...”Living in Poverty” – Richard Wright The definition of poverty can be a very individual thing, but if you ask people what they think poverty is, I think that most of them would say that it is lack of money. However, I also think that some of them, just a little group of them, would say: “Some people are so poor, all they got is money”. This is just one of the discussions, which involves poverty. It is also discussed whether poverty always will be in someone’s life if they are raised in it – and whether everybody has equal conditions when it comes to having a life without poverty, as a child or as an adult. In the essay “Living in Poverty” by Richard Wright poverty is the main theme. Richard Wright invites us in to the debate with his personal experiences and his story about living in Britain’s poor environment. Through the story Richard Wright get us to think – is poverty something in our mind? And is poverty really the only option for someone? The essay “Living in Poverty” is a creative non-fiction essay. More specifically; a personal essay, so I assume that Richard Wright is the “I” in the story. The essay is focusing on the topic ‘poverty’ through Richard Wright’s own stories and are therefore based on true and personal experiences. The whole story is about Richard Wright growing up – his childhood, teenage years and years as an adult. Richard Wright grew up in poverty, but he expresses that he never felt poor or saw he his family as a poor family. He grew up with a loving...
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...B. Poverty is a state of mind How are we supposed to look on poverty? Is poverty simply a question about lack of money and resources, or is poverty instead, a lack of liberty, hope, understanding etc.? Does your economically resources mean that much? Utterly doesn’t money tell anything about how you behave towards other beings? When people look down on their neighbor just because they know the person is not able to afford certain things, which for them seems strange, they do not behave humanly. Poverty is somehow a state of mind. If you yourself, think that you are rich, you are rich, and converted if you think you are poor you are poor. Your fellow human being cannot cure your own thoughts of yourself feeling poor. The only solution on problems, which you are dealing with, is yourself and the way that you are thinking. Furthermore does social heritage have an influence on how a child is behaving? In the essay “Poverty is a state of mind” written by Bernard Hare, we are told about this principal character who has been born into poverty in 1958. It is quite early revealed that his parents are getting low wages – but in spite of the lack of money, they are able to afford the most basic necessities of life. The society is described as a peaceful society where hospitality is huge part. Though he has an idea that they are poor, he explains that his life was filled with warmth, love, shelter etc. The main character is described as a ragged and bolshy boy, with an inquisitive...
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...between wealthy and poor people and it has grown a lot over the years. One part of England is doing well, while the other part is struggling and facing bigger challenges. It causes a lot of difficulties for the poor, but is it just materialistic or is it also psychological? In the essay “Poverty is a state of mind” by Bernard Hare from 2012, originally broadcasted on BBC radio 3, he reflects on his life growing up poor and talks about how he finds poverty as something controlled by your mind. Hare is a social worker and a writer. He was born in Leed in 1958 and grew up in poverty. His father was a coal miner, and his mother was a shop worker in a department store, even though they both had a job, they were poor, probably because of the time they used on the pub drinking and smoking. But Hare did not have a problem with that since he did not feel poor at that time. In the story we follow Hare through his life as a child in poverty, social worker, back to poverty, helping a group of children, and then becoming a writer. I am going to analyse this essay by focusing on Hare’s own experiences, his use of contrast, and his intention in writing this essay. Even though Hare grew up in poverty, he did not notice it much in his childhood. By looking back, Hare sees that they had a good social circle in the neighbourhood, love, and the things needed to survive: “As far as I was concerned, we had warmth, love, shelter, enough to eat – except towards the end of the week sometimes, as...
