Even though Guthrie is constantly meeting people and entertaining them

it is always in his heart to keep moving on. Rambling around, meeting new people and seeing

new things are what make him the most happy.

Happiness to Woody is directly related to his personal freedom. The ability for him to do

the things that he wants is more important than money or success. He is not afraid of honest

work, but he values making his own way in the world. This is seen multiple times throughout

the book. He goes on a journey across the country to go live with his aunt. When he arrives at

the location and realizes that they are very wealthy he changes his mind about staying with

them. He returns to the road, the place where he is most comfortable. Going inside the house

would have meant that he would have to change his way of life. He would have to conform to a

set of rules laid down by other people. To Woody, sacrificing freedom for comfort is beyond his

imagination. Later he again shows that he must live his life the way that he desires to. He

auditions for a job at the Rockefeller Center. They decide to hire him but want him to dress up

as a clown while he performs. To conform to the wishes of the people in the Rainbow Room is

too much for Woody. He states, upon leaving the building, “Quickest ways to slow”. Rather

than make a dime or become famous Guthrie decided that freedom was more important to

him.
 The music that he played let him capture what he felt at any given time. His music was

universal. Everywhere he went he was able to capture the moment, and feeling of the people

around him. He was able to create in music the way that people felt about the political events

happening around him; from the economic collapse, to people’s distrust about Hitler, and the

World War. This made him more than a simple entertainer. His songs have deeper meaning

than just simply describing things or events. His music was and still is a living record of the

depression. A catalog of the way things really were for the poor men and women that lived

through harsh times.

The depression was hard on people everywhere. The collapse of the market and the

dust bowl were two of the factors that created joblessness throughout the country. Woody

joined thousands of other Americans that were wandering around the country searching for

work. In the railway cars he shows us that these men were not necessarily homeless by choice.

He was part of a large movement of men going where the work was. From the start of the book

this is a constant theme. His tiny town grew quickly as soon as oil was discovered. The men

piled in and the once small town of Okemah where there for work. Sadly, as soon as all of the

oil was gone, the workers were gone with it. As the depression started to affect the country this

became the way of life for many Americans. They went where the work was, and Woody went

with them. Exploring the country gave him a grasp of what the American experience was,

during that period of time.

Woody became a hero for the people. Their voice became expressed through his words.

Bound for glory was written for the people that Woody came in contact with on a daily basis.
The workers and their families could relate to the experience of suffering loss of jobs, and loss

of family. It was not written to entertain the rich or privileged because Woody shows us that he

never cared for them or any part of their “fancy” lives. His simple language and broken English

speak to the poor people that naturally talked that way. His words were not put down to

impress anyone, only to describe things the way that they were for him.

The style of language that he used was one of the strongest points of the book. It lets

the reader feel like they are there with Woody during his experiences. He used the common

language and slurs of the day. At times it can be hard to understand the point that he is trying

to convey because of unfamiliar terms and slurs that are used. Regardless of the difficulty in

interpreting what he wrote, the language used captures the essence of the depression and the

people that lived in it.

The use of colorful language enhances the content of the book. Unfortunately it is

difficult at times to grasp the point that Woody was trying to present to the reader. Information

in the text is not always conclusive about his opinion on the way things were. At times it seems

that the book is merely a record of events that happened to Woody and that he really had no

personal feelings about them or how they affected his life.

The title of the book itself Bound for Glory, shows the optimistic attitude that Woody

conveyed at all times. No matter what misfortunes he suffered, he was able to look past the

negative and focus on the things that mattered in life. The depression was a very difficult time

for the people of the country, but the underlying optimism in the book shows us that things can

always become better than they currently are. When Woody is most downtrodden he still has
the ability to pick himself up and try to make things better. Bound for Glory is the voice of this

era; most importantly, Woody Guthrie is able to make the reader understand what life was like

for someone shuffling day to day, and job to job, trying to make a better life during a difficult

time.