In the story “The Children Couldn’t Wait” by Tomas Rivera, he speaks of a family that is working, and can’t get water whenever they want. They have to wait for their boss to come back to ranch in order to get some water to drink. Which that lead to a dramatic cause. Also in the story “Unknown” the family is poor and doesn’t have enough money for many things. In order to get them, they go to school because they know that it will give them a better future. The theme for this is “ Hard work is the price we must pay for success.” For me this felt like a story taught me to keep working hard because no matter how hard you work, you will get paid back with a positive. action.
In “the Children Couldn't Wait,” there was a father and a son working in a ranch where they weren't expecting the temperature to get really hot at that time of the month. The family had very little water to maintain themselves hydrated for the rest of the day. The little kid was thirsty and didn't have enough patience to wait for the boss to come back; however, he decided to act
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Sooner or later they will be successful in life and not end up like their parents. The speaker’s father always told them “When there is an opportunity maybe it'll be fire them.” You’ll never know when an action will change your life forever. On the other hand, a kid questions the speaker by asking why he goes to school too much. The speaker answers saying that his dad said there will be an opportunity and don't miss out on it. The dad mentions that it will prepare them, and for going to school everyday, more opportunities for him in the future will come up. They don't even have to worry since the poor are poor they don't have to worry. However the rich do have to worry since they do have something to lose, and will end up poor. No matter how hard you work for it there would be
This quote represents the generational gap as it dwindles into nothingness. Age has become such an important factor for anyone in this era. Few realize, though, that every generation is nearly the same. The only difference between any two generations is technology. All generations are plagued by the same problems and all hope that their children won’t face the same hardships. That is a case, which will never happen.
Sometimes many similarities can be found between two completely different works of literature. The poem “I am Joaquin'; and the short story “The First Seven Years'; at the same time exhibit both contrasting positions and similar ideals. Even though “I am Joaquin'; is told from Mexican-American perspective while “The First Seven Years'; is told from Jewish-American perspective, similarities are found in both. They tell of the American Dream and of the two mentioned families’ roles and influences as a means of attaining that dream. The roles of the families in these works and each version of the American Dream are based on the same ideals, but involve different methods.
There Are No Children Here - If I Grow Up "If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus driver. " If -- not when. Sentiments like this echo hauntingly through the pages of Alex Kotlowitz's account of his two-year documentation of the lives of two brothers, Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers. The boys are afforded little happiness and too much grief, trying to survive from day to day in their appartment at the crime-ridden Henry Horner Homes housing project on the outskirts of Chicago.
Mantsios defends his claim by sharing the four myths and opposing seven realities of the American dream of equal opportunity. Then comparing three profiles of people from upper, middle, and lower classes, then by proving the correlation between educational attainment and classes. In a country with democratic principles, the general public makes an impact on the country, but it’s truly governed by politicians and the incredible power of wealth. Mantsios gives up the economic spectrum break down by giving the facts on the differences between the one who have very little, a lot and not enough money. One myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how “all Americans do not have an equal opportunities to succeed. Inheritance laws ensure a greater likelihood of success of the offspring of the wealthy” (295). The huge gap between the upper and lower classes shows the social struggle. Higher income classes have a more likely chance for successful inheritance which allows the wealth to get passed on to the offspring. However, Davidson contradicts the theory’s that were presented by Mantsios by stating “Maddie represents a large population: people who, for whatever reason, are not going to be able to leave the workforce long enough to get the skills they need”(349). However, if Maddie works hard enough she can prove Mantsios wrong. That doesn’t mean she has to go to college or get a higher education, of course, that would make everything simpler. All she has today is work her way up in the company to make something of herself to show that she can still reach her full
The likely hood that a “poor black kid” will survive plight conditions is beyond the means of their hard work. That is why DNLee’s, “If I Were a Wealthy White Suburbanite”, response to “If I Were a Poor Black Kid” by Gene Marks is strongly accurate. DNLee uses Cinderella as an analogy to further bolster her point. Just as Cinderella’s heinous stepmother and stepsisters make it nearly impossible to attend the ball, disparity makes it nearly impossible for a poor black kid to achieve a prosperous life. “Working hard is important; but let’s not be naïve.”(DNLee 265) It does not matter how much of a hard worker a person is because there are more challenging factors that lead to obtaining a successful life.
