How Green Was My Valley story
How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 American drama film directed by John Ford, adapted by Philip Dunne from the 1939 novel of the same title by Richard Llewellyn. It stars Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, and a young Roddy McDowall. It tells the story of the Morgans, a hard-working Welsh mining family, from the point of view of the youngest child, Huw, who lives with his affectionate and kind parents as well as his sister and five brothers, in the South Wales Valleys during the late Victorian era. The story chronicles life in the South Wales coalfields, the loss of that way of life and its effects on the family.
28 total · 3 choice · 12 major · 13 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with time passing you by | choice | The story concerns an initially thriving little coal mining village in Wales that went into decline as the times changed. The Morgans, and others, reacted in various ways to the gradual loss of their way of life. |
| family affairs | choice | Everything about the story centers around the Morgans, a mining family living in Wales during the late Victorian era. |
| reminiscence about one's youth | choice | The story is told by Huw in his later years as he reminisces about his youth in a Welsh mining community during the late Victorian era. The title "How Green Was My Valley" hearkens back to Huw's longing for those bygone days. This is attested by his line "It makes me think of so much that was good that is gone," after reminiscing about the toffee he used to chew on. |
| brother and brother | major | The Morgan brothers were a tight-knit band. The five elder bothers participated in a union action to which their father was diametrically opposed. Two of the elder brothers left the country to seek their fortunes abroad. |
| Christianity | major | The story takes place in a Welsh community where Christianity was deeply interwoven with everyday life. One storyline concerned a conflict between Pastor Gruffydd and Deacon Parry over the looming strike at the mine. |
| coping with the death of a family member | major | The Morgan family went into mourning when a Huw's older brother Ivor died in a coal tram accident. The story is narrated by Huw and centers around his relationship with his father. It ends with Huw recounting the tragic death of his father in a coal mining accident. |
| family dispute | major | The strike action taken by the miners threatened to tear the Morgan family apart, as as the father Gwilym Morgan was principally opposed to unions, while his older sons were socialist leaning. |
| father and son | major | The story is told by Huw in his later years as he reminisces about his youth in a Welsh mining community during the late Victorian era. Huw was the apple of his father's eye. The father did his best to secure for Huw a good education, so that the boy would not need to work in the coal mines as he had done his entire life. |
| getting fired from one's job | major | The coal miners feared getting discharged from the mine due to wage competition. Later many were discharged, including two of Gwilym Morgan's sons. After their termination, they left the country to seek their fortunes abroad. |
| husband and wife | major | Gwilym and Beth Morgan had a happy marriage and were raising a big family. |