Does Dependence Cause Poverty?
A Synthesis of Let the Water Hold Me Down by Michael Spurgeon
At first glance, independence would seem to be an underlying theme is Let the Water Hold Me Down Hank leaves his job and moves to a different country with almost no real plan, this would seem to fall in line with the characteristics of a highly independent person. Upon a more careful analysis, however, we begin to see Hanks actions were motivated not be his want to be independent, but by his fear of being alone and his dependence. Through using the defining terms of dependence in Poor People by William T. Vollmann we can begin to understand how and where Hanks dependence comes from.
Hank moved to Mexico because his friend was there and his wife
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He and Cesar 's relationship would probably not be ruined because Hank would have seen the warning signs and left. He would have been more vigilant rather than turning a blind eye to Cesar questionable activities. Like Cesar 's extensive drug use, a plethora of illegal guns, and admittance that he sells these on the black market.
Hank, if he were more independent, he would have had the foresight to see that this was a bad situation and would have been strong enough to get out of it, but instead, Hank was motivated by his neediness and dependency. Hanks lack of decision making lead him to have little control or choice over his life and the events that unfolded. Lack of dependence and choice were two major defining characteristics of poverty as told by Vollman. Hanks dependence on people lead him to become choice poor, which with little to no choices he was forced to become more and more dependent on the people around him, which mirror and affirms Vollmann 's perspective of poverty as a vicious cycle and shows just how poor Hank truly was not due to finances but because of circumstance and his inability to be independent which ultimately caused him to become choice
In the second story of Drown by Junot Diaz, Yunior and Rafa have already been in the United States of America for about three years. In this story, their mother’s sister came to the United States. They travel to the Bronx in order to celebrate their aunts and uncles’ arrival. In Fiesta 1980, we meet their father and sister, and learn more about their mother. Through the way they all interact, we learn more about each family member’s characteristics and their family dynamic.
Poverty can be a terrible thing. It can shape who you are for better or for worse. Although it may seem awful while you experience it, poverty is never permanent. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which takes place in Alabama in the middle of the Great Depression, Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell are both in a similar economic state. Both of their families have very little money; however, they way they manage handle themselves is very different. In this essay, I will compare Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell’s physical appearance and hygiene, their views on education, and their manners and personalities.
Since the beginning of time people have been living on their own. They have been relying on themselves to survive for centuries. In many books the characters also must rely on themselves, as Huck Finn does in Mark Twain’s book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn is a book about a boy growing up , and his flight down the Mississippi River. Through his actions and thoughts Huck is able to survive the dangers of the river and in doing so develops self reliance and independence as well as non-conformity to what is acceptable to society.
There are difficult moments in life where turning to nature is the best option. In Cal Armistead’s novel, Being Henry David, Hank awakens in Penn Station with no memory; all he has is the book, Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. Since Hank has no recollection of his prior life he has to recover the truth about himself. But, Hank has a beast inside of him that sparks when there is a moment that pertains to his prior life. Eventually, Hank journeys to Concord, Massachusetts to uncover the truth about his past. Throughout his time in Concord, Hank continually returns to nature to make better decision about his problems. Hank starts to distance himself from his problems to receive a new perspective and make a better decision on what to do. The most
In the essay This is Water, David Foster suggests that true freedom acquired through education is the ability to be adjusted, conscious and sympathetic. He uses this thesis statement in his essay and helps develop this thesis statement by using everyday examples which one would be able to relate to whilst reading this essay. He uses these examples in an attempt to make what he is trying to say much simpler, due to the fact that the point that he is trying to shed light on might not get across to all people who are reading this essay. He also uses metaphors to make it easier for the reader to relate to.
The most obvious effect of poverty remains the material aspect. The family has no money, therefore they cannot afford a good of decent quality. They can only purchase subpar goods. The family gets cheated numerous times in money related incidents. The housing agent cheats them the most, as they must pay much more money then he told them they would. Not only do they get cheated on the insurance, but they pay much more for the house than the value of it. The bosses cheat them as well: “big businesses had become even bigger. Large corporations were making a great deal of money, and some owners and managers became very rich. However, most of the people working in business and industry were not getting rich” (Duyne). When problems arise with the house, the family can only buy cheap goods to fix them with. When the...
