Hillbilly Elegy

by

J. D. Vance

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Hillbilly Elegy makes teaching easy.

Uncle Jimmy Character Analysis

J.D.’s uncle, and Bev’s older brother. Despite the toxic domestic environment created by Mamaw and Papaw’s constant fighting, Jimmy found a way to graduate high school, attend night school, and attain a sales job with Johnson & Johnson. Like J.D.’s Aunt Wee, he managed to establish a stable life, one that Vance references and calls upon throughout the memoir, holding it up as an example of the kind of rare success available to determined Appalachian individuals. Although Jimmy is a levelheaded and kind person, he remains to this day unwilling to speak to Bev, who he believes is irresponsible and selfish.

Uncle Jimmy Quotes in Hillbilly Elegy

The Hillbilly Elegy quotes below are all either spoken by Uncle Jimmy or refer to Uncle Jimmy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Hillbilly Identity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

Within two generations, the transplanted hillbillies had largely caught up to the native population in terms of income and poverty level. Yet their financial success masked their cultural unease, and if my grandparents caught up economically, I wonder if they ever truly assimilated. They always had one foot in the new life and one foot in the old one. They slowly acquired a small number of friends but remained strongly rooted in their Kentucky homeland.

Related Characters: J.D. Vance (speaker), Mamaw, Papaw , Bev Vance, Aunt Wee (Lori Vance) , Uncle Jimmy
Page Number: 36
Explanation and Analysis:
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Uncle Jimmy Quotes in Hillbilly Elegy

The Hillbilly Elegy quotes below are all either spoken by Uncle Jimmy or refer to Uncle Jimmy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Hillbilly Identity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

Within two generations, the transplanted hillbillies had largely caught up to the native population in terms of income and poverty level. Yet their financial success masked their cultural unease, and if my grandparents caught up economically, I wonder if they ever truly assimilated. They always had one foot in the new life and one foot in the old one. They slowly acquired a small number of friends but remained strongly rooted in their Kentucky homeland.

Related Characters: J.D. Vance (speaker), Mamaw, Papaw , Bev Vance, Aunt Wee (Lori Vance) , Uncle Jimmy
Page Number: 36
Explanation and Analysis: