Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation applauds the amazing men and women who saw this country through some of the most horrific events of the twentieth century – -the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War. The Greatest Generation is a beautifully crafted book, delivering a skillful combination of diction, imagery, tone, and attention to detail in celebration of the men and women born during the 1910’s, ’20’s, and ’30’s. Brokaw’s vivid diction creates poignant imagery and conveys a respective tone while paying close attention to detail in order to persuade the reader that the modest men and women of the “greatest generation” truly are great.
Brokaw’s cogent diction is his most powerful persuasive tool, raising the men and women of the “greatest generation” to an almost epic status with his commending words. He praises them for what he portrays as their virtually flawless moral qualities. In “Generations”, Brokaw writes that “they stayed true to their values of personal responsibility, duty, honor, and faith” (XX). By writing that “they stayed true to their values”, Brokaw establishes that these men and women were dependable and sincere in their actions. His usage of the words “personal responsibility” alludes to the obligation each individual felt towards helping his country during times of need; the altruistic nature of these people is rearticulated in the word “duty”.
The word “honor” refers to their perennial virtue and integrity, and their seemingly endless optimism and firm belief in their cause is implied in the word “faith”. These esteemable words – – “personal responsibility”, “duty”, “honor”, and “faith” – -convey unmatchable morals, marking this generation as the ideal Americans. Brokaw makes their greatness enviable. Among other lines of praise, Brokaw writes that “it is a generation of towering achievement” (11). “Towering achievement” communicates unsurpassable accomplishments, again painting these men and woman in flattering hues. Brokaw’s favorable words persuade the reader that this generation is truly great.
But behind this inundation of praise, Brokaw uses evidence to support that this generation earned these words, as he carefully weaves in logic with emotion to deliver a fully balanced argument, demonstrating the depth of his research and his masterful selection of detail.
To appeal to logic, Brokaw provides reasons for his praise by listing the accomplishments of these men and women, further supporting his claim that this is the greatest generation that has ever lived. He writes about the generation’s accomplishments as a whole, as well as individual achievements. Brokaw writes that this was the generation that built modern America, a statement that he buttresses with hard facts.
He points out that this was the generation that gave America Medicare, created new branches of the military to provide more opportunities in the service for women, developed new medicines and wartime technology, defeated Hitler and Mussolini in World War II, passed the GI bill to provide veterans with college tuition, and gave birth to the Baby Boomer generation – -among numerous other achievements. From this generation came President George H. Bush, Ben Bradlee, Art Buchwald, Andy Rooney, Julia Child, Gertrude Belle “Trudy” Elion, Chesterfield Smith, Al Neuharth, and Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, in addition to many others. Coupled with Brokaw’s praise are undeniable facts, used to persuade the reader that these men and women were – -and remain – -an incredible group of people.
For an emotional appeal, Brokaw relies on the stories of individuals from this generation. Often, these stories are bittersweet, as is the case in the story of chemist Gertrude Belle “Trudy” Elion. Elion graduated from high school at age fifteen and college at nineteen with a major in chemistry. Although she wanted to become a chemist, Elion became a high school chemistry teacher instead because, at that time, women were not considered intellectually capable of handling a career in science. It was not until Pearl Harbor when over a million men were called to war, including many scientists, that she could leave teaching to become a professional chemist. Brokaw congratulates Elion for being a pioneer, but he notes that this success was not easily won.
While it is inspiring that Elion could prove wrong sexist stereotypes and enter a field dominated by men, it is sad that she was not able to marry or have a family because of her career. During this age, married women were often fired and, because maternity leave did not yet exist, pregnant women could not hold a job. Brokaw focuses on the obstacles she overcame, stressing how hard she had to work to become a chemist. Describing Elion’s impediments amplifies her success, which makes her story all the more heartwarming. Brokaw’s emotional overture in Elion’s story of failure and success, as well as in the stories of the other men and women including in The Greatest Generation, is illustrates just how remarkable this generation was.
Through Brokaw’s stirring words and selection of detail also comes his tone, which further brings the reader to admire the men and women of this generation. Brokaw’s tone is somber at times, but, more importantly to his plot to persuade the reader into believing just how amazing these men and women were, his tone is appreciative. His commends them by listing their great achievements and common values (duty, courage, honor, economy, service, patriotism, love of family), but he emphasizes that – -above all – -the key to the success of this generation was their embracement of the concept that “modesty is greatness”.
In an interview with President George H. Bush, a member of this generation, Brokaw asks if the men and women of this generation are owed anything for their tremendous courage and dedication. “What are we ‘owed’?” Mr. Bush asks. “Nothing. Not one damn thing” (276). Brokaw emphasizes that is the attitude held by most, if not all, of the members of this generation, something he sees as very laudable. These were a people who made the most of the little they had, but never boasted of their achievements. Brokaw’s admiration for their humbleness sets the tone for the entire book, and, as his admiration seeps through his words, the reader’s admiration for this generation grows, too.
Brokaw’s compelling imagery further convinces the reader that the modest men and women of the “greatest generation” were truly great. Brokaw’s imagery establishes the unfortunate situation from which the greatest generation rose in order to emphasize how difficult their lives were from the very beginning. When describing his home-state of South Dakota during World War II, he writes that “it was a monochromatic world, the bleak brown prairie, Army-green cars and trucks, khaki uniforms everywhere” (9). The words “monochromatic” and “bleak” especially stand out because they are so grim.
Although “monochromatic” has no negative denotation, its connotations are undesirable, characterizing their wartime situation as hopeless and sad. In the Brokaw sense of the word, something that is monochromatic is barren, hopeless, and unpromising – -just like the “bleak brown prairie” he mentions. Bleak” also conveys that the situation that is cold and dismal, yet they still persevered; they were able to win World War II. The contrast between what they began with and what they ended up with is astounding. Brokaw once again persuades the reader that this generation is truly great.
Brokaw’s journalistic background gives a unique insight into the Great Depression and World War II that is refreshingly different from what previous writers have produced about the subject. Rather than depicting these events with the same dryness as a textbook, Brokaw’s words are bold and bombastic, breathing sparkle and soul into history with his intriguing interviews and touching personal anecdotes. He merges diction, imagery, tone, and selection of detail to form one of the most delightful books every written about the “greatest generation”.
Bibliography
Brokaw, Tom The Greatest Generation Random House: New York, 1998
