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Review of related literature about cultural diversity
Writing personal narrative reading and writing experiences
Reflection on writing personal narrative
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Writer, Barbara Lazear Ascher, in her article, "On Compassion", portrays scenes from New York City. Ascher's motivation is to represent that compassion must be learned through "adversity that becomes so familiar that we begin to identify and empathize it." (13) She additionally addresses what propels compassion. As a New Yorker who has seen acts of compassion on different events, she can undoubtedly depict the scenes for her audience. She effectively does this – using rhetoric devices to convey her attitudes towards the subject such as pathos.
Ascher speaks to her readers through the use of pathos. As she portrays the homeless – wretched, stained, and noxious – Ascher is permitting her audience to imagine them. Depicting the experiences between
the homeless and other citizens brings out much more emotion from her readers. Ascher portrays a mother who is being drawn nearer by a homeless man. The lady grasps "her hands close tighter on the stroller’s handle as she sees the man approach" (1) and "grows impatient and pushes the stroller before her, bearing the dollar like a cross." (5) This will leave her audience feeling compassion for the man. It can be assumed from Ascher's depictions of the circumstances that she