Frank McCourt a non-fiction writer and Rebecca Harding Davis, a realist writer, both wrote about poverty. Although their works are centuries apart, their depictions are similar. Many people know that poverty exists and some may even empathize with those who struggle with poverty, but unless they have lived in poverty, one cannot know how a person or family deals with the daily challenges that living in poverty has. These two writers have written about poverty, McCourt’s personal experience through his memoir Angela’s Ashes, and Harding with her short story “Life in the Iron Mills”. Through their similarities, these two authors use imagery, figurative language, and symbolism to convey the culture of poverty. The powerful imagery used by McCourt is descriptive leaving little to be misinterpreted. The imagery used encompasses many of our senses an example of this is shown when he writes:
From October to April the walls of Limerick glistened with the damp. Clothes never dried: Tweed and woolen coats housed living things sometimes
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First by sight in describing “Walls of Limerick” of course, there are no walls, but the scene is now in place. Then he proceeds with touch “with the damp: clothes never dried” McCourt is slowly bringing the reader into his environment, and with these five words “the damp clothes never dried” describing the constant weather of Limerick, so the reader may envision the environment being described. Next, he uses smell “cigarette and pipe smoke laced with stale fumes of spilled stout and whiskey and tinged with the odor of piss wafting in from the outdoor jakes where many a man puked.” The readers image is now complete. Because McCourt includes extensive sensory details to his imagery the reader can see, feel, smell and some may argue taste, inevitably makes not only this scene relatable to the reader, but exemplifies the continued conditions of the characters living in
Wright begins his description of the sewer using the non-visual senses one would be forced to use in a dark space. Before the reader, or Daniels, knows what the sewer looks like, he becomes aware of what it feels like and what it smells
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.
Tis': A Memoir Frank McCourt Tis' by the Irish born author, Frank McCourt retells his life as a young immigrant making his way in New York City. He wants to succeed in the land of opportunities however, he is dashed by the reality that an Irishman who has rotten teeth, bad eyes, and no high school diploma has no real chance. He finds himself in the lowest of jobs, scrubbing the lobby of a swanky hotel. I am going to discuss the mental effect poverty has on McCourt in Tis.
The story of Eric Blair, also known as George Orwell, shows many aspects of poverty. Eric goes about everyday life that is completely and utterly different from every aspect of the average Americans life. He tells of various characters that are all attempting to escape the possessive hands of poverty. Each character has their own way of dealing with poverty. The problem is that none of them seem to escape. The stem of the problem can be found in many aspects of the book. The attitudes of the homeless, the operation of such homeless shelters as “The Spike”, along with the practices of the pawnshop and the actions of the coworkers all contribute greatly in oppressing the poor.
Take Gwendolyn Brook’s “Kitchenette Building”, for example. Brook describes life within the lowest of socioeconomic classes
Poverty can be a choice or a last resort for many across the globe. The Glass Castle a memoir written by Jeannette Walls, portrays how her family rejected civilization and embraced poverty. I felt Rex Wall’s notion of “sink or swim” (Page 66) portrays the failure and success of having a family. The situation in the Wall’s hopes manifested itself as a Glass Castle, a mysterious glass house the family would hope to build and live in. In order for the family’s dream to succeed, they would have to face many demons on the way. Throughout the book, I protested against some of the choices that were made, but I soon came to an understanding that some people will not change the way they live. I kept on thinking there always a possibility that there is always a cure to a problem, but sometimes there is too little time or understanding on both sides. A common theme that kept on going
“The "discovery" of poverty at the beginning of the 1960s was something like the "discovery" of America almost five hundred years earlier. In the case of each of these exotic terrains, plenty of people were on the site before the discoverers ever arrived.”—Barbra Enrenreich. Barbra’s humor kept all readers on there toes while reading the novel, Nickel and Dimed. Although, at times, her comments were offensive or over-the-top it never took away from her arguments. She was clear in her goal and motive and was able to prove her point in writing the novel. Thanks to Barbara’s novel, she was able to raise awareness of how the poor were looked upon and treated. Through a waitress in Ohio, a maid in Maine, and a Wal-Mart employ in Minnesota Barbara gave great entertainment and great truth.
