The quests for gold at the end of the rainbow, the hopes of thousands to one day live the fabled American Dream. Worldwide, everyone who is capable looks for their chance to strike it rich. Some of the most successful people today, such as Apple’s Steve Jobs and OK! Magazine’s Richard Desmond, have risen from tough backgrounds (Serafina). Growing up in abject poverty, these individuals found ways to push past the glass ceiling in their respective fields. Interestingly, many of them share similar obstacles on their way to the top. After reading Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, I observed that both these texts share a few similarities in the way the authors portray the difficulties their characters have to face, in order to get to where they are now. After researching a few rags to riches stories and using Slumdog Millionaire and The Pursuit of Happyness as my primary sources, I found out that successful individuals from harsh backgrounds shared similar complications, yet they had the will and perseverance to get to where they are now. They faced difficulties such as dealing with poverty and hardships of everyday life, struggling to overcome the effects of addiction and abuse. They found ways to overcome these difficulties through things like having some form of education, and utilizing their knowledge, to manipulate opportunities to their advantage in order to bring about success. The first barrier to a better life had to do with surviving poverty or the absence of certain privileges. In Angela’s Ashes, Frank, the protagonist of the book, along with his family had to endure persistent rains, exposure to disease and starvation. Frank and Malachy Jr. had to resort to stealing food several ... ... middle of paper ... ... rupees, in effect turning his economical condition upside down. In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner’s enrollment into the brokerage training program and internship boost him to a full time job at the company. The job lets Gardner settle down and provides a stable base to start his own brokerage and his inevitable ascension to economic success. This goes to show that with guts and determination, those who are desperate enough to bring about a change, are the ones who are able to utilize what they have to get what they desire. Poverty, addiction and abuse are major obstacles that individuals from rough background face on their way to success. Moreover, it is their education and their ability to utilize their talents, as well as having the audacity to chase their ambitions incessantly, that helps them utilize and exploit the opportunities that open up for them.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir told in the perspective of a young girl (the author) who goes through an extremely hard childhood. Jeannette writes about the foodless days and homeless nights, however Jeannette uses determination, positivity, sets goals, and saves money, because of this she overcame her struggles.
Family, education and a person’s opportunities are significant elements that collectively define an individual, as demonstrated by both Wes Moore’s. Depending on the opportunities offered to you and whether you decide to take advantage of them through hard work and persistence will result in your success or failure in the end. Wes Moore explains “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” goes to show that certain factors affect how you will be as an adult regardless of similar or differentiating backgrounds. (Moore xi).
If everyone thinks that without struggle, it is easy to obtain their goals that is entirely false. Struggle comes from the progress of our success and achievement. It is an indication that we poured all of our time and patience into the things we pursue. Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle, explain her struggles. She survives by finding foods from the trash can and earns money by babysitting, exchanging scrap metal, finding jobs, and from her parents. As a graduating student from high school, receiving my diploma is an indication that I ...
Money constitutes the American Dream, because in America, to be successful in life means being wealthy. We live in an industrialized nation, in which money controls our very own existence. The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara establishes an argument about society’s injustice that entails financial opportunities by revealing the differences in living conditions between upper class and lower class. Another important point Stephen Cruz, a successful business person and a Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, makes in his speech is that the American Dream is getting progressively ambiguous, because the vision of success is being controlled by power and fear which only benefit 1 percent of Americans. For most people, the American Dream is to be financially stable to the point of content; however, realistically the accomplishment of the American Dream is often obstructed by society’s limitations and influences from higher power.
The Glass Castle follows the story of Jeannette Wall’s life and experiences. One element of her life includes growing up with an alcoholic father. When he was sober, Rex Walls was a good man, he taught his children math and science and he entertained them with stories of how he would one day build them a house with glass walls, a glass staircase, and a glass ceiling. Unfortunately, when he was drunk, he was unpredictable, dishonest, and destructive. One Christmas, when Jeannette was younger, Rex flung his lighter and the Christmas tree went up in flames. Walls writes, “When dad went crazy, we all had our ways of shutting down and closing off, and that was what we did that night” (115). Children of alcoholics find ways to drown out the pain
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 Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, is a memoir about the childhood of Jeanette Walls, and her three siblings, Lori, Brian, and Maureen. The Walls’ family is very dysfunctional, and lives a nomadic lifestyle. Jeannette’s parents, Rex and Rose-Mary Walls, are irresponsible and unordinary parents. Rex, bounces from odd job to job, but the money somehow seems to diminish and go towards his alcohol addiction or unnecessary items. Rose-Mary has a love for painting but refuses to work a real job. Rex has this dream to build, the Glass Castle, for the family to live in but never seems to find the time or money to start. It is up to Jeanette and her siblings to try to keep their parents in line. The children had to find their own means of
A person’s character is developed by the surroundings around them as well as their experiences. The Roman poet Horace quotes “…Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents in which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant…” I agree with the Roman poet, Horace, in that adversity has a way of waking talent from slumber. Adversity can encourage people in ways success and wealth cannot, as there is a benefit in the hardship. In Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, as well as Macbeth, by Shakespeare, adversity has developed the characters. From my observation, I strongly agree that experiences, such as hardship and danger, shape a person.
