Habitat for Humanity: Helping the Homeless
Homelessness is not something that I could ever imagine completely. I, like everyone else, have a simple idea of what it would be like to be homeless. There is so much more to being homeless than most believe. My exposure to Habitat for Humanity is showing me some about the idea of living in a lower income family. This exposure is an experience that all high school and college students should have.
One reason for my ignorance on homelessness is my modest exposure to homeless people. I have really never had close contact to homeless or have never done much service work for the homeless. Many people in my family do work with homeless and low-income families. I have heard their stories and I have a little knowledge from what my family has told me. If people, including myself, did more to get involved, we would have more knowledge about the homeless and other poverty-stricken families.
I finally got exposure to the low-income families with my grandfather. My grandfather is the person who got me involved in the Habitat work. He is a retired construction teacher and he has taught me many carpentry and handyman skills. I have done a Blitz Build before and I enjoyed it very much. I love doing that type of work and it is even more fun when I get to help out a family with my skills. At Clemson I got to practice these skills once again when my English class helped work on a Habitat house. Now we are assisting the actual Habitat organization by making a promotional brochure. I think that all students should get involved with an organization such as Habitat for Humanity. Doing this will bring them to a closer understanding of what it is like to live in a low income or even homeless family.
It is an interesting experience to get involved with the families in society that need help.
...to com to for a safe environment, meeting with counselors, eating, sleeping, showering, washing clothes, etc. They also help homeless kids with their education, working with schools to offer supplies and transportation.
The narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator realizes that he absences a reason for killing the old man he lives with. He even starts to admit having to love the man. He states, “There was no reason for what I did. I did not hate the old man; I even loved him. He had never hurt me. I did not want his money. I think it was his eye” (Poe 64). Psychosis is seen in the difficult rationality the narrator uses to defend his murder. The logic the narrator provides is that he thinks the desire to murder the old man results from the man’s eye, which bothers him. He says, “When the old man looked at me with his vulture eye a cold feeling went up and down my back; even my blood became cold. And so, I finally decided I had to kill the old man and close that eye forever!” (Poe 65). The fact that by this man’s eye is what makes him very angry is such a irrelevant reason for the narrator to kill him. This proves that he is not mentally stable, anyone in their right state of mind would not want to commit such a crime due to an irritation of someone’s eye. This represents the idea that this narrator expresses his complete lack of sanity through the premeditation and planning he put into committing the murder. In the beginning of the story, he says “vulture eye” giving the impression that he is uncertain that the eye is the reason for the murder, he also says how he thinks it’s the eye, he uses past tense as opposed to declaring with certainty that this is why the killing of the man. This shows the contrast to how as a sane person would be sure that this is their reason for killing another person before committing.
In Anglo-Saxon culture heroes were determined by their bravery, strength, and glory. In the epic Beowulf, Beowulf is the epitome of an Anglo-Saxon hero because he displays all of these traits. Beowulf exhibits his bravery in the way he fearlessly goes into each of his three battles. He then displays his strength as he defeats each of the monsters. Finally, Beowulf is glorified by his comrades because of his heroic actions. Beowulf is an epic hero because he embodies his people’s ideals of bravery, strength, and glory through his battles.
Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” depicts the human mind through the struggle of distinguishing reality and imaginary. Poe utilizes the narrator/agonist to demonstrate how the suffering of one’s perceived acuteness of senses, in relation to anxiety, leads to an unwanted culmination. The narrator labels his own nervous behavior as “disease” that has “sharpened [his] senses” (691). Poe’s use of “disease,” indicates disorder and destruction, and also foreshadows the spread and consumption of the narrator’s fear. The confidence that results from the narrator’s justified senses proves to draw him further from his own morality. By example, he states, Moreover, his senses stem from his overarching obsession and hatred for the old man’s eye. This is demonstrated by his continued distinct characteristics he places on the eye—“eye of a vulture,” “pale blue eye,” “Evil Eye,” and “damned spot” (691-693). The collection of descriptions throughout his efforts to kill the old man shows the torment he suffers from his psychosis. The narrator’s statement, “it haunted me day and night,” displays his motivation for killing the old man. However, the significance of the narrator actually committing the murderous act demonstrates the definitive loss of his rationality and morality. Poe displays, that the dark side of the mind is a result of this los...
The first time he hears the heart pounding is when he is killing the old man and it continues to drive him to complete his murder. He then even puts his hand to his heart and explains that there is no pulse and in fact it is the man’s heart he is hearing (paragraph 10). Then he beginning to hear this same rapid pulsation towards the end of the story that finally ends the whole situation and brings him to admit what he had done (paragraph 17-18). He hearing this heart beat might not be wither heart, but something else. It could be his self-conscious speaking to him driving him crazier. So every time he was doing some3thing bad or thought he was going to get caught his conscious would begin to make him think it was in fact the old man’s heart beating so loud that anyone and everyone could hear it. Finally at the end his conscious gets the better of him and he finally admits to the murder (paragraph
The Homeless in America I never imagined that I would be homeless. " Although I have read this statement over and over again, the facts behind it remain astonishing. The facts are that there are millions of homeless people in America today. Many of these people had no choice but to become homeless. Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing, have led people to live on the streets.
