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Growing Up In Poverty, By Sherman Alexi

867 Words4 Pages

Sherman Alexi points out the fact that growing up in poverty can affect morale,resources,and relationships. And all of these issues can lead to low self esteem and mental health issues which Junior will try to balance constantly. Junior struggles with morale because of the poverty he grew up in. Junior is a teen who grew up on the rez in a poor household, this caused Junior to feel hopeless as he believed that poverty was a cycle and that he couldn't get out of.“Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.”(Sherman Alexi 13) Junior believes that poverty is something that he can't overcome and this makes him feel down as if he won't ever get out as he believes that …show more content…

Oscar, Juniors dog and best friend is put down as Juniors family couldn't afford to take care of his sickness. This destroys Junior mentally.“After Oscar died, I was so depressed that I thought about crawling into a hole and disappearing forever.”(Sherman 15) This shows Junior the potential effect poverty could have as his own dog had to die because of it, which just worsens his feelings as he already feels he can't escape the poverty he was born into. The death of Oscar depleted Juniors morale and made him fall into deep depression which could have been easily avoided if he didn't live in poverty. Poverty also causes a lack of resources for Junior. An example of this is when Junior realized that the book he was using in math was the exact book his mom used 30 years before. This made him furious and embarrassed.”That means I was staring at a geometry book that was at least thirty years older than I was. I couldn't believe it. How horrible is that?”(Sherman 31) Junior already has been set back in life by being born on the reservation but being poor has doubled the set back, as he has almost no resources to progress in maybe the most important thing in his life …show more content…

Because of the embarrassment poverty brings to Junior he lies to the ones he cares most about in an attempt to hide the fact that he's poor; this ends up being a waste of time in the end as Penelope finds out.“Can I ask you something big? Yeah, I guess. Are you poor? I couldn't lie to her anymore.”(Sherman 127) Junior knew he couldn't escape his poverty so he lied in hopes to be liked more in Rearden. He hoped that he could make people think his family was middle class but couldn't hold the act or build any strong relationships with anyone because his social life was a

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The impoverished conditions in which the residents of this community live are difficult based on the surrounding violence and discrimination they face. Tre, Ricky’s best friend, is able to survive the surrounding violence and discrimination through his father’s sensational leadership; he therefore knows what to do in situations he faces among his friends. However, his friends are not so lucky. For example, Dough doesn’t have great leadership or a father figure, but is raised by a single mother who is determined to get her children to succeed; nevertheless, her main focus is Ricky because he has the most potential; he is an

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Both of their parents did not bring Brian to the hospital because they felt “one kid in the hospital at a time [was] enough” (Walls 13). Jeanette had the opportunity to live a normal childhood but her parents chose to be poverty stricken because they both did not have the motivation to live in a civilized society and work. Because of this, Jeanette and her siblings had to endure a neglectful childhood and be made fun of by other kids because they were so poor. Both of her parents were educated, however neither of them could hold a job because they felt too constricted on doing one task. Even though the family was living in poverty, Jeanette’s parents educated, loved, and educated the kids with values; however her parents failed to provide the kids their basic needs of survival.

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When Junior is in Reardan (the little white town),he is “half Indian,”and when he is in Wellpinit (his home reservation),he is “half white.” “It was like being Indian was my job,” he says, “but it was only a part time job. And it didn’t pay well at all.” At Reardan High,why does Junior pretend to have money than he does,even though he knows that “lies have short shelf lives”? Before, I begin,I would like to point out that Junior is obviously poor and lives on the reservation.

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One example of this is when Gary takes off the coat, because he would rather be cold than look poor and be made fun of. “Even though it was cold, I took off the jacket during lunch and played kickball in a thin shirt, my arms feeling like braille from goose bumps,” (Soto 5). The fact that Gary preferred to freeze shows just how strong his resentment towards his own poverty really is. Things do not improve for Gary as time goes on. His classmates start to avoid him, rather than be associated with his poverty.

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On the reservation? Yes, we all know there is so much amazing science on the reservation. ”(85), this quote was ironic because what Mr. Dodge's teacher was actually wrong and what Junior had learned was actually right. But because Junior grew up in poverty on the reservation their school did not have a lot of funding and therefore did not have the best teachers. Junior took this sarcastic insult and just laughed about it because he knew he was right.

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Faced with many obstacles from poverty to racial stereotypes, Junior must override them if he is to make his life better than that of fellow Indians. Interestingly, rather than letting the obstacles hold him back Junior understands that his destiny is in his own hands and he must celebrate who he is even if it means fighting. In the end, we see a boy who have managed to overcome all hardships to get to the top, even if it means making tough choices such as changing schools, therefore is could be seen that race and stereotypes only made Junior

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It is uncommon to try to branch out and achieve high goals. Junior mentions this commonality at the beginning of his journey, “Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty teaches you how to be poor” (Alexie 13). Junior fights this by moving to a predominantly white school, his goal is to get out of the reservation. Impressively, his sister also fights this when she spontaneously decides to get married and move far away from her family.

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Junior’s father’s drinking problems and the lack of funds to afford decent living conditions on the reservation are prevalent issues throughout the book that provide an insight into this theme. This proves that the author has written this novel to exhibit the hardships of those in poverty are detrimental to a child’s future. First, the novel shows the hardships of poverty by showing the discrimination made against Junior. On page 86, Junior states he “remembered when I [he] used to be a human being,” (Alexie 86).

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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.

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Junior loses a lot of friends and family at the young age of fourteen. He gets bullied because he was born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside his skull, but he has his best friend Rowdy there to help him. Junior realizes that he needs to leave the reservation to get a better life for himself. He goes to a new school off the

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Certainly, growing up in poverty is a strength I hold dear to my heart. Surely, it was a struggle my parents, myself, and my brothers, however, my challenging past influenced me to be a hard worker, show up to work 15 minutes early, and perform my duties so I can have a job. Lastly, growing up in this financial condition has taught me how to value life instead of personal belongings.

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