Michael Harington's How I Discovered The Truth About Poverty

Ehrenreich discusses poverty in the United States and more specifically the “culture of poverty”. Ehrenreich shows the effect of Michael Harringtons’s book “The Other America” and how it shaped the conservative view of poverty. After Harrington’s book, poverty was seen as personal issue not a social issue. The book gave reasoning for sepperating us from them, poor from rich, or educated from non-educated. Many governing politicians used this book to form there view of poverty and to see it as a problem with the person, not a problem with economics or wealth distribution.

In “It is Expensive to Be Poor”, Barbara Ehrenreich claims that it is time for us to take a stand against poverty and help the people suffering. The author notes that the war on poverty was started by president Lyndon B. Johnson about five decades ago. The government started giving money to support groups. (para. 1-2).

In The working poor by David K shipler writes about the real poverty in America that many forget about. In The working poor by David K Shipler, writes about the many factors that separate the working poor from well being. Shipler starts of by stating the traits that are needed to be successful in America. Some for example, a well paying job, high self esteem, good connections and many more.

The Truth About Poverty “Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit” this quote was said by Mahatma Gandhi and it relates so well with this article “It is Expensive To Be Poor”, answer the question yourself, Is it expensive to be poor? This article is titled like that to get the audience's attention early and have them thinking ahead of reading. The author Barbara Ehrenreich is building a pre thought when she does this which helps support her claim. “It is Expensive To Be Poor” by Barbara Ehrenreich is an article posted on “The atlantic” “which is where you can find your current news and analysis on politics, business, culture, and technology”. Knowing what “The Atlantic” offers for readers this gives Ehrenreich a detailed look at who she is writing to.

Noel King, who is a reporter on wealth and poverty for a national broadcast radio program in Los Angeles called, “Marketplace” points out in his article, “American

“What Is Poverty?” was an extremely touching essay. It pulled on the reader’s heart strings to help make them aware of what poverty is. The essay had a way of stirring the reader and hopefully receiving some results to the problem presented. Parker did an excellent job of reaching into the deepest part of the reader and drawing emotions from them. She was able to do this by her tone and imagery.

In the passage “What is poverty?”, the author Jo Goodwin Parker, describes a variety of things that she considers to portray the poverty in which she lives in. She seems to do this through her use of first-person point of view to deliver a view of poverty created by a focused use of rhetorical questions, metaphors, imagery, and repetition to fill her audience with a sense of empathy towards the poor. The author’s use of first person point of view creates the effect of knowing exactly what she is feeling. “The baby and I suffered on. I have to decide every day if I can bear to put my cracked hands into the cold water and strong soap.”

How Do You See “Poverty”? “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich” – John Kennedy. In the essay “What is Poverty?” By Goodwin Parker express what poverty is; how she lives different sad situations and how she feels in the poverty. She describes every situation in her life with despair and frustration.

As we all know poverty is an element of society. In which that has been integrated in the American culture for those who are working to remove the socioeconomic spectrum of both sides. The poverty has the financial arise more on the rich, and has the poor feeling more escaped on the hardship of this lifestyle. It has been asked that, “will the poor ever be able to get away from incomes that will be hard to survive?” I think in this case

What does it mean to be poor? The essay ‘’What is poverty’’ by Jo Goodwin Parker shows her definition of what it is actually like to truly live in poverty. The style the essay is written in is harsh and unforgiving, often causes readers to feel uncomfortable from the imagery the text produces, the overall sarcastic tone makes Parker seem like she is angry with the audience. The essay lacks logical reasoning, however, it is compensated with the amount of emotions the writer put into the text, to the point where it seems as if she is trying to make the whole topic personal for the reader. Parker enthralls and attacks reader’s emotions with its harsh tone, graphics and direct addresses.

The lower class works for their living and spends what money they have on things they need. Whereas the upper class, usually has a higher education and better paying jobs than the other classes in America. Thus, heritage plays a big part in reasons of social classes.

As a part of the working poor she wrote in an attempt to educate people that poor people are in fact not dumb people. Critics were skeptical about her claims until they had done enough research to understand she was describing nearly a third of the American population. When she was asked why she thinks people were so sceptical, she answers with fierce conviction: “Because it’s easier to think poor people really are all stupid. It’s easier to think we can’t look like you, to think downward mobility doesn’t exist, only upward.” Her book challenges a collective blindness to a nation’s grim economic truths.

Stereotypes are usually based on overgeneralizations. Stereotypes are widely circulated oversimplifications of people groups. They are stereotypes and misconceptions and they are a part of our everyday life. We hear stereotypes every day and everywhere. Sometimes we can find ourselves in a situation where we make stereotypes for a large group of people.

Additionally, poverty is persistent due to the great recessions that occur in the US, challenges of people classifying themselves as poor people and living in distressed neighborhoods, and failed traditional practices (Kneebone & Holmes 2016). According to the courses, both internal or external pressures can cause poverty. Hence the poor cannot be blamed for poverty. As in the example of Parker, the poor person tries to satisfy a life that never meets. Poverty can be eliminated by changing the perspectives of viewing poverty from a traditional way or economic status grounds.

The way our society is stratified came from how our forefathers set up this country in what is called, “three class model”. Which is how three class model divides the society into the upper, middle and poor class based on social and economic status. In addition, the majority of Americans would consider themselves as part of the middle class. As a sociologist, we can use sociological theories and concepts to better understand how social class