ipl-logo

Tressie Mcmillan Cottom's The Logic Of Stupid Poor People

537 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The logic of stupid poor people by tressie summary

Society is a dangerous and ruthless beast. A person’s wish to belong in society can ultimately be their demise to not only their financial stability but as well as their social status which is ironic, for the actions they take to belong only further separate them from society. These actions are particularly common amongst poor folks as they wish to be a part of society, but their poor financial decisions to spend all their earnings on exquisite items only drags them further away from society’s acceptance. In Tressie McMillan Cottom’s Reading, “The Logic of Stupid Poor People”, She describes her life as an African-American child born into a poor family who were able to manage their funds wisely and live comfortably while families similar to her’s, but to only manage to dig themselves into deep and unforgiving caverns of financial debt. I agree, for I have witnessed many cases of poverty stricken people drag themselves further into financial debt all for useless status symbols. One example, is a time when I drove through one of the rougher neighborhoods of inner city Houston. As I peered outside my truck’s window I noticed quite a few luxurious cars in front of the shanty and dysfunctional houses in the neighborhood. Those families with those exquisite vehicles could easily sell their car, SUV, truck, etc. …show more content…

Rather than poor folks using their money wisely and spending it on necessities they prefer to conform to society and their selfish needs to be happy and waste their money on useless objects. It is sad to see instances where the poor have the opportunity to become better off financially, but they do not take it and only drag themselves further away from financial

Show More
Related

Rhetorical Analysis Of Too Poor To Make The News By Barbara Ehrenreich

527 Words | 3 Pages

Pathos dominates the article when Ehrenreich allows her nephews mother in law, grandchildren, and daughter to move into her house. The situation focuses on pathos because in Ehrenreich’s personal story she includes that “Peg, was, like several million other Americans, about to lose her home to foreclosure” (338). She is effective in her writing by appealing to the readers’ emotions through visual concepts and personal experiences. When I read the article, I felt emotional because the working poor are not fortunate to know if they will have a house or food the next day. I agree with Ehrenreich in which the poor are as important as the wealthy group who get more recognition.

Read More

Summary Of Rachel Sherman's A Very Expensive Ordinary Life: Conflicted Consumption

776 Words | 4 Pages

In Rachel Sherman’s “A Very Expensive Ordinary Life: Conflicted Consumption,” the argument centres around the “legitimization” of wealth by the New York’s upper class in order to be seen as not only rich, but morally worthy. The possession of great wealth alongside their less fortunate peers could be uncomfortable also for those that hold the city’s riches. Hence, New York’s affluent has “legitimized” their wealth and consumption, or on a more macro level, the inequality between the social classes in the city in order to feel more comfortable in their spending, and to manage the impression of the wealthy in the eyes of the greater public in the much morally contested behaviour of lavish spending in an unequal society. This is supported throughout the reading by the justification of excessive spending and consumption by the claim that the rich live an “ordinary” life. The need that they feel towards justifying their spending comes to show that their amount of spending is excessive in the eyes of the ordinary person, in which they also acknowledge themselves as well.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Serving In Florida By Gregory Mantsios

1318 Words | 6 Pages

Mantsios’ compares the profiles of different Americans lifestyles in his text and develops the idea that an individual’s class standing can affect their livelihood in detrimental ways, “The lower one’s class standing, the more difficult it is to secure appropriate housing, the more time is spent on routine tasks of everyday life, the greater is the percentage of income that goes to pay for food and other basic necessities, and the greater is the likelihood of crime victimization” (293). Mantsios explains that one’s class standing can affect the chances of survival and success. Ehrenreich describes her own housing experiences as a low income worker. To reduce her overall costs and to obtain a second job, Ehrenreich moves closer to Key West. Ehrenreich has just enough money to pay the rent and deposit on a tiny trailer at the Overseas Trailer Park.

Read More

The Poverty Cycle In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

453 Words | 2 Pages

The poverty cycle affects many American families, it is the phenomenon in which poor families are poverty-stricken for at least three generations. In Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette and her siblings break that cycle. It is a story of triumph over adversity as Jeannette did not let the label of “poor” create an obstacle in her path. It did not come easy, as her parents obscured her view of what life out of poverty could look like. Although the weight of poverty strayed her relationship with her parents, it was all she knew, due to hard work and determination she defied the odds stacked against her and broke loose.

