true; although, i never really think of it that way. i mean, yes, the world was extremely different, as far as things like living conditions and all that other shit went, but when you think about it, your parents went through a lot of the same stuff we go through, and so did their parents, and so on. so you can't think of it as people being completely different... more like... we're the same race of human beings, but they had problems to deal with that we didn't. it's more about putting yourself in a different era, not assuming that people reacted that differently to how we react to things every day.
if that makes sense.
Just think about authors from the 19th century. think of their characters... sure, their problems and world are different from the one we know, but their feelings and actions are not.