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My ISU Essay

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Recommended: How poverty affects children

In all the works covered in class, one aspect they share strikes me the most. It is a pattern that exists in reality as much as literature: that only through difficult events can it be perceived what people are. Difficult situations can affect people in ways that make a person stronger and ways that make them weaker. For both my ISU books the difficulties each protagonist’s family faced made them stronger. Being poor has a tremendous impact on the family’s strength and commitment. Setting aside the obvious negative aspects, such as potentially lower academic achievement, school dropout, abuse, neglect, behavioral problems and physical health problems, there are a few very positive outcomes of being poor. For my ISUs the protagonists didn’t
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This book shows the saddening truth of why the poor typically stay poor and the many, many obstacles that must be overcome just to “get ahead”. As mentioned above, the families in this book were largely affected by social, economic, and cultural barriers. Barriers of all three structural blocks, can include, but are not limited to, low wages, safe housing, education, job training, language barriers, and religious beliefs. Early in the book, Shipler writes about corrupt public administration, such as banks, check cashing facilities, and tax preparers. These are a few examples of structural economic barriers that families encountered.

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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.

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In preparation for this paper I chose to read Fire in the ashes: twenty five years among the poorest children in America by Jonathan Kozol. In this book Kozol has followed these children and their family’s lives for the past twenty five years. In his writing Kozol portrays a point of view most from his background and standing would not be capable of having. He portrays what life is like for those who have been let down by the system that was meant to protect them. Kozols writing style can be very blunt at times, not for shock value, but for the sake of portraying these children’s realities, and not sugarcoating the inequalities that they are faced with.

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Does poverty affect the way people grow up? In certain situations people have no escape from their childhood and have to suffer. Others might say that the rich are privileged and have no worries. To most, money can make or break someone in the long run and that might have been the case in these stories. In the stories Lamar Loper’s First Case, How I Lost the Junior Miss Pageant, and the story Thank You, M’am, poverty is the cause of the characters problem

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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.

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The story shows how you should always be thankful for what you have because it could be gone within a second. Growing up underprivileged definitely teaches you things that you would not have learned or viewed in that way if you were middle class/upper class. Growing up poor can have a huge effect upon yourself, but you learn, develop and become

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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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Eric and Christopher both result in poverty due to a death in their families. For instance, Eric’s father had an illness that he contracted while growing up in Georgia. His father was taking care of Eric while his mother, Vicky was being treated at a hospital. His mother suffered from clinical depression and seizures. A short period of time after Vicky was released from the hospital, Eric’s father passed away due to the illness he had contracted(13).

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In Battle Mountain, Phoenix, and Welch, and everywhere the Walls lived. Poverty was a central component in many of Jeannette’s decisions. It played a pivotal role in shaping the behaviors and attitudes of the family. More importantly, poverty was always coming back to the Walls, like it did for so many other impoverished American families. Most importantly, poverty’s powerful childhood force exerted its influence into Jeannette’s adult life, permanently affecting her behavior and mind.

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Poverty is a very serious topic that millions of people all over the world are forced to deal with. However The Absolute Diary of a Part-Time Indian Junior makes the subject as a whole feel more light-hearted and not as serious. For example, he says, "Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.” (13) Sherman Alexie uses deadpan/ understatement humor to make a light-hearted joke about growing up in poverty.

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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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There are many things that cause poverty that can be overlooked and not considered. In the book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” the Lacks family is living in poverty while

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They explain how their parents became jobless or struggled to maintain and find new jobs. How they lost their homes due to being unable to pay for rent or the mortgage. All of their possessions were confiscated from the storage location due to unpaid rent. They share their tragedy to overcome the hunger and the frustrations of being poor. They also share their thoughts and dreams about the future.

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She begins by talking about her college experience of how her own professors and fellow students believed and “always portrayed the poor as shiftless, mindless, lazy, dishonest, and unworthy” (Paragraph 5). This experience shocked her because she never grew up materialistic. She brings up the fact that she is the person with the strong and good values that she has today because she grew up in a poor family. In culture, the poor are always being stereotyped.

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Poverty Empowered Me to be Successful Poverty empowered me to want more in my life. The struggles of my childhood gave me the determination to succeed. When I was just three years old, my parents split up, leaving my mother to take care of my older sister and me on her own. To put a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, my mother had to work two jobs and have an abusive boyfriend because he said he would take care of us. My mother became addicted to drugs and after three years she made the change in her life to get off of drugs and be a better mother.

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