Everyone has to deal with struggles during their everyday life. Some people’s problems are more serious than others, and the way that people deal with their problems varies. Everybody has a coping mechanism, something they can use to make the struggle that they’re going through easier, but they’re usually different. Some people drink, some people smoke, some people pretend there is no problem. There are healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms, and people will vary the one they use depending on the problem they’re facing. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the author and her family deal with their struggles in multiple different ways as time goes on. However, the severity of her situation means that the methods she uses to deal with it are very important. That’s why it’s bad that Jeanette’s and her family have such unhealthy coping mechanisms, such
Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, our culture has naturally valued prestige and luxuries. We admire fancy items and often judge other individuals by the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and the schools that they attend. The “American Dream” serves as a motivational factor for people; believing that hard work and dedication can bring “success” to ones’ life. Although this is partially true, it is difficult for individuals in the middle class and lower class.
Many people have lived the rags to riches story. Famous comedian and actor Jim Carrey was a high school dropout. Carrey's father was laid off, and as a last resort Jim Carrey became a janitor. Carrey was not satisfied with the life he was living, so he wiped the dirt off his face and was determined to change his fate. He started acting, and his career took off. After time, Carrey became a famous actor and comedian. People can make the best of any situation. With hard work and the support of your friends and family anything is
However, she never really experienced the actual life of living in poverty as the majority of people living in poverty experience. Barbara, an educated white women had just that on other people living in poverty, because of the color of her skin and education level that is more often than not restricted from people living in poverty. She was able and more qualified for jobs than other people living amongst the status she was playing. She also was able to more readily seek better benefits than people living in poverty. When she first start her journey in Florida she had a car, a car that in most cases people living in poverty do not have. She was also able to use the internet to find local jobs and available housing in the area that many people living in poverty are restricted from. Another great benefit she had was the luxury of affording a drug detox cleansing her of drugs deemed bad. Many people living in poverty do not have much extra cash laying around much less fifty dollars to afford a detox for prescription drugs. She also had the luxury to afford her prescription drugs, another option that many people living in poverty do not have. Another element that made Barbara’s experience not that genuine was the fact that she was not providing for anybody other than herself. Twenty-two percent of kids under the age of 18 are living below the poverty line (http://npc.umich.edu/poverty/#5) , Barbara did not have to provide for pets or kids which would of changed her experience altogether of living in poverty. Not to belittle Barbara’s experience, but many factors of what life is like living in poverty were not taken into consideration during her
In the book “Think and Grow Rich,” the author, Napoleon Hill, provides a set of principles that he calls the key to financial success. The idea at the center of these principles is that one becomes what he or she frequently thinks about, in this case success (i.e. rich). Hill lays out a method he created to translate one’s thoughts into reality, creating an insatiable hunger and drive within an individual to succeed. Using the examples of his son and some of America’s legendary iconic business leaders, of which Hill studied and interviewed, including Edwin C. Barnes, he demonstrates that anything one puts his or her mind to can be produced and conceived.
The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls is a true story memoir, which introducing family which consists of four children, a neglectful mother and an alcoholic father. This family is constantly confined by poverty and foolish decision making on the part of the parents (reword this it sounds awkward). Despite these obstacles, Jeannette Walls is able to progress forward and to be successful, thus proving that she indeed is the “fittest of all”. She proves that she is the fittest of all because of her ability to survive life and death situations, her ability to adapt without her parent’s, and her ability to remain determined in trying to achieve her goals.
While there are many things standing in my way, my experiences have prepared me. My mother’s kidney disease shows me the importance of being financially prepared for the unexpected. My dad’s hard work and sacrifice has shown me how to be a hard-working woman and to put others before myself. And most importantly, I have learned that no matter a person’s race, gender, or class, you never truly know a person’s