...America is claimed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, a land of opportunity and beauty. It is portrayed as being a place where those in the lower socioeconomic level can achieve upward social mobility. This, of course, this is not true for millions of Americans because no system is perfect or even great for that matter. The subject of this essay is one that feels as though it has been intentionally avoided due to the stigma associated with it by many people in society. However, it deserves utmost regard and should be addressed by American politicians as well as local leaders. That topic is poverty, and this essay will try to explain how something such as poverty can span all ethnic groups as well as age groups. I will also try to offer some possible solutions that though they may be unrealistic due to the fact of government stagnation, they would help the average impoverished American escape the grasp of poverty. In 1929 the Great depression began. It was a period of immense turmoil in America, as many people were thrusted into poverty. To combat this, in 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt proposed, and Congress enacted, the Social Security Act to hedge against the hazards and hardships of life, including events that caused a family to lose its...
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...Bryce Gray English 1103 Summary & Strong Response On The Meaning Of Plumbing and Poverty Summary In her essay “On The Meaning Of Plumbing and Poverty,” Journalist Melanie Scheller examines the cultural identity of the rural poor. The author brings the readers attention to her call to action about poverty in America while using facts and personal background. While caring for a woman in a psychiatric ward, Scheller witnesses the woman’s obsession for flushing the toilets in her unit. This memory creates an opportunity for her to write an essay about growing up in rural North Carolina. In the 1960’s the author was growing up with her mother and five other siblings, moving from place to place in search of a home where the rent was affordable. Scheller mentions how she lived in a house with five rooms, with one room in particular for her and her siblings to gather in to complete homework or watch television. Furthermore, Scheller describes how “in the South” of her childhood, if a family did not have indoor plumbing they were labeled as white trash and strongly stereotyped at school. They often had comments thrown at them such as “White-trash children had cooties- everybody knew that”(321). When Scheller is granted a college scholarship, she describes the feelings of happiness and delight she encounters when given the opportunity to use as many clean toilets and take as many hot showers as she wishes. Having this newfound privilege is a blessing but she is ashamed...
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...numerous hours going through academic journals to understand what may have been the motive behind her relocation to America. She was a daughter, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother to three generations. She was born in 1919 and passed away in 1997.She lived in Germany in her early childhood and moved to America in 1924. This made her a first generation American ancestor. In essay one, I explained the evolution of my family’s history and why they may have chosen to emigrate to America. Not only did I gather important information from Mildred’s child, Carol, but I also opened doors to new and unknown information through research on Germany. The time period this essay allocates is between 1904 and 1944. The time period that Mildred and her family immigrated to America may have been affected by the events that occurred around that time period. In 1914 World War 1 began. This may have driven the Zambelli family out of Germany. Around this time, Adolf Hitler’s authority sabotages over Germany and becomes a political catastrophe to the German nation. This historical event is explained in...
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...“Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” By Suki Kim The essay “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits”, by Suki Kim, is about a woman born in South Korea in the 1970’s who arrived in the United States after her millionaire father lost everything they had overnight. In the passage she engages the audience into her story explaining to us that the reason her family came to the United States. In Korea, bankruptcy was punishable by jail time; therefore her family fled to America. Kim spoke about how her lifestyle in Korea differentiated from her lifestyle in New York, and how she was worried about how her language would affect the way she would “fit in” in America. Kim realizes no matter where she is located, nothing can change who she is inside as a person. Realizing that to “fit in”, changing her beliefs is not necessary. She becomes comfortable with knowledge that others just like her also reside in America. Suki Kim had a very difficult time adjusting to the English language and American culture. In her essay she wrote about how her first words she learned were “F.O.B”, meaning “fresh off the boat”, which was very hard for her to understand since her family flew into the Kennedy airport. She described how at the age of thirteen she experienced her first ride on public transportation. Experiencing this was different for her because she had always been driven by a chauffeur. Suki Kim was expressed in her essay how she was embarrassed by having to go into a laundry mat to...
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...Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits Summary of "Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits" Christy G Phillips Strayer University English 115 Alene Morrison 04/17/2014 The essay that I am summarizing is "Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits" written by Suki Kim. Suki tells us how her life changed dramatically overnight. She lived in Korea until her seventh grade year when her father who was a wealthy business man lost everything they had in the 1980's. Her family moved to Queens New York where she was having a difficult time adjusting to her new life in America. When she was 13 she realized how much things to change she no longer had a chauffeur to drive her around so she had to ride public transportation to and from school. She no longer had a governess to help her with her homework, nor a maid to clean up after her. Things are a lot different in school here in America she no longer has to bow to her teachers and the dress code is a lot different. She could not speak any english so in school she took a class called English as a second language. She met other Korean student's, but it did not take her long to realize they had very little i common. She also tell us she would watch the television show Three's Company to help her learn english as well. It was not until years later that she learned that their was a difference in the American-Korean students and the Korean students. In the essay, she explains how quick a person's...
