“When boys and girls are growing up, life can’t stand still, not even in the quietest of countrytowns; and they have to grow up, whether they will or no. That is what their elders are alwaysforgetting.” Book 2 the hired girls chapter 8
The young just want to have fun and follow their primal instincts no matter where they are. Although the dancing craze catches on very quickly, dancing during this time period is generally associated with frivolity, moral decline, and loose women. When Jim mentions the Vannis' arrival in Black Hawk, he does not indicate that dancing was met with any disapproval. However, the cultural stereotypes associated with dancing do emerge as more and more people begin spending time at the dance halls. At this point in the novel, however, the dance halls fit well into the social order. They provide a space for the young people to interact and exist as the primary form of entertainment for a very bored town populace.