Each day in America people face new challenges weather big or small. The normal everyday challenges include bills, tight schedules, disagreements, and the unforeseen trials that may arise. It is possible for the average person to have a good day or a few good days while feeling worry free. A person who is considered a part of the working poor may never feel worry free. Their challenges hit them hard each day as they struggle with the issues they’ve most likely dealt with their entire lives. Living in poverty does not afford those citizens the luxury of feeling worry free as if they are just anyone else. Sadness sets in at the realization that children of a family in poverty often times feel the same stress and worry
Children are stating this because they believe that to be successful now and days is a greater challenge than it was years ago. With poverty being so great in America, children believe that they will never be able to be more successful than their parents because their parents won’t be able to afford the funds in order to get a proper college education. Furthermore, according to Dr. Amy K Glasmeier Penn State 's “Poverty in America”(October 15, 2006)We are a more diverse population and a more dispersed population; we are older and remain divided by race, income, and location.” In other words, economic inequality is another issue that the impoverished face. Another idea, by Gary Reber in the article “The other America 2012”(2012, April/May) is that poverty and inequality are the two center issues in America once again. About 47 million Americans of all colors, ethnicities and backgrounds are living at or below the poverty line. With this being said Poverty is not only happening within one race or culture, but it is happening all over America. This issue is a state issue that is affecting everyone. It affects families for different reasons. It affects the children 's mindset because they see their parents struggling just to get by and by seeing that it discourages children to want to better themselves and get a better education
This story shows how a family stuck together in hard times with faith and hard work that they would get through it. Sometimes people may have the same opportunities, but it is very likely all will have different outcomes. The risky nature of Walter may have put the family in a bind with his investment falling through, but what they did still have was each other. At least now, Walter especially, has the opportunity to learn from his
In many cases the transition of class involves a lot more than hard work and opportunity. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is faced with a situation where an opportunity to be prosperous comes at the price of pride. The grandmother talks to her son explaining how the American Dream is not worth losing your pride for, “Son – I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers – but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. (Raising her eyes and looking at him) We ain’t never been that – dead inside.” Slaves had little choice, but to keep their pride hidden; the Younger family now has the choice. This is the issue emphasized by grandmother; a shot at monetary success is not worth pride. However, because the Younger family did not take this opportunity they will be forced to continue working for other people, and even if they feel as though they are working hard little progress can be made. In the trouble with geniuses by Malcolm Gladwell he explores various explanation for the lack of correlation between intelligence and success. Gladwell cites a study preformed by sociologist Annette Lareau. In Lareau’s study she observed an advantage rooted in the
People from lower classes try to achieve success but tend to struggle depending upon their foundation. The problem that people don’t want see is that we all want to become successful, and have the capability to do so but are just restricted by the lack of income.
Most people have a natural soft spot for children. Krugman begins to talk about how children’s education is affected by economic status. Middle class families buy houses and take on more debt than they can handle because they want to have their children to go to a school where they have a better chance to have a better education- the inequality facing the middle class means the good school areas are going to be more expensive to live in ( Krugman 590). All parents, who care about their children’s education would relate to this statement. The desperation of parents trying to do better for their children is uplifting, but it’s sad to think they would have to go in debt to do it. Here, Krugman appeals straight to parent’s hearts triggering emotions. Then, he goes on to give facts on how bankruptcies have risen because middle class families are spending less on luxuries and more on trying to get into a good school district. Middle class families are not just being competitive for just to be greedy, but they are trying to give their children as much as a chance as possible in this unequal society (Krugman 590). This is another example where Krugman is appealing directing to people who have been going through a struggle to have their child advance in life. It is almost as if he is trying to tug on the reader’s heart
Being born into the middle class is inevitable for some people, but that doesn't mean they have to stay there. I agree with the writer's assumption that most people in the upper class are there because their family members before them were able to make enough money to save. But in reality, it gives the upper class a better chance of high income than the middle class, simply becasue they were born into a family with profit. This makes the middle class have to work harder just to get on the same income level as the upper class, because they have
What is childhood? To some its the upbringing and quality of life given to the child within the first several years of the child's life. In its simplest form, childhood is classified as the age span which ranges from birth to adolescence. During those years of childhood, most children go through various different physical and cognitive changes. According to the famous cognitive developmental theorist Jean Piaget, in psychology, childhood consists of four separate stages of development. Those stages are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. The sensorimotor stage extends from both to when the child first starts to grasp the concept of language. In the pre-operational stage is when the child starts
Juvenile delinquency is a conduct by a juvenile or a person below the legal age that is above parental control thus dealt with by the law. Crime in this case cannot be punishable by death or life imprisonment. There are many cases of juvenile delinquency in recent times that have raised many issues in the United State’s legal systems. There are many ways of explaining juvenile delinquency and crime when it comes to; cause, results, and legal actions pertaining to crimes. Alex Kotlowitz in his book, “There Are No Children Here” focuses on crime and juvenile delinquency through life experiences. This story is about the life of two boys who the author researched for a few years. The two boys were from Chicago, grew up in a poor family, surrounded by poverty, gangs, and violence as do many of us who come from low income, minority filled areas. The two boys unfortunately, sad to say end up in juvenile hall which clearly depicts the whole concept of crime and juvenile delinquency that arises from more issues than simply meets the eye . Issues relating to the social disorganization theory of poverty, disorganization, and low community control. This paper will analyze the story using themes that relate to juvenile delinquency and further discuss causes and ways to control juvenile delinquency
America’s youth is struggling to find success because they are suffering from an economy that was severely damaged by the previous generation. In many instances older generations insist that the reason young people are struggling to survive and succeed in today's economy is because millennials and those belonging to Generation Z are lazy and do not want to work hard in order to achieve their dream, or it is that those youths feel as if they are entitled to success so they complain when they do not have opportunities and jobs handed to them. In reality, the lack of success for the youngest two generations does not have to do with an attitude problem, but rather with an economy that is struggling to survive due to the actions of previous generations. According to Hardin and lifeboats ethics, there is a large divide between the rich and the poor and there is not a solution to decreasing that divide that would result in the survival