The Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell: Literary Analysis

Since a young age, Richard’s family was very religious, and they wanted Richard to follow in this path as well. However, they expose him to religion in violent and mentally abusive ways that make their purpose larger than religion itself while completely ignoring Richard’s attempts to make his own choices with religion. Even as Richard becomes older and more able to think for himself, his family’s actions only intensify and they forever change his opinion on religion. However, while Richard’s family was unethical in the way they exposed him to religion, their actions truly reflect the hardships that are associated with a poor African American family during their time. Throughout his childhood, Richard is constantly exposed to religion in unethical ways by his family.

Once the sole provider for his family, he now becomes a burden. Internally, he is the same Gregor Samsa, but his physical appearance causes his family to alienate and mistreat him. The use of dehumanization is prevalent in the novel causing the protagonist to suffer with symptoms of depression. He is unable to be a positive contributor in society or for his family. The use of symbolism in the novel displays his isolation and humanity.

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. The narrator explains how his father tried to give him more.

A Raisin in the Sun: Strength of Family Racism, segregation, oppression, and poverty; these are some of the struggles that black people in 1950’s America had to deal with every single day. That’s what the book “A Raisin in the Sun” focused on. This book was written about a closely-knit black family who had to get through new and difficult challenges, especially when it came to the racism that ran rampant through America at the time and their own attempts to escape the seemingly bottomless pit of poverty. These struggles forced this black family to stay together, even in times when the family seemed to be coming apart at the seams. This wonderful book had a couple main themes, but three of the biggest themes were racism, the importance of family, and poverty.

This matters because Richard Wright struggles to be the person he aspires to be due to the lack of support he receives from his family and friends. After publishing a book (which at the time was a big deal for any African American) Richard received negative feedback from people who he related with the most: family and friends. Instead of getting positive feedback and encouragement for his accomplishments, Wright is ridiculed by the people who he identifies with closely in race. In this moment, Richard experiences prejudice from people he trusts the most, but it doesn’t end there. At the end of the school term, he was chosen valedictorian of his class, and is asked to write and deliver a speech for graduation.

For Crooks, it was his whole life dealing with racial segregation and in his adulthood, he always had to be isolated from others. These life events shaped him into the person that he became angry and resentful. Today racial segregation is still an issue, many people have not yet accepted that the Civil Rights ended racial segregation. Justice Scalia is a perfect example, he is ignorant and believes that African-Americans should be put in slower passed schooling. Justice Scalia said, “There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas, where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower track school where they do well.” He believes that African-Americans are not intelligent enough to go to the University of Texas, therefore, discriminating and being a racist.

How do we interpret the character of Walter? The character of Walter is characterized as a struggling black man often viewed as having a male chauvinistic attitude towards women. Challenged with the responsibility of being the man of the family (head of household) who struggles to support the family financial needs. He is continuously contemplating new ways to enhance the well-being of the family. Frustrated by the societal barriers placed on black men and families during the early twenty century which impedes his progress to attain not only his advancement but impedes the prosperity of his family.

Baldwin 's father suffered psychological problems as he lived for a long time in the segregated community. Some problems they encountered while they were living in the north were the lack of jobs offered, and limited positions in high paying businesses. Although Baldwin 's father presented himself as a proud African American, inside he was filled with insecurities and humiliation. There were several communication barriers that Baldwin fathers faced. He was a bitter person who lacked the ability to establish contacts with other people.

Douglass didn’t grow up in the best environment either, never fully knew who his dad was, getting separated from his mom – Harriet Bailey – being whipped and beaten, watching many other slaves die or get beaten, and that’s just the start. Douglass’ life when he was younger was a living hell. He wrote in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, “It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it.” He cannot even explain in words how bad his life as a slave really was. These things would never stop his dream of being free, though.

It can be seen quickly in early childhood education, especially because it is more likely to be weaker in poorer areas and children living in poverty. In the words of researcher Boghani, they acknowledge the fact that several studies show that children who are raised and grew up in poverty have a difficulty of escaping poverty once they become adults (Boghani, 2017). For example, a 2009 study by the National Center for Children in Poverty, researchers found that children who lived in poverty were more likely to experience poverty when becoming adults, as well as their likelihood of being poor in adulthood increased with the number of years that they lived in poverty as a child (Fass, Dinan & Aratani, Y.,