page_title: Breaking Clean
section_title: Ranch life
hierarchical_section_title: Breaking Clean / Plot / Ranch life
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Original holzbefeuerter Herd der Familie Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois English: Lincoln family wood fired stove in the kitchon of the Springfield Lincoln home, Illinois
context_page_description: Breaking Clean is a memoir by Judy Blunt, published in 2002, after a decade in the writing. The book is about Blunt's life in the countryside of eastern Montana, in the United States. In the book the author describes her childhood, and how growing up on a ranch conditioned her whole life.
  The memoir is regarded as Blunt's most notable work. It won the 1997 PEN/Jerard Fund Award for a work in progress and the 2001 Whiting Writers' Awards. The book appeared on the list of The New York Times' Notable Books 2002.
context_section_description: The book describes the hardship of growing up as a girl on a ranch in Phillips County, in a social context in which boys were more valued. It was the male kittens that were kept, and the community applauded the birth of stud colts, bull calves and male babies. When Judy was young she played cowboys and Indians with her siblings, but there was a difference in what was expected from a girl and a boy. In the community, several women were capable of riding horses, herding cattle and harvesting, but they were always expected to return to their own chores. Although Judy acted like a boy,  she still had to learn women’s chores and to develop as a woman, in order to find a good marriage prospect.
  Between the ages of five and thirteen Judy went to South First Creek School. Her class consisted of students of many different ages, which resulted in difficulties for the teacher in controlling the class. Every morning the teacher did a health inspection. If they passed the inspection, they got a gold star.
  Judy's little sister Gail was a very good storyteller and people would listen to her stories with excitement. Judy realized that she was not as good at telling stories but was better at writing them, so she secretly started to write poems and witty news on tablet paper to tell stories.
  When starting high school, Judy had to move into the city, Malta. It was different from what she was used to and she had never seen girls look and behave the way they did. She lived on her own at this point, and got a job to be able to afford clothes and makeup in order to fit in. When the twins started high school, her mother decided to move with them to Malta and they all moved into Judy's grandmother's house, which made Judy's life more isolated. She got into a lot of trouble during this time, until she moved back to the ranch.
  When Judy was 15 years old, John, a 27-year-old bachelor neighbor, started courting her, and a year and a half later he asked Judy's father for her hand and they were engaged. After Judy and John were married, they took over John's family's main ranch house. At the beginning of their marriage, Judy felt that John's father and stepmother were constantly controlling her every move. The period after their children were born is described as an exhausting time—taking care of the garden, three kids and three men, while still keeping up with the household work.
caption: Cook Stove
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