ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of What Is Poverty Jo Goodwin Parker

507 Words3 Pages

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.” This shows what she had to endure to try to keep her baby healthy. It appeals to the loving protective side of the reader. It makes them think about what the baby must be going through beacuase of their economic situation. Rhetorical questions are used to directly engage the …show more content…

The author wants the reader to continously think about what poverty means to her, such as “Poverty is being tired” in paragraph 3, “Poverty is dirt” in paragraph 4, and “Poverty is looking into a black future.” in paragraph 10. This reminds the audience that not everyone suffers from poverty in the same way. For the author, poverty is having to take care of family when all the odds are against you, and this is what gives the reader a perfect understanding of it. As stated in the passage, “Listen to me. Listen to me without pity. I cannot use your pity.”, the use of repetition is effective in creating empathy towards her situation instead of pity. Through the use of figurative language like rhetorical questions, metaphors, imagery and repetition, the author is able to convey a vivid sense of what living in poverty is really like. This is intended to make the reader feel empathy towards those who are poor. To make them understand and try to convince the reader to care more about

Show More
Related
693 Words | 3 Pages

The barrier between her and the neighbours after her husband’s death forced her to become reserved and quiet. Her and her son only went into town if they had to. They preferred to stay close to the garden where they felt safe. The death of the husband is the cause of the mothers’ complete change in character. The death let the audience connect with her on a deeper level to understand her pain and suffering.

Read More
381 Words | 2 Pages

Jack Nguyen AP English 3 30, July 2015 Nickel and Dimed Rhetorical Strategies and Notes Thesis: Ehrenreich’s personal use of varied rhetorical strategies allowed her to divulge the working conditions and struggles of the poverty-stricken class to the readers in order to provoke them to realize that something has to be done about poverty.. First Body: What: Allusion Pg. 2, Logos Pg. 37. How & Effect: Ehrenreich uses these personal, rhetorical strategies based on her experiences as a low-wage worker in the poor working class. The effect is that Ehrenreich is able to show the readers the conditions in which the impoverished work in and the daily obstacles that they face in life; also there is an appeal to logic and a reference of a poverty idiom. Why: Ehrenreich is deliberately using these rhetorical strategies to incite the readers about the fact that changes need to be done to poverty because it is a detrimental thing to society.

Read More
453 Words | 2 Pages

Poverty was the parent Jeanette never had. Through her childhood it was the only thing that was constant and gave her something to learn from. Both of her parents appeared and disappeared just as fast their paychecks and did not set good examples. Her mother enjoyed a free lifestyle with no sense of responsibility, while her father used what was earned for gambling, drinking, or women. Although the poverty Jeanette endoured in her childhood was always there to set its weight on her, it shaped her.

Read More
1705 Words | 7 Pages

Being one of the first quotes in the book, this quote nicely provides a better understanding of the interlocked conditions and problems that those in poverty often face. It beautifully illustrates how the poor are limited by their living and working conditions and find difficulty escaping poverty due to how closely interlocked their conditions are. In order to escape poverty, these individuals have to find a way to solve all of their problems contained within their environment. However, these poor individuals are unable to do so since they are facing financial problems. Reflection

Read More
1417 Words | 6 Pages

On page 107, Oscar Lewis mentions how the culture-of-poverty is one which arises from existing situations and becomes a “design for living”.

Read More
263 Words | 2 Pages

In A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Ruby Payne try’s to explain the behaviors and barriers of three social classes: poverty, middle class, and wealth. Beyond the social class of poverty, it’s a breakdown of the elements of the classes and the ‘hidden rules’ each one has. She stresses that these hidden rules aren’t taught in businesses or schools, these of which function as the hidden rules of middle class. Payne states these hidden rules aren’t exactly natural, they’re learned, and as one grows up in a particular class those rules are set in place. She lists all the rules in each class, and the differences are striking.

Read More
1185 Words | 5 Pages

Readers can infer that poor people were deprived of food and possibilities because of the strong use of pathos and imagery. Also, the substandard jobs were reserved for the poor because they were ineligible of equal opportunities because they were deemed uneducated. Americans still view poor people as being uneducated and wrongfully inferring that as the cause of their poverty. This incorrect thinking leads poor people to have less rights than others because they have to

Read More
1484 Words | 6 Pages

Thank goodness, she turned out alright. But I’ll never risk it again. Never! The strain is simply too - too hellish,” (36). Larsen uses words provoking anxiety and horror to give the reader insight into Clare’s mind when she thinks about pregnancy and motherhood.

Read More
1212 Words | 5 Pages

Not only can we learn from the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, but also in the poem Sympathy because we can relate to what the author is talking about. Through these examples, it is clear that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing strong characters that go through problems that the reader can relate to or learn

Read More
913 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
570 Words | 3 Pages

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.”

Read More
1029 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
1171 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More
1426 Words | 6 Pages

The association of poverty with Africa goes together like apple pie and America. From the advertisements of malnourished, African children to our education, or rather lack of education, about African countries in the American school system, the concept of Africa as an impoverished continent has been engrained into our minds. This rhetoric of Africa has lasted over decades, with a substantial amount of aid being given to African countries to rectify this problem. And yet, sixteen of the world’s poorest countries were identified as being in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2013. This insinuates that foreign countries and organizations that provide aid, need to reevaluate why aid isn’t making a bigger impact at fixing the problem.

Read More
415 Words | 2 Pages

For example, her use of repetition of, “Poverty is…” throughout the essay keeps the reader interested and wondering what Parker will say next about poverty. She also uses metaphors to make the audience truly understand what poverty is. In the essay, Parker states “Poverty is an acid that drips on pride until pride is worn away. Poverty is a chisel that chips on honor until honor is worn away.” (3) these metaphors are very thought provoking and powerful, making you think about the impoverished in a new light.

Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis Of What Is Poverty Jo Goodwin Parker

Open Document