In 2015, 13.6% of Illinois residents lived below the poverty line, that is 1,703,258 people. Poverty is a growing epidemic that plagues more people than you would think. In three articles by Dick Gregory, Stephen Pimpare, and Randall Williams, the theme of poverty is discussed and dissected. We learn the stories of people living in poverty and how they feel about their situations. People living in poverty should not feel ashamed of their situation because many times, it is not their fault and they didn’t have a choice in the matter. Many times, people are just born into poverty. In the short story, “Shame” by Dick Gregory, we see that Dick was just born into a poor family, he had no choice in the matter. He constantly feels ashamed of his situation, “There was shame in running out to meet the relief truck. I hated that truck, full of food for you and your kind.” (Gregory 5). This quote shows that Dick is very ashamed of his situation, especially because he is constantly labeled “you and your kind”. Pimpare brings up this point in his article about how movies promote, “misleading prejudices about people who live in poverty (Pimpare 1). …show more content…
Pimpare’s article, talks about how Hollywood movies promote that poverty is a “state of mind, rather than a condition we create through our politics and public policy” (Pimpare 2). This show how our society has stereotyped people who are living in poverty, as people who just don’t care. This is clearly rebutted in “Daddy Tucked a Blanket Around Mama’s Shoulders. Tears Were Dropping Off His Cheeks” by Randall Williams. He talks about how hard his dad worked to try to improve their status, “No matter how much money Daddy made we never made much progress up the social ladder” (Williams 1). This quote shows that they should not feel ashamed because they are working hard to try and improve their situation. It is not their fault that the system was built against
#2 David K. Shipler also goes on how those attempting to escape poverty also face psychological problems such as hopelessness, helplessness, depression, trauma, and lack of motivation to even attempt to fix their own lives. Shipler includes one Los Angeles man’s remark after being asked to define poverty in his book that states that poverty is: Not hopelessness-helplessness. Why should I get up? Nobody’s ever gonna ever hire me because look at the way I’m dressed, and look at the fact that I never finished high school, look at the fact that I’m black, I’m brown, I’m yellow, or I grew up in
In ”Shame” Dick Gregory discusses the difficulty he was having in school when he was a teeenager just because he was poor kid who didn’t have much and he didn’t get the same value as the other kids in the classroom. First, Gregory mention he was seven years old that is when he got is first lesson in school and use to have a crush on a girl name Helene Tucker he would do anything just for that girl. During his teenage years, when the water get frozen at his house he would use shopped ice to watch his clothes so that he could keep himself clean for her and sometime he get sick from it because he put them on meanwhile it still wet. Finally, It took him twenty-nine years to forget about her crush and that is when he get married and making money so, that show me he was still being hurt from his past and everything that he do was connected with Helene Tucker. In this essay I will talk about Gregory past he was he was seven years old and why he took him twenty- nine years to forget about this girl.
In the article “How I Discovered the Truth about Poverty” Barbara Ehrenreich gives her view in poverty and explains why she think Michael Harington’s book “The Other American” gives a wrong view on poverty. She explained that Harrington believes that the poor thought and felt differently and what divides the poor was their different “culture of poverty.” Ehrenreich goes on to explain on how the book that became a best seller caused so many bad stereotypes on the poor that by the Reagan era poverty was seen as “bad attitudes” and “faulty lifestyles” and not by the lack of jobs or low paying jobs. And they also viewed the poor as “Dissolute, promiscuous, prone to addiction and crime, unable to “defer gratification,” or possibly even set an alarm clock.”
I viewed Frontline a documentary series, which episode was entitled Poor Kids. The frontline personnel spent time with three children Kailey, Johnny, and Britany along with their families as they all struggle financially. We perceive a glimpse of what it is like to live below the poverty line in America through a child’s eyes. While observing the documentary, I became consciously aware that children who are considered poor or living below the poverty line were more mindful of the responsibilities of life. The children were worrisome of the lack of employment for their parents, bills, and in Britney’s case; how they would accommodate their way of living to support a new addition to the family.