Back when I was little girl, I always fascinated over water. I remember that I loved to be able to go down to Lake Chatuge, which is directly behind my house, and sit there, thinking about how wonderful my God is to make such a beautiful thing that we do not appreciate like we should. According to Oxford Dictionary, water is “a colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.” Ron Rash used symbolism, which is “something that represents something else” (Mays 205), in his book One Foot in Eden drastically in many different aspects about water. The symbolism of water in One Foot in Eden has many various meanings that are vividly expressed within
There are many issues within our society that can be analyzed through a Marxian and Durkheim’s perspective. Both are necessary with most issues and in the case of poverty, it definitely is. Within the United States, there is a high concentrated of poverty that is caused by a lot of factors. Poverty is just one of the issues that we don’t think we really play a direct role with, but I think everyone plays an indirect role in influencing and contributing to poverty. The high concentration of poverty can be both analyzed through the Marxian’s framework of the economic system and through the Durkheim’s framework of the collective representations and social norms. Marx’s economic system explains the existence of poverty through the mode and relation
The pathology model, known as the culture of poverty, claims that poverty is attributed to the personal failings of the individual, family or community. It is perceived that this failings stem from a combination of dysfunctional behaviors, attitudes, and values that make and keep poor people poor. With the structural economic model, it is believed that proponents of poverty as a structural problem trace its roots to dysfunctional aspects of the economic system. These claims place more responsibility on the failure of the government to address fundamental economic patterns that have forced people into poverty and not provided a means out. They also reflect the idea that what are often considered to be characteristics of a culture of poverty are actually characteristics of poverty itself, having nothing to so with the attitudes, values, and life choices od those forced to live in poverty. (Guest, 422-423)
...d by a difference in wealth. The difficulty to provide for a family, much less make more money to rise above the working class, caused children born into working class families to feel like they were “stuck” because they did not have the extra time or money to devote to an education. Instead of being able to learn and grow during childhood, children in the working class focused on the survival of themselves and their family. This contrasts the middle class where children had the possibility to earn an education before working in the future. Horatio Alger argued that anyone can change their situation by a little extra work and by improving their behavior, but Ragged Dick was an unrealistic character. Children born into poverty often faced a cycle, where guidance and luck could not even help the escape the working class because they were committed to their families.
Anne Fadiman’s "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" Critical Analysis: Understanding Religion and Cultural Conflicts and how it Impacts the Society
While Mama is talking to Walter, she asks him why he always talks about money. "Mama: Oh--So now it's life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life--now it's money. I guess the world really do change . . . Walter: No--it was always money, Mama. We just didn't know about it." Walter thinks that the world revolves around money. He wants to believe that if his family were rich they would have perfect lives. This isn't true though, and Mama knows it. She knows that no matter how much money Walter has, he will never be happy unless he has a family that loves him. Before Walter goes out to invest in the liquor store he has a talk with his son. "Walter: You wouldn't understand yet, son, but your daddy's gonna make a transaction . . . a business transaction that's going to change our lives. . . ." Walter thinks that this transaction will make their lives better. What he doesn't realize is that he already has a good life and he doesn't need more money to make him happy. He should be grateful for what he has instead of worrying about money.
Ehrenreich’s motives gave her the tools to experience poverty from a statistical standpoint, but kept her from experiencing the problems poor people face everyday in life. The insight to the fact that maybe a person on welfare needs to be there not because they do not work hard enough but because the way society is setup they are going to be doomed to from the beginning. For example, her personal experiences described gives the reader knowledge that unless you are “Superman” you can almost never work enough to get ahead in life, and you would not have enough time to “go to college” to gain the education for a higher paying job. The first person point-of-view personalizes the book and that allowed me to be drawn into the storyline and plot completely. Some ways she handled situations angered me.
Her use of connotative language creates many harsh images of her experiences in a life of poverty, a life of poverty. By using these images, Parker is capable of causing the damage. reader to feel many emotions and forces the reader to question his or her own stereotypes of the poor. With the use of connotative language and the ability to arouse emotion, Parker successfully compels the reader to examine his or her. thoughts and beliefs on who the poor are.
Thompson, Derek. Your Brain on Poverty: Why Poor People Seem to Make Bad Decisions. 22 Nov 2013. Web. 19 Feb 2014.