Read More

Analysis Of Steinberg's The Ethnic Myth

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

Barbara Ehrenreich's Is It Now A Crime Being Poor

1027 Words | 5 Pages

Criminal Homeless Imagine yourself without a job and receiving a final note from your bank stating that you only have a week to dislodge. In consequence, you become homeless as a bug of society and if you sleep in any bench or under a bridge, you will end up in jail. Many people have been suffering such cruel reality due to their poverty. Barbara Ehrenreich, a political activist and author in her essay “Is it Now a Crime Being Poor?” discusses the problems of the US correctional system about the treat of homeless people. She explains how they are sent to jails for minor crimes.

Read More

Michael Harington's How I Discovered The Truth About Poverty

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

Shameless Sociological Analysis

1036 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More

The Singer Solution To World Poverty Analysis

1805 Words | 8 Pages

In this paper I will be arguing against Peter Singer’s views on poverty, which he expresses in his paper “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”. Singer argues that all people with wealth surplus to their essential needs are morally obligated to prevent the suffering of those in dire situations. I will argue that you can not hold people morally obligated to prevent the suffering of others, and that people can only be held morally obligated to prevent suffering that they themselves caused. To begin, we will look at Singers beliefs and arguments regarding poverty and the responsibility of people to help those in need. Singer’s first arguments revolves around a girl named Dora, who is a retired schoolteacher, who is barely making a living writing

Read More

Analysis Of Andy Mulligan's Trash

780 Words | 4 Pages

Andy Mulligan has made a very clear and bold statement about the inequalities and injustices that exist in our world today through his novel Trash. He uses his novel to explore these issues by focusing on key themes such as Poverty/Wealth and Justice/Injustice. The theme Poverty/Wealth conveys Mulligan’s statement about the inequalities of our world by using real-world examples of poverty and prosperity situations in his novel. Additionally, by exploring justice/injustice we see that Mulligan elaborates on a distinct and definite line between fair and unfair actions and their outcomes throughout his novel Trash. Therefore, the injustices and inequalities of our world today are clearly communicated and observed through Andy Mulligan’s novel.

Read More

How Did Materialism Affect Young African Americans

455 Words | 2 Pages

The progression of materialism in the media and advertising has a major affect on young African Americans which can cause poor money issues. In a materialistic society, young African Americans aim to gain a sense of importance through buying expensive things and owning the latest whether it be celebrity shoes, pricy clothing, high-tech electronics, or luxury cars, that we can show off to our peers in hopes of impressing them. It is almost as if young African Americans are brainwashed to not only have the best, but to drag one another into competition, boasting about what they have and daring the next to top it. As a result of that competition, young African Americans who do not meet the “expectations” of their peers are humiliated and ridiculed so harshly because they do not own a pair of four hundred dollar jeans or two hundred dollar shoes. Today’s society is so brainwashed by what they see on social media and advertising that they will spend their last just to fit in or try to look like something or

Read More

Examples Of Poverty In 1984

721 Words | 3 Pages

They are unwilling to follow standards set by society, and make damaging conscious decisions such as using drugs or committing crimes. Rutger Bregman of “The Correspondent” illustrates more valid examples about the lower class, stating how they are usually the last to sign up for money management training and “when responding to job ads, the poor often write the worst applications and show up at interviews in the least professional attire” (Bregman 1). Although this might be true, the impacting cognitive effects from an impoverished upbringing can explain these behaviors. For the lower class, resting is a luxury and they are often exhausted by how much they have to work in order to pay the bills. The Atlantic states how “poverty 's stress interferes with our ability to make good decisions... because the short-term needs are so great and the long-term gains so implausible” (Thompson 1).

Read More

Bell Hooks Seeing And Making Culture Representing The Poor Summary

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

The Logic Of Stupid Poor People Analysis

181 Words | 1 Pages

In the reading “The logic of stupid poor people” by Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ms.Cottom speaks on her childhood experiences and explains to us the logic of why poor people buy expensive apparel when they can’t afford to pay for it later, or just done need it. She named the story “The logic of stupid poor people” because she wanted to emphasize, explaining this in her own words “one thing I’ve learned is that one person’s illogical belief is another person’s survival skill”. The stories main focus is on how society judges you by how you talk, dress and how much what you wear is worth. She further explains that these status symbols help you pass the “gatekeepers” which could mean the difference between working for minimum wage or having better

Read More

It Is Expensive To Be Poor By Barbara Ehrenreich Essay

1170 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Tressie Mcmillan Cottom's The Logic Of Stupid Poor People

Related Topics

Open Document