Today's world is filled with both great tragedy and abundant joy. In a densely populated metropolis like New York City, on a quick walk down a street you encounter homeless people walking among the most prosperous. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten the prosperous person will trudge straight past the one in need without a second thought. A serious problem arises when this happens continually. The problem worsens when you enter a different neighborhood and the well-to-do are far from sight. Many neighborhoods are inhabited only by the most hopeless of poverty - ridden people while others downtown or across the park do not care, or are glad to be separated from them. Such is the problem in New York City today and in Mott Haven in Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace. I have lived in New York City all my life and I had no idea that these problems were going on so close to home. If I live about three miles away from Mott Haven and I am not aware of the situation there, then who is?
Chapter 1 of Amazing Grace opens with a startling fact. It tells the reader that when one boards the Number 6 train from Manhattan to the South Bronx on East 59th Street "you are in the seventh richest congressional district in the nation." When you get off the train on Brook Avenue just eighteen minutes later "you are in the poorest." Brook Avenue is in Mott Haven, which has a population of 48,000. They make up the neediest people in the South Bronx. The average household income is $7,600; thirty-five percent of the people who live there are children. The neighborhood's focal point seems to be St. Ann's Church. Considering that these people are the poorest of the poor they have an amazing abundance of faith. Crack-cocaine and heroin addiction run rampant, ...
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...out and reacts to the despicable conditions in Mott Haven, nothing will be done. In order to speak out the public must be informed. Perhaps this can be accomplished by an outspoken member of the Mott Haven Community. Maybe even Mrs. Washington's son or Cliffie's mother.If they would contact one of the popular newsmagazines I am convinced that at least one of them would take interest. Until I started reading the book I was totally unaware of Mott Haven. I think the nation would be astonished to learn of the conditions there. If there is any compassion in the world at all I think the nation would force the government to act by speaking out. If Guiliani will not do anything maybe and hopefully some of the powerful players in Washington will. Not just city wide, but nationwide interest, must be raised. Then and only then do I think there is a possibility for improvement.
Theories of Relativity by Barbara Haworth-Attard enlightens the reader that the way in which people observe an individual is not always dependant on their socioeconomic status, it is dependent on the individual who is making the judgement. Some individuals may take advantage of the homeless in sexual way. They believe since they are homeless they would do anything for money. A confined amount of individuals may detect hope or a future of well-being for the homeless. Affectionate individuals may gain the tenderness to stop and actively give guidance to a homeless person because they foresee hope. The vast majority of people obtain a feeling of irritation toward the homeless due to them constantly asking for change. People with limited patience
The small river that divides the Washington Heights and Harlem from the South Bronx area, makes up "one of the largest racially segregated concentrations of poor people in our nation" (Kozol 3). This segregation increases the inequality problems by overpopulating the inner-cities that do not offer as many employment opportunities. As a result of the inequalities in this district, the children are not allowed as many opportunities as other fortunate individuals may receive growing up in a separate society. Kozol seems to think that the odds of these South Bronx children obtaining wealth and moving out of the area are ...
In fact, Stapinski experiences growing up in Church as another Agent of Socialization which she thought of the church really horrible because the nun would try on the big Tv that was black and white for hours and she did not really learning anything. Therefore, the church symbolized to value the life better even though she is living in a horrible city, and the church is proving a good environment and not seen the negative things in New Jersey
To change them, the communities could use more education. social issues in the schools and communities. help the people learn to live healthier lifestyles, to get the word out that violence and disruption are not all right, and to help the people obtain some community. unity. The sassy of the s Getting some of the well known community members involved in politics is another way they could get their voices heard and let the government know their needs and desires.
Mark Peterson’s 1994 photograph, Image of Homelessness, compares the everyday life of the working class to the forgotten life of the lowest class in society. In the image, the viewer can see a troubled homeless man wrapped in a cocoon of standard manipulated 12in by 12in cardboard boxes and yarn. The yarn is what is keeping the man and box tied to the red bench. This bench has chipped paint and is right in front of a black fence. Underneath the bench is dirt and debris from the dead fall leaves. The center focal point is the homeless man on the bench. He is the focal point because he is the greatest outsider known to man. Behind this man is vibrant life. There is pulsating people crossing the clean street, signs of life from all the advertising on store windows, families walking and blurred cars filled with
Michael MacDonald’S All Souls is a heart wrenching insider account of growing up in Old Country housing projects located in the south of Boston, also known as Southie to the locals. The memoir takes the reader deep inside the world of Southie through the eyes of MacDonald. MacDonald was one of 11 children to grow up and deal with the many tribulations of Southie, Boston. Southie is characterized by high levels of crime, racism, and violence; all things that fall under the category of social problem. Social problems can be defined as “societal induced conditions that harms any segment of the population. Social problems are also related to acts and conditions that violate the norms and values found in society” (Long). The social problems that are present in Southie are the very reasons why the living conditions are so bad as well as why Southie is considered one of the poorest towns in Boston. Macdonald’s along with his family have to overcome the presence of crime, racism, and violence in order to survive in the town they consider the best place in the world.
