Barbara Lazear Ascher's Essay 'On Compassion'

The short story" On Compassion" by Barbara Lazear appeared after her book " Playing After Dark (1986)". This short story argues that people are not born with compassion. Throughout the book Lazear gave examples to determine if the situation was out of compassion or fear. The author also, gives information about the Greeks and she states how it can be a possibilities the Greeks had compassion within a society to teach people to have sympathy for people suffering. Although, other's may voice their opinion to being born with compassion, I initiate to include evidence from the text to prove that compassion needs to be taught to people and there is no possible way that they are born with compassion.

This short story wrote by Barbara Lazear Ascher a woman who describes with explicit details her thoughts and feelings of the participants in the streets of New York. The author uses rhetoric elements such as Pathos, Logos and Ethos to convince her audience that compassion is not a characteristic trait, it is developed within ourselves.

People who are homeless encounter much ridicule in our society’s. The stigma homelessness carries have in some ways devastated the dignity of so many of whom have fallen victim. One might think that the homeless had been involved in some misdeeds that ended them up on the streets or assumed that laziness is the culprit and have resolved to panhandling. We attempt to justify our responses by rehearsing why our need is greater or suppose that whatever means given would not be used for purposes intended and so we talk ourselves into or out of meeting the needs of others. With this in mind, we dare not consider the circumstances that consequently leaves some individuals or families destitute. For instance, an individual might have struggled

Robert Fischer once said “In the 1640’s homelessness was seen as a moral deficiency.” Many christians in the 1600’s believed that God supplied them with everything they would ever need. In 1848 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care.”(Fischer). As quoted by Hubert H. Humphrey (1911-1978) “it was once said that the moral test of Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; Those who are in the twilight of their life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of their life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” Many people are homeless because of

Barbara Lazear Ascher, in “On Compassion” Gave two scenarios in which a woman gave a homeless man money when he had stared down the lady and her baby, questioning whether the offering was out of fear or compassion. Ascher then gives another scenario where a homeless man walks into a bread shop silently inside the shop. Moments later a french woman walks out of the kitchen with a hot cup a coffee and food to give to him. Ascher then questioned if the french woman gave the man food out of her heart or she just wanted him out. Out of fear of disturbing her customers and losing sales. Both scenarios given can be questioned if the act of these women were compassion or simply fear. Compassion is more than just and action, it is a collection of human instincts keeping people human.

In Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, “The Road”, a man and his young son find themselves on a journey fighting for survival through a dark and desolate world. With no identity or any hope in the future, the characters are faced with many compromising decisions. Two levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the physiological and safety levels provide the most motivation and validation for the characters’ actions throughout the novel.

They say that I have no impact. That my words have no weight in a planet of over seven billion people shouting to have their voices heard. In a world plagued with famine, war, and global warming, it is normal to feel as though we do not have any influence in the crises of our planet. However, I believe that change begins with just one person. Receiving the Calvin Coolidge scholarship would allow me the opportunity to transform my dreams into existence.

Bader starts her article by talking about Aesha, a 20-year old student and a mother of a child. She explains how Aesha, because of her abusive husband, became homeless, the fears and difficulties she faced during her homelessness, and how she managed to survive her homelessness. She then talks about Adriana Broadway, Johnny Montgomery, and Asad Dahir who had all faced the tragedy of homelessness. After that, Bader tells us how LeTendre Education Fund for Homeless Children, a scholarship program administered by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, is helping some of the homeless students across America. Towards the end of the article, Bader talks about a faculty member at a school who has helped homeless students by

In the essay, “On Compassion”, writer Barbara Lazear Ascher used resources style and rhetoric to convey her attitude such as the use of questions, ethos, pathos and logos, figurative language, imagery, and tone. This way, Ascher’s writing was well organized and well put together meanwhile giving the readers a chance to analyze and comprehend the text and understand Ascher’s views. Ascher begins her essay in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York; a place known to be where the wealth lives and idea of compassion falls. Yet as a typical New Yorker (Barbara Ascher), random acts of compassion can be seen but are not enough given awareness. This is where Ascher’s thesis falls in. Ascher believed that compassion is something humans are not born

In Bell Hooks’ essay, “Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor”, Hooks addresses and clarifies the misinterpretations that people have of the assumptions made of the poor, how poor individuals are viewed in human culture and how the poor are represented on television. She helps the audience understand how these assumptions are wrong.

As once written by Andrew Carnegie, “The problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth, so that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship” (Carnegie) Homelessness has been around for centuries, just like the debate over Americans helping the homeless or letting them fend for themselves. There are many aspects must which should be considered in the argument of whether we, the American people and higher class, should help them or not; such as the ethical values of the situation from both the poor and those involved in helping, the cultural and social causes, and effects on their lives.

Jon Kurht’s article “When helping doesn't help” is a personal narrative discussing Kurht’s experience managing a homeless shelter, and discussing the hardships and complications that come with helping the homeless. Kuhrt notably states that shelters “actually bred further cynicism and depression in those young people because many were ashamed of what they were doing - they knew they were profiting from the naivety and kindness of others.” Logos can be found within the reasoning and conclusions found by Kurht.SHOW CREDIBILITY

In one circumstance, we may feel the need to give to those who are poor to keep them from getting in our personal space; and in other circumstances we feel that we give to others out of the kindness of our heart. I completely agree with Ascher and her views on compassion, because I have been in similar situation where I have questioned why people give money, and whether they give with a whole heart or out of necessity. Furthermore, this essay can teach us plenty of lessons that can be utilized throughout our lives so we can teach others and make them aware of the need to be more

Ascher begins her essay with an anecdote about a homeless man approaching a mother and her baby using eloquent, high-level language. As she begins to describe the man, she states that his “carefully plaited dreadlocks bespeak a better time” (paragraph 1). In this one sentence, she implies the man’s race and clarifies that he was not homeless his whole life. Ascher suggests the high socioeconomic class of the neighborhood as the man “crosses Manhattan’s Seventy-ninth Street” (1) and also implies the race of the mother and her baby who is “in an Aprica stroller” (1). She clearly expresses the mother’s fear as “her hands close tighter on the stroller’s handle” when she sees the man approach her. When his eyes fixes on her baby, she starts to rummage through her purse. During her search, the woman finds “lipstick, a lace handkerchief, an address book” (3) until she finds

In preceding paragraphs Ascher describes her encounters with compassion and the homeless as if she is omnipresent, overlooking these events. For example, she never admits to witnessing the first scene she describes. She does not describe observing the homeless man’s grin herself by using words like “I” in order to say “I saw his grin”; instead she states it matter-of-factly: “the man’s grin”. From her initial reluctance to associate herself with what will later be support for her argument, Ascher conveys her uncertainty at this point in the essay. In the proceeding paragraphs Ascher finally gives up the omnipotent charade in order to appeal to her audience’s sense of ethos. The audience trusts her as a narrator at this point because she is no longer an abstract figure and becomes a relatable person by using “I” and “we.” This transition immediately follows her first example of rhetorical question. This question: “Was it fear or compassion that that motivated the gift?” acts as an epiphany for Ascher. Her argument is confirmed and she stands by it at this point in the essay, she confidently unites herself with her argument by adding “I” and “we” to her anecdotes following this rhetorical