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...“Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” Ariel Terrell Professor Kimberly,Sinott ENG 115 January 25, 2013 “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” By: Suki Kim Reading this essay Suki Kim examined about how you should never get adequate with your style of living because it can change spontaneously. She had to get a mindset that she was no longer going to live in a lifestyle like she did in Korea. She had it utterly made living in Korea. She was treated rich in Korea, but suddenly this flickered. She went from being rich to poor and now she was facing paucity. She had to learn and accept that this is the change and lifestyle she must grow into. One thing I realize is even though she moved to an American State, she will would still abide the same race and she couldn’t change what was within her anima. She also had to comprehend that just because she to move to New York, did not mean she had to change the way she have faith in or her civilization. As she went to high school, she quoted, “Yet it did not take me long to realize that the other students and I had little in common.”( Roen, D., Glau, G., & Maid, B. (2011).). Suki Kim was facing the same thing kids from her school were facing. I trust Suki Kim main purpose in writing this essay is she wanted to explain that she cultivated tough situations conforming to what it was like living in America than living in Korea. She had to realize that how she was living in Korea is not going to be same living in America. She...
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...1 Summary and Personal Response to “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” by Suki Kim By Monguue Tee Professor, Dr, Atia Yasmeen Course: English Composition 115 Date: January 15, 2013 Suki Kim who came from Korea, tells in this essay that is named “Facing Poverty with a Rich girl’s Habits” about new immigrant comes to America, How can she absorbs new environment, difference of culture and wealth is important or not. Writer has a few most important points in this essay. First of all she wants to answer wealth is important or is not? After her father bankruptcy, her life is very difficult and they flow to America without any penny. One day you will be rich but another day you will lose all of your things. Lost thing is not big a problem. Once she flew from Korea, she lost everything such as home, friends, relation and wealth but she might satisfy now, because she has new friends, a new home, and a new job. Our forefather told me that “If you lost the things, it is not a problem, if you lost the ethic, it’s a problem, If you lost your health, it’s big a problem”. I agree with that. Secondly, Illustrated in essay that different culture, social, life style and character between Korean and American students. For example, when the teacher entered in classroom, no one batted an eye but in Korea students and environment of school are different. Another important point of writer, however she became citizenship of America, she celebrates Korean national celebration...
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...Henry Thoreau and Frederick Porcher both felt America was not heading in the right direction. However, they had different reasons for suggesting this. Thoreau thought slavery and those who ignored it were the problem while Porcher thought the conflict between capital and labor was the problem. Thoreau believed that government ignorance was the reason slavery still existed and Porcher believed that capitalism was the cause of the conflict between capital and labor. They each wrote of possible remedies to fix America from heading down a road from which it would never return. Henry Thoreau considered slavery and ignorance what was wrong with the United States. He believed slavery was immoral and the activism of John Brown at Harper’s Ferry...
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...“Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” Suki Kim Nov 2004 a Rich Girl’s Habits” In this essay I will be discussing “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habit” by Suki Kim (2004) In the essay Kim talks about how her childhood went from having everything to barely surviving. During the essay Kim will compare the battles of herself and family when forced to move from Korea to America. Kim was born in South Korea in 1970. She was from a wealthy family where she lived in a mansion on a hilltop that had ponds and peacocks. Kim’s dad was a millionaire. Kim’s world came crashing down as her millionaire father lost everything in a blink of an eye. Kim’s dad shipping company, mining business and hotels all tanked which caused the family to go bankruptcy. In Korea bankruptcy is punishable by a jail term. The family fled to America penniless. Once in America Kim’s family called Queens their home. They lived in a two story brownstone that was owned by a Korean family that ran a local dry cleaner in Harlem. She was forced to be friends with the Korean family sons due to Kim’s language barrier. Kim didn’t understand how the kids called her F.O.B “fresh off the boat” when she actually flown on Korean Air to Kennedy airport. {Kim, 2004} At the age 13 Kim was taking public transportation instead of being driven to school by a driver. Kim now had to do homework alone and noticed the house would get messy without any maids around to clean up. Kim felt humiliated by carting the family...
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...Professor Ashley Trunko English 101 25 June 2014 Writer’s Checklist for Cause and Effect Essay 1. Have I identified the cause or effect I am analyzing in my thesis? Yes I have by describing what the causes are for poverty and the great effects this has. 2. Have I explained the cause-and-effect relationship convincingly? Yes I have by citing examples. 3. Have I organized my causes and/or effects logically? Yes I have by using transtions. 4. Have I used sound logic? Yes I did. 5. Have I concluded my essay effectively? Yes I did 6. Have I proofread thoroughly? Yes I did. Sharon K. Santayana Professor Ashley Trunko English 101 25 June 2014 The Poor Get Poorer “It’s More Fun in the Philippines!” a famous tourism campaign for this island of 7,107. The Philippines is one of the major countries frequently visited by tourists every year. From its booming nightlife to its immaculate white sand beaches, one would think that this country has it all. Think again. Poverty is a big problem in the country. With its lack of education, health care, food, shelter, and jobs, to add the high crime rate, this country is far from where someone would imagine living in. “Poverty is often identified as a situational condition contributing to the possibility of negative outcome for at-risk populations” (Tuason 40). What causes poverty? Who are affected? Poverty stems from the lack of resources for an over populated geographic location. In 2014, the Philippines...