“In twentieth-century America the history of poverty begins with most working people living on the edge of destitution, periodically short of food, fuel, clothing, and shelter” (Poverty in 20th Century America). Poverty possesses the ability to completely degrade a person, as well as a family, but it can also make that person and family stronger. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, a family of immigrants has to live in severe poverty in Packingtown, a suburb of Chicago. The poverty degrades the family numerous times, and even brings them close to death. Originally the family has each other to fall back on, but eventually members of the family must face numerous struggles on their own, including “hoboing it” and becoming a prostitute. The Jungle, a naturalistic novel by Upton Sinclair, reveals the detrimental effects that a life of poverty exerts on the familial relationships of immigrants in Chicago during the early 1900’s.
“A happenstance” (18) and “curtains in wind” (19) both evoke a sense of the ability to float around or be moved about, completely by chance or coincidence. Just as the poem’s moods fluctuate between positive and negative, the imagery invokes a sense of impermanence and further drives home the speaker’s point about life’s mysteries and unpredictable nature with only the micro-moments under our control. It is thus perfect to characterize life as: “Yellow raspberries in July sun, bitter plums, curtains in wind” (19). Life is not one of them, but
Allusion first helped describe the ironic aspects of the poem by focusing on the odd setting of the poem. Collins description of the speaker’s town shares many traits of a regular town, but also incorporates traits from a school environment. The following lines will help explain the setting and how it relates to a school environment. The first example of this is shown in lines four through six; “I can see it nestled in a paper landscape, chalk dust flurrying down in winter, nights dark as a blackboard” (Collins). In these lines Collins describes the physical setting outside. Paper landscape is being compared to actual grass landscape outside. Chalk dust is white and powdery, as is fresh snow falling from the sky. And black boards are dark and cold, as are dark nights when the sun goes down. Chalk, paper, and black boards are all found in a school environment, and each one of these aspects help bring the setting to life in the readers mind. The reader can relate to what they are picturing as they continue reading the poem. Th...
In today 's society, there is 1 in 7 people living in poverty which is costing Canadian citizens’ money as they are paying for taxes. There are many standpoints in which people examine the ways poverty affect society such as Marx’s conflict theory. Marx’s conflict theory goes over how social stratification being inevitable and how there is a class consciousness within people in the working class. Another way that poverty is scrutinized is by feminization. Feminization is the theory that will be explored throughout this essay. Poverty will be analyzed in this essay to determine the significance of poverty on the society and the implications that are produced.
The development of images through the use of distinctively visual language in Lawson’s ‘In a dry season’ allows the reader to connect with both the character and their environment. The first word ‘draw’ is indicative of what Lawson has anticipated for the rest of the pure sketch. ’a wire fence and a few ragged gums…Then you’ll have the bush’. This effective use of a direct imperative followed by plain but valuable concrete sensory description
He uses the fog outside the house as an atmospheric element that has an ominous presence throughout this play. His parents and the surroundings that he grew up in were tainted by broken dreams, lies, disease, past issues, alcoholism and drug addiction. There was this web of darkness and fogginess that encased his life and past that is portrayed in this play as well as others by O’Neill. The symbolic implications of fog in the play are descriptive of the struggle in the minds of this deeply conflicted family. The significance of fog in O’Neill’s writing can be examined in two forms. The first is what type of emblematic quality does the fog provide in this play, and the second is what are other plays in which O’Neill has used fog in a similar way.
think this creates a vivid image for the reader. He goes on to say that
The family’s poverty (which is partially due to the father’s absence) makes their future seem hopeless. The family lives in a poor, rural area, which was typical of black persons of their time. The family is crowded into a small, shabby home, so they must share rooms and beds. The family’s clothes are quite shabby too, for when James sees a mannequin in a store with new brown shoes, he looks at his own old shoes and thinks, “You wait till Summer…” The family does not even have enough money for some of life’s other necessities, such as food and medical care. For example, they eat bread and syrup every day for breakfast; and as James’ younger brother, Ty, said, “I’m getting tired of this old syrup. I want me some bacon sometime.” Beans are another bland food that J...