Golden Years, Tarnished Hours: Ethnography of Two Elderly Residences in the Midwest (Aging, Historical, Symbols).

Abstract

How do residents of "homes for the elderly" view the experience of aging? What cultural meanings are connected with being old in the United States today? This study, which begins with a historical analysis, is based on two years of anthropological field work in two unlike residences for the elderly in a midwestern city. To provide an interpretive and analytic framework, a view of culture as the reading of symbols was adopted from the work of Clifford Geertz. Because symbols, which convey meaning, exist in the public domain, they are available to both researcher and natives. The ethnographer's task is to expose the meaning such public symbols give to individual behavior and action. Historical analysis discloses the roots of a generally negative view of aging that prevails in the contemporary United States. Manifestations of this image are obvious in historical texts, as well as in contemporary prose, poetry, cartoons and cards--all of which are analyzed. Ethnographic field work was done in two contrasting residential settings in Midwest City. Although both residences recognize the goal of independence, the life-course of residents in the two settings are dramatically different. One group "reads" the symbols of aging within their specific semiotic context and become increasingly passive and dependent, awaiting their next destination, an on-site nursing center. In the second residence, however, even as they "read" the symbols of aging, elders manage to remain active--committed to care for themselves and others, maintaining involvement in life outside the residence. In demonstrating the power of symbols during aging, the research proposes greater attention to the cultural meaning and social construction of the reality of growing old in contemporary America.