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...Poverty is a state of mind – essay By Lasse Tobberup Poverty is worldwide, and millions of people live in poverty. There are a lot of people who is doing everything in their power to get food on the table. There are a lot of people who everyday go to bed hungry, and a lot of people who can only dream of a life in luxury with vacations and more food than they could ever eat. Many people lives in poverty. An example of a man who lived in poverty is Bernard Hare in the text “Poverty is a state of mind” from 2012. The main claim in the text “Poverty is a state of mind” is “Poverty is a state of mind”(l. 320). The ground is “As far as I was concerned, we had warmth, love, shelter, enough to eat (…) and a safe community environment to run around and play in.”. Bernard Hare tells that he had little idea that they were poor. According to him they had what they needed. So the fact that poverty is a state of mind is all about whether you think you are poor or not. This is also mentioned in another one of his claims: “If you think you’re poor, you’re poor. If you think you’re rich, you’re rich.”(l. 320). Bernard Hare’s ground to his claim is: “Poverty isn’t only about a lack of money and resources. The worst poverty is found when there is a lack of education, understanding, hope(…)”. He believes that poverty isn’t measured in money and resources, but also in many other things – and if you keep telling yourself that you are poor, then you are poor. Bernard Hare believes that you...
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...Poverty is a state of mind Growing up in a poor family can be tough, but when you are young you mostly focus on the positive things in life - or at least those are the times you actually remember. This text focuses on Bernard Hare’s childhood and teenage years. Inheritance and environment is an issue he brings up, and how he broke it. He insinuates that he, if he followed inheritance and environment, was supposed to be doing hard physical work, just like his parents, instead he rose up and got good grades, went to university, and became a social worker and now a freelance writer. He is trying to get people to do the same - to look outside of the box they have been born into. When explaining his youth, Bernard uses obvious sarcasm; “Britain then was a good place to grow up. Home was warm, school was stimulating and challenging, the “bomb sites”, as we called them – in reality slum clearance zones – made excellent adventure playgrounds, and everyone still felt good about pulling together and bashing the Germans.” (p. 8, l. 70-77). This could be an attempt to recreate the feeling of being a child, where no matter how bad times are, you still perceive and recall them as being great, or it could be mock the almost gothic feeling Britain experienced after the Second World War. Obviously, he had a dangerous childhood with “bomb sites” and games in hazardous environments. The schools were boring and non-stimulating, and afterwards he came home to a cold home, where no matter how...
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...------------------------------------------------- Poverty is a state of mind “If you think you’re poor, you’re poor. If you think you’re rich, you’re rich. No-one is ever going to come along to cure your poverty. The only solution is to do it yourself.” These words are incisive. But is this the naked truth? “Poverty is a state of mind” (2012), written by Bernard Hare, deals with the idea of poverty as a mind-set. In this essay I will analyse and comment on Bernard Hare’s essay, based on a study of the writer’s use of contrasts and the use of his own experiences during the essay – lastly with an investigation of the writer’s intention. (115) Bernard Hare’s essay was originally broadcasted on BBC Radio 3 as a radio essay in 2012, later on, it was reprinted on BBC’s website. The story basically takes place in Leeds, in the North of Britain. We are following Hage through his upbringing in a poor environment. His father worked as a coal miner, and his mother was a shop worker in a department store. The events of the story are listed in chronological order - from back in the days where Hare was a child, spending his days among the cobbled terraces of east Leeds, to 1968 when his family got their first black and white television, and lastly he is taking us to the present, through his experiences as an alcoholic...
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...HOW TO OVERCOME POVERTY OF MIND (MINDSET) IN MALAWI Poverty of mind is or can be described as luck of knowledge or having poor thinking capacity. My assignment will outline the following: * Education sector * Health sector * Culture * Beliefs Human growth is about acquiring new knowledge and skills to improve the living standard thereby aiding in their thinking capability. (1) Education empowers people because it gives them the information they need or choose to learn in their lives and with that opens more door ways to possibility for their success. Regardless of how one may define their success I simply believe it is through educating yourself in whatever it is you choose to that helps you to make concrete decision. The thinking capacity of mankind is limited to what they know. If we educate Malawian, the country is likely to develop. Though not all who are educated has ability to make developmental decision but with the little knowledge they have acquired from school they are able to boost the Malawi economy. Our education system is not improving one of the well known reason is that our teachers are not motivated and respected. Empowering a child with required skills is a transitional process. (2) A healthy person will always make sound decisions. Having the correct mind-set for a particular task is almost a pre-requisite for success. No one has ever been successful who has not had to overcome hurdles and obstacles to that success...
