Financial Adversity in Amish Communities based on the novel Rumspringa

Financial Adversity in Amish Communities based on the novel Rumspringa

Financial Adversity in Amish Communities
Metatext

The book Rumspringa by Tom Shachtman educated me on the Amish.   I was aware of some Amish beliefs and cultures before I read this book but Rumspringa expanded my knowledge.   I decided to choose this book because I was interested in learning more about them.   I really liked the book despite the fact that it was redundant.   I like how the author put together a bunch of documentaries.   It was interesting going through the lives of some of the Amish youth.   It was enlightening hearing stories of how the Amish youth went to parties and did drugs.   My preconceived thoughts before reading the book made me think Amish weren’t allowed to party at all no matter what stage of their life they were in.

I’ve been to an Amish market before that is pretty close to my house so I’ve had some interaction with the Amish.   When I went to the Amish market, I was young and in awe of all the things they sold there.   There was lots of wooden furniture that was all made by hand.   There was a lot of food such as meats and bread.   This is where my interest in Amish came from.   The name of the market was the Pennsylvania Dutch Market which happens to be the name of their language.   The Amish speak in Pennsylvanian Dutch when they interact with each other but speak English to the non-Amish people.

My focus for my paper is how the Amish are able to support themselves financially.   One of the ways that is apparent is selling items at the markets.   Like I mentioned earlier, the Amish make goods and sell them at markets similar to the market close to my house.   The goods sold at these markets are handmade and the meats come from their farms.   Their religion makes it hard to expand their businesses due to some restrictions.   Despite these restrictions the Amish are able to support themselves financially.  

One way the Amish stay financially stable is by having a lot of kids because the kids work at a young age and are forced to...