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.
The narrator had mixed emotions towards the old man. The narrator stated that he loved the old man and did not want his money (Poe, 1). He began to say that he had never been mean to the man up to the man’s death. Why would he want to kill his love one and receive no type of compensation for his death? He said, “I made up his mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (p. 1). As the narrator continued to prove the case that he was sane, he began to explain the nights leading up to him accomplishing his goal of getting rid of the vulture eye. Readers can interpret that the old man has a disease in order to have a discoloration in only one eye. Now, the time was coming for the narrator to strike his victim.
Homeless individuals are known for taking hand outs and they prefer to plead for money rather than to go work for it. People assume most of the the money that is given to homeless people they spend it on drugs and alcohol because of the fact that many homeless people have drug and alcohol addictions. It is not uncommon to come across homeless youth and older homeless population that are known to abuse substances like drugs and alcohol. Because of the fact that homeless people have substance abuse problems, they tend face illnesses and infections. Many hard working Americans ask themselves “why don’t homeless people just get jobs?” The assumption is they are just lazy and unmotivated. Homeless people choose to live the life they live. Everyone goes through problems but not all people take the path homeless people do. The problems homeless people face is not an excuse for them to be helped and maintained by other hard working people. Although homelessness might be a choice to some, no one knows the hardships these people have gone through. Some assume these people are just lazy but in reality a lot of these homeless people have jobs of their own, they just can’t afford housing and a decent life. Everyone has their own opinion on homeless people, but that does not change the fact that one should still serve the homeless. Not because homeless people need help but because we are
When any adolescent enters High School they are still young and on the search to find themselves. High Schooler’s often make bad decisions, but quickly see that these mistakes there to be learning experiences rather than to dwell on them. Often, for many students, High School does not present an extreme amount of stress, rather it is a a place to learn more about yourself. Once college hits, stress is the only thing on the mind. College students are always worrying about if they did their homework, if they have a big test coming up, if they studied enough, and if they even have enough money to pay their bills. So the key to college is to know that the fundamentals of college are different than high school, be responsible and reliable to yourself, do all your homework, and most importantly be respectful to your peers and teachers
Homelessness has different meanings to different people; someone who has never been homeless might think homelessness is a person who lives on the street, in a tent or in a box. Many people don’t realize that there are a number of homeless people, who couch surf with friends, family or the ones who live in motels which are unaccountable in the numbers of homeless people. People including families with children, seniors, single parents, youths and those that are single are living in accommodations that are below standards and consider themselves as homeless.
Many people who have read “The Tell Tale Heart,” argue whether or not the narrator is sane or insane. Throughout this paper I have mentioned the main reasons for the narrator being sane. The narrator experienced guilt, he also was very wary executing the plan, and the intelligence level of his plan to murder the old
The fixation on the old man's vulture-like eye forces the narrator to concoct a plan to eliminate the old man. The narrator confesses the sole reason for killing the old man is his eye: "Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees - very gradually - I made up my mind to rid myself of the eye for ever" (34). The narrator begins his tale of betrayal by trying to convince the reader he is not insane, but the reader quickly surmises the narrator indeed is out of control. The fact that the old man's eye is the only motivation to murder proves the narrator is so mentally unstable that he must search for justification to kill. In his mind, he rationalizes murder with his own unreasonable fear of the eye.
The imagery of the blue eye is vital for the story, which reminds the narrator of a vulture. This symbolism can be portrayed as a foreseeable death, because in the nature of vultures they sweep in on already dead prey and feast. This can present a foreseeable act, in which he commits the murder of the old man because of his lack of sanity. As the story proceeds, the narrator is cautious and meticulous in his plan of murder. This gives the narrator a false sense of sanity, because he believes if he is careful and scrupulous, then he is sane and in control of his situation. For Poe to use this satire that the narrator is sane and believes he is in control is vital to the building of this tale. As he constructs his murder plan, he watches and stalks the old man, who he has deemed as innocent, and eventually commits the murder on the old man. When stalking the old man in the middle of the night he is startled when the old man awakens from
Homelessness is everywhere, it is not a new trend and is a growing problem. Many people ask themselves should I help the homeless or not; it is easier to just ignore the problem than to give a helping hand. Every person needs help at one point or another in their life and homeless people should be no different. Assisting the homeless with healthcare, housing, and childcare are ways people are able to and should help the homeless.