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...Revealed2 In the essay “What the Waters Revealed” written by Jim Wallis, Jim Wallis uses all three classical principals, ethos, pathos, and logos in his argument about Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster that everyone in the United States will always remember. During the Hurricane there was so much water that was produced that the levees around New Orleans could not withstand the pressure and the levees broke. Was it Hurricane Katrina that caused all the damage in New Orleans or was it the fact that the levees could not hold all the water, thus making the levees brake. Jim Wallis shed light to the truth that most Americans were not aware, and the media did not cover. Hurricane Katrina did not only destroy homes, businesses it also destroyed lives of thousands of people who lived in New Orleans. The essay reflects on our society's reluctance to admit how poverty and race correlates to our American society. (Lamm & Everett, 2007) Jim Wallis reveals the ethos argument by using his background as a veteran of the Civil War rights antiwar movements of 1960s and his years of experience in fighting for social justice..He uses his knowledge as a civil rights supporter to make several points about poverty in the United States. He gains the respect of his audience by expressing the importance of poverty in the United States and his passion for wanting to help the millions stricken by poverty in the United States. The way he approaches the topic of poverty with all the...
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...“Poverty is an acid that drips on pride until all pride is worn away,”(Parker). To those who are inhabited by it, poverty is everything to them. They are encased by it until it suffocates the life out of them. To those who have nothing to do with it, it is nothing to them. The United States of America is deemed to be the land of the free and after reading, “What is Poverty,” by Jo Goodwin Parker makes me question this fact. Yes, one has the freedom to make choices that leads to this demise of poverty, but it should not escalate to the level described. The land of the free should find these voices that are speaking out about their situations and do something about it. Overall, this new information has made me come to new conclusions about the...
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...Expository Essay COM/150 – Essay Writing 02/22/2013 Jennifer Preus Have you or a loved one recently lost your job? Have you found yourself wondering how you’re going to pay rent or a mortgage payment this month? Have you had to rely on outside sources to help supplement your food and utility expenses? In 2012, over 5.4 million workers left the job market entirely (Folks, 2013) and are now facing housing crises. As the demand for affordable housing continues to grow as adults are unable to find work, many Americans are facing homelessness and have no affordable housing available to them. All across America, more people are finding themselves homeless. Whether in big cities or small urban towns, the homeless rate continues to grow as the inability to pay for affordable housing grows. The number of people paying more than fifty percent (50%) of their income toward rent increased by more than six percent (6%) from 2009 to 2010. The United States Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classify those paying that high of a percentage as “severely housing cost burdened”. In a survey conducted by the Low Income Housing Information Service, more than 17.6 million households with children experience at least one major housing problem, meaning that one out of every two households with children in this country experience an issue with housing (Kaufman, 2013). Per The National Alliance to End Homelessness (2012) the national rate of homelessness was 21 homeless people per 10,000...
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...University ENG 115 Professor: January 15, 2016 “Facing Poverty with a rich girl’s habits” Identify the source (writer and title of essay) and state his or her most important point in your own words. The title of the essay was, “Facing Poverty with a rich girl’s habits” written by Suki Kim. Suki main point of the essay was to explain to her readers that she had experienced some challenges adapting to the beliefs and cultures living in America, versus living in Korea. Summarize the other main points and their supporting details in separate paragraphs. “I thought because in South Korea I had been raised in a hilltop mansion with an orchard and a pond and peacocks until I entered the seventh grade, when my millionaire father lost everything overnight (Suki Kim).” Another main point that Suki was trying to make was challenging accepting a new way of living compared to how she was raised to living in Korea. Also Suki, felt it was important for the audience to know that the way she looked at life had changed since she moved from Korea. Finally, a point of the essay was that she was still the same person and that her culture and beliefs did have to change because she lived in a different part of the world. Discuss the (1) writer’s purpose, (2) genre, (3) audience, and (4) tone (attitude), The writer’s purpose would to tell her audience how she adjusted to life as a rich girl to living in poverty barely making ends meet. Suki’s genre could be classified in...
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...Assignment 1.2, “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” by Kim: Revised Brionica Leary ENG 115 Professor Rachel Hays November 18, 2012 Suki Kim is the author of “Facing Poverty with a rich girl’s habits”, by Kim. In the essay she talks about how she learned to adapt to a new way of living after losing everything that her family once owned. She explains how she began to accept who she had become, and how her outlook on life changed after this transition had taken place. Kim realized that no matter where she was geographically in this world, that she was still the same person within her soul. Not only was she still the same person from within, but that her cultures and beliefs did not have to change because of where she resided in this world. Kim also came to peace with knowing that there were more people of her culture, who shared the same beliefs living in America as well. Kim’s main purpose in her writing was to explain to her audience that she had experienced a great deal of challenges adapting to different beliefs and cultures living in America, versus living in Korea. She stressed to her audience that it was challenging accepting a new way of living compared to what she had been taught, and was already accustomed to believing. Kim’s genre in this writing could be classified several ways. Overall, her genre was narrative. It was very explanatory. I would also consider it to be a memo. Her audience consisted of people of her race (Koreans), who had...
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