A review by itssaltwater
Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams

challenging reflective slow-paced

3.0

 

I read this book as a fan of Jane Addams without much of an idea of what I hoped to gain from this book. Early on, I found the autobiography at the beginning of the book comforting to know that Jane Addams, one of the greatest social reformers, also like myself currently, went through a phase where she knew that she wanted to help others, but was unsure how. However, as I got deeper into the book I struggled. There are several parts where miscellaneous stories and political movements are pieced together that can be hard to follow. Moreover, some political figures and movements are alluded to with an expectation for the reader to have some background knowledge. Personally, my knowledge of history was often not sufficient to get by without researching for context which made this book laborious. Eventually, I gave up on gathering context and just tried to pick out meaning from within the stories when possible. 

Overall, what I gathered from this book was that especially in a time of social fragmentation, there needs to be a place to not only ensure needs for the poorest individuals, but also a place that allows social and intellectual interaction. This interaction not only improves the community in terms of bonds and individual mental health, but also allows for community organizing in the political sphere. As a young person in a non walkable city, I find the need for community integration to be high in my community, and I wish that there was a Hull House for my community to turn to. Especially with the rise of work from home culture, it can be hard to find human connection outside of my personal social circle without participating in something that costs money.

Thus, I find the themes in this autobiography to be highly applicable today, and it inspires me to take strides to better connect with my community and participate more in local politics.