kettle bottom

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The struggles that many face while experiencing poverty are not like any other. When a person is experiencing poverty, they deal with unbearable hardships as well as numerous tragic events. Diane Gilliam Fisher’s collection of poems teaches readers about labor battles within West Virginian territories, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Some of these battles include the Battle of Matewan and Battle of Blair Mountain. The collection of poems is presented in many different manners, ranging from diary entries to letters to journal entries. These various structures of writing introduce the reader to contrasting images and concepts in an artistic fashion. The reader is able to witness firsthand the hardships and the light and dark times of impoverished people’s lives. He or she also learns about the effects of birth and death on poverty stricken communities. In the collection of poems in Kettle Bottom, Fisher uses imagery and concepts to convey contrast between the positive and negative aspects of the lives of people living in poverty.
Imagery of light is used in Fisher’s collection of poems to symbolize positive facets of a life lived in poverty. People living in poverty are not given all the basic necessities required to live comfortably. Many impoverished persons are malnourished due to lack of resources such as sufficient food or appropriate clothing. The lack of living essentials and the inability to afford everything that they desire provides people living in poverty with a greater appreciation for small acts of kindness. Many of the poems in Fishers collection show aspects of the poor being grateful for the little things in life. One of the poems shows a little girl being extremely appreciative of something every...

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...than those of the wealthy, were often more painful than the deaths of the wealthy, and were often not properly recognized or respected due to the replaceable nature of minimum wage workers
All the poems in Kettle Bottom display a powerful message. Some of the poems messages are happy while are extremely upsetting. The readers of these poems are able to learn about the horrific conditions that people in poverty were forced to live in but also about how they made the best of those situations whenever possible. The dangerous work conditions and the inhumane treat of people living in poverty is extremely disturbing and tragic. These poems are able to show first hand examples and experiences of people involved in these situations. Despite all the dark and deaths that the poor experience they still are able to find some light in it all with the birth of new things.

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