Principally, to a homeless person, if there was only one thing they hated, it would be pity. The only way society at this point knows how to deal with the homeless is by pitying them. They take the individuals and they put them in a group basically labeled “displaced”, then it is expected that it is up to the state to help them. Many say they try, but because homelessness deals on such a personal level, many don’t get helped because they are grouped. On the personal level, when one sees a homeless person, many, if not most people, shy away thinking that “someone else will help them”. In most cases, they are ignored. Because everyone is thinking this way, not many local homeless people get assistance. In this country, homelessness is one of the last issues to be thought of, which is why the homeless population is now flooding into small cities and towns. Homelessness should be combatted one person at a time and not as a group. I agree that everyone needs to pitch in and help rehumanize these lifeless souls, and with everyone’s help, it can be done on a personal level.
Camouflaged within the restless streets in New York, a homeless man stood, staring at those who passed by. His eyes were beating and weary, irises staring out in the distance. The man’s appearance was repulsing to many. After forty minutes, thousands passed the man, but not a single glance was given in his direction. To the onlookers, the homeless man had no name or value, undeserving of their attention.
...on the homeless community. I previously held preconceived notions that the homeless consisted of people who were either unable to connect and form relationships with others or didn’t desire to do so. Yet, I observed most everyone greeting one another and reminiscing with those who have been absent from the community for a while, as well as, expressing concern for those missing. I recognized that the homeless may live in a non-traditional way, but they have established their own communities and are successful in forming and maintaining cohesive relationships.
... many parts of the city are breaking down, the school system and the children of the city are suffering more than anyone. There are school buildings that are falling down with leaking roofs. There are classrooms that are overcrowded because the district cannot afford to pay additional employees. Test scores of the students are suffering and many children are falling further and further behind the national standard. In order for the city to rise from the ruins it is in right now, it is necessary for someone to take responsibility for the issues within the schools and fix them. It is impossible to increase the population and tax income in the city when people are continuously moving away. It is time for Detroit to make their children feel safe and cared for at school, and time to make school an enjoyable place again so that the students can begin to thrive again.
Various individuals visualize New York City as a place that any person would love to live in, but what many do not to realize is the fact that the city has a continuously growing homeless population because of the rising cost to live within the city. Individuals in New York City are living in a time where not even a job may entirely support his/her daily finances.
The book asks two questions; first, why the changes that have taken place on the sidewalk over the past 40 years have occurred? Focusing on the concentration of poverty in some areas, people movement from one place to the other and how the people working/or living on Sixth Avenue come from such neighborhoods. Second, How the sidewalk life works today? By looking at the mainly poor black men, who work as book and magazine vendors, and/or live on the sidewalk of an upper-middle-class neighborhood. The book follows the lives of several men who work as book and magazine vendors in Greenwich Village during the 1990s, where mos...
Park Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of New York City, home to the ultra rich, the top tier of the American upper class, the 1% (Park Avenue). Those who reside on Park Avenue not only have vast amounts of wealth, but an immense amount of influence that has turned the tables in their favor. But, if you go a couple of miles north of Park Avenue and cross the Harlem River, you arrive at the other side of Park Avenue, otherwise known as the Bronx, one of the poorest districts in all of New York (Park Avenue). Here you see the real hardships average Americans must navigate through in order to put food on the table and provide shelter for their families. 40% of the 700,000 residents who live in the Bronx live in poverty making less than $40 a day (Park Avenue).
...stic things in order to live a better, more sound, and overall healthier life. Juxtaposition makes the audience want to follow through with the purpose. Exemplification causes the audience to realize the extent of their materialistic nature. A definition of the average homeless person’s terms allows him to build his ethos and consequently allow the audience to believe and follow his purpose. A majority of people are a part of the middle class, and this majority tends to judge the poor for their lifestyle whether it be through Dumpster diving or begging on the streets. However, as proven by the essay, these people have no right to do so because the poor do, in reality, have a greater sense of self than these middle-class people, similar to the rich. The middle-class citizens must no longer act the victim; instead, they should be working on becoming more sentimental.
The aftermath left by the disaster has left the conditions on the island rather bleak. If something isn’t done quickly conditions will continue to deteriorate and the resulting problems jeopardize their way of life and ultimately their very existence. As a believer in Devine Command Theory, I refuse to be looked at as a god. For the Bible says in Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me” and Exodus 34:14 says “Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”. Having said that, I am willing to be the leader of the people of the island. As their leader it is my responsibility to come up with a strategic plan that will help save the inhabitants of the island, improve the living conditions, and improve the moral attitude of all.