The Truth About Poverty “Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit” this quote was said by Mahatma Gandhi and it relates so well with this article “It is Expensive To Be Poor”, answer the question yourself, Is it expensive to be poor? This article is titled like that to get the audience's attention early and have them thinking ahead of reading. The author Barbara Ehrenreich is building a pre thought when she does this which helps support her claim. “It is Expensive To Be Poor” by Barbara Ehrenreich is an article posted on “The atlantic” “which is where you can find your current news and analysis on politics, business, culture, and technology”. Knowing what “The Atlantic” offers for readers this gives Ehrenreich a detailed look at who she is writing to.
People in poverty are generally portrayed as worthless and this is because culture today illustrates a man’s worth from how materially successful they are. Hooks explains how this kind of representation of the poor can mentally and emotionally handicap and entire society of people in poverty. She goes into an example of how a
This quote illustrates that Dick, being raised in a well environment, also had some faults. He could not achieve his American Dream due to lack of money that his family did not
Overall, poverty class barriers show up everywhere. The Gallagher family in “Shameless” is a good example of this because they are very poor and most of the siblings end up dropping out of high school or not amounting to much within their lives. They are never truly able to get away from having this status, and it is truly sad because they represent actual families in the real world struggling with this everyday. Money is the true root of all evil, whether you have it or don’t have it there are still issues that show up in your
Approximately 48,472,800 Americans live in poverty: 15.2% of the population. Poverty is clearly an ongoing issue in today’s society. Many people today look down upon, and think badly of, those who are impoverished. Intolerance of poverty is an attitude held by most characters in “The Jacket”. These attitudes reflect the current intolerance towards poverty and persist throughout the story.
In the passage “What is poverty?”, the author Jo Goodwin Parker, describes a variety of things that she considers to portray the poverty in which she lives in. She seems to do this through her use of first-person point of view to deliver a view of poverty created by a focused use of rhetorical questions, metaphors, imagery, and repetition to fill her audience with a sense of empathy towards the poor. The author’s use of first person point of view creates the effect of knowing exactly what she is feeling. “The baby and I suffered on. I have to decide every day if I can bear to put my cracked hands into the cold water and strong soap.”
Poverty is affecting billions of people around our world and the number is growing with each day. Many people think they can avoid the effects of poverty, but it is something that affects all of our daily lives. Many people see poverty as a person who lacks money, although this is true poverty is caused by many more things than being without money. Just the fact that one in two children live in poverty can help people see clearly the impact it has on our world. Poverty truly does influence the type of care and treatment a person will receive when they need it.
As a reader reads Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed on (Not) Getting by in America, they get an insight on what it is like to live a low income life. Ehrenreich proposes the argument in the introduction that poverty is a serious matter and just because one has a job does not mean they are not considered poor. She wants to persuade us to realize that American is not the land of opportunity as promised and portrayed and there are regular people who are struggling to live a comfortable life. Throughout her book she mentions her experiences with living on minimum wage, the hiring process, and how she felt being put in that position. After reading Ehrenreich’s book I am thoroughly persuaded.
According to the PBS Frontline video “Poor Kids” 2012, more than 46 million Americans are living beneath the poverty line. The United States alone has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. It is stated that 1 out of 5 children are living in poverty. The video documented the lives of three families who are faced with extreme hardships and are battling to survive a life of being poor. All three families have more than one child and could barely afford to pay their bills and purchase food for their household.
Generational Poverty Poverty has been around for numerous years. Poverty can be a generational problem if people let it. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” and David Joy’s “Digging in the trash” both show that families in poverty do not have it easy, the children will live in poverty unless something is done, and people either find a way of escape or stand up against it. In the short story, “Sonny’s Blues” Baldwin shows how the lack of monetary resources affects many generations.
In the short story, “Not Poor, Just Broke,” Dick Gregory creates an amazing true story about how him and his family was affected by poverty in the 1930’s. Richard was a resourceful, intelligent kid. He is always creating ways to get around their tight budget. Richard is not like other kids, He will believe what everybody says about him. Richard and many other kids can easily be affected by poverty There is no doubt Richard was affected by what other people say or think.