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...WEALTH AND POVERTY – JUDAISM The Jewish scholar of old viewed poverty as a great trouble and said that “he who is crushed by poverty is as though he were liable to every one of the sufferings of the world" (Midrash Rabbah, Exodus, 31:12). Poverty is a challenge and an opportunity for poor and most importantly for those with the means to help the needy. The bible lays down the brief precept as follow: In the event that, there is a poor individual among you, don't solidify your heart and close your hand. Maybe, you should open your hand and loan him, adequate for whatever he needs. Be careful keeping in mind that you harbor the base thought, with the goal that you are stingy towards your penniless brother and give him nothing and he shouts out to the Lord against you and you have sinned. Provide for him promptly and have no second thoughts when you do as such … the Lord your God will favor you in every one of your endeavors and in every one of your endeavors. For there will never stop to be destitute individuals in your property, which is the reason I charge you; open your hand to poor people and penniless family in your territory...
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...Pilipino Program Poverty is one major problem, not only our government, but everyone of us faces. It deprives people not only of safe water and adequate food, clothing and shelter, but also education and healthcare. It puts people’s life in danger and robs them of their future. Moreover, poverty takes away people’s right, their freedom, dignity and peace of mind. Certainly, in a country well governed, poverty is something to be disgraced of. In line with this, with thinking minds as the ‘raw’ materials, brainstorming as the process, they had come up with a useful product, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps’). This is one of the State’s anti-poverty initiatives under President Benigno Aquino III’s administration. Its objectives are to provide social assistance by giving cash assistance to poor families to lessen their basic needs and to develop social welfare by breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle through investments in human capital. However, the question we are all interested of is that, how useful and effective is this program in our country? According to the National Statistics Office (NSO) Cebu district officer Gil Melchor Rubia, the poverty incidence among population during the first semester of 2012 was estimated at 27.9 percent. She added that comparing this with the 2006 and 2009 first semester figures estimated at 28.8 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, poverty remained unchanged. It is still a mystery of how the poverty incidence remained...
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...Does poverty have an effect on the education of students? Every student should have the same chance at success. In a perfect world each institution would administer the same quality education despite poverty, difference in resources, or diverse cultures. Although that is a good aspiration, it is a notion that is far from reality. Poverty plays a vital part in the resources available to each school. Resources account for majority of school’s operation. In order to ensure how much poverty affects schools, two schools will be evaluated; one school is located in a community under the poverty line and the other school is above the poverty line. The academic standards, standardized test scores, and resources available to each school will be the basis of the comparison. The schools are Ashley Magnet Elementary School (AMES) whose students are majority African-American and Hispanic and Lewisville Elementary School (LES) whose students are majority Caucasian. At the conclusion of this research, there will be valuable evidence to determine if poverty has an effect on the education of the students due to resources, standardized tests, living conditions, and health and nutrition. There are many different factors that a school must think about that determine what kind of resources could be purchased. A school must consider the salaries of the educators on their payroll, the district total revenue, the district total spending, the district revenue per student, and the district spending...
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...Net Plans in Bangladesh and their poverty impact at a macroeconomic level. The main objective of the study is to look into the overall impact of the existing safety net programs on poverty reduction in Bangladesh. The paper also looks into the impact of the existing safety net programs on reducing inequality. | Social Safety Nets In Bangladesh This report looks at the overall structure of Social Security Net Plans in Bangladesh and their poverty impact at a macroeconomic level. The main objective of the study is to look into the overall impact of the existing safety net programs on poverty reduction in Bangladesh. The paper also looks into the impact of the existing safety net programs on reducing inequality. Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary i 2. Introduction 1 2.1. The Poverty Situation of Bangladesh 1 2.2. Social Safety Nets 1 3. Social Safety Nets of Bangladesh 2 3.1. Structure of Social Safety Nets 4 3.2. Trends in Social Safety Nets 7 4. Social Safety Nets and Poverty 9 4.1. Impact Assessment of Social Safety Nets on the Poverty of Bangladesh 9 4.2. Inequality Effect of Social Safety Nets 9 5. Conclusion 10 6. Recommendations 10 7. Bibliography 12 1. Executive Summary Social safety net is a measure taken by the government in order to prevent the vulnerable section of its population to fall beyond a certain level of poverty. Social safety net programs (SSNPs)...
