Marcus Mabry Living In Two Worlds Summary

Split Worlds In this essay “Living in Two Worlds” written by Marcus Mabry, I will analyse his split life by examining how his new life is affect poverty, finding a balance and self reliance. The harsh reality is many of his family members were struggling to make ends meet while he was living a modest life because of the scholarship he had received in ninth grade. This affects him from truly enjoying this experiencing considering that during the day his life was satisfying but when he got home this completely changed when he was forced with his reality of living with poverty. As a result of this “Most students who travel between the universe of poverty and affluence during breaks experience similar conditions, as well as the guilt, the helplessness and, sometimes, the embarrassment associated with them. ”(Mabry 100) The previous quote highlights why it

In the midst of all of this he finds a balance by focusing on what really matters.At the same time this keeps him focused on his main goal which is education. Education will be his family's way out of poverty. Through seeing his younger brother that is unemployed and will be having a child soon he looks beyond this and is genuinely proud of where he comes from. He realizes how strong his family is when he seems them fighting through poverty and making things.This lets him know that he can do it, especially since they are making it which is shown in the following quote. An significant aspect of this story is when Mabry writes “Somewhere in the midst of all the misery, my family has built, within me ‘a proud feeling.’As I travel between the two worlds it becomes harder to remember just how proud I should be- not just because of where I have come from and where I am going, but because of where they are going.”(101) The author Mabry uses this quote to show how self reliance due to him not focusing on the negativity in his life instead he uses it as amo to push forward and make a better life for himself