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...are a large number of people that take interest in the efforts put forth to solve the worlds issue of extreme poverty; the number of people that do nothing are in the majority. Understanding that Singer’s response does not take others moral responsibility into account brings better perspective to this argument. His argument requires complete selflessness, and declares that one’s personal desires should be inferior to the needs of others. Singer views famine as an issue that is preventable, for this reason people that have the resources to help, ought to do so. If people were to follow this rule, it would appear to greatly impact the issues of extreme...
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...too?” (3). The previous question was asked by Jo Goodwin Parker in the 1971 published essay, “What is Poverty?”. Parker could no longer be silent and decided it was time to let her voice be heard. She reached out to those who do not know the struggles of everyday life in this lifestyle, those who place stereotypes on every person in poverty, and to make the statement, that anyone could be in poverty no matter what their backgrounds are. She could no longer be silent and allow others to continue to suffer the way she and her children did. Ultimately, Parker used a pathos style of rhetoric to create a metaphorical essay; thus, making her personal material appeal to the wide range of emotions and views of readers. Pathos is defined as an expression or utterance that evokes sadness or sympathy (OED “pathos”). Jo Goodwin Parker used this rhetorical method to make her audience look past the small details and into...
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...POVERTY Submitted by: Felix A. Montecalvo III 202-B Submitted to: Sir De Ramos Introduction This study is about the economic, political and socio- cultural conditions of the Urban Poor. Urban poor has become an interesting topic now days since it is very relevant to modern society. Poverty tends to be the greatest ill that plagues the Filipino as a society. The poor ranges from poor, very poor, and to the very, very poor. The topic URBAN POOR was selected from a group of topics given and then given emphasis by the author according to the relevance of this specific group in today´s world. Each condition is specifically analyzed in different aspects and parts to further understand the study. In doing so, one will be able to broaden one´s ideas and analysis in certain conditions in relation to the topic about Urban poor. This will also have an analysis of their general condition using a theory application- which most probably is CONFLICT THEORY, a theory discussed in class with relation to the Sociological Theories presented. This paper was developed as a requirement and further study of the Sociological Theories presented in class and as a meaningful output of all the lectures and discussions that happened during class. Analysis was done by choosing a theoretical orientation from the ones discussed in class. Students and professionals are the intended audiences of this study. This study will hopefully be of help in the development of concrete analysis and...
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...Argument: Foreign aid is not the answer to poverty Reason: Foreign aid actually has its own benefits because as what was stated in the book, it would increase the investments of poor countries, thus, make them more productive. If they become more productive, it would result to higher incomes that will generate more investments in the future. Moreover, according to Jeffrey Sachs, poverty could have been eliminated in the near future if rich countries just committed to foreign aid yearly from 2005 to 2025. However, despite of its benefits, it actually does more bad to the economy and people. There will be a tendency that people get to be more dependent on foreign aid. They will stop looking for other solutions to solve their problems thinking that foreign aid will be the only answer whenever problem arises. Moreover, sine more money will be collected from the foreign aid, it could possibly lead to corruption. Another reason that foreign aid is not the answer was that, money from foreign aid actually only contributes a little to poverty. Nonetheless, where the aid is coming from is not important but rather is knowing the right kind of projects where money can be allocated to. Interventions: One of the interventions implemented was prioritizing the needs of the people in order to choose the right kind of project to fund. Such projects are food for the indigent, pension for the elderly and clinics for those who are sick. Also, in order to solve poverty, people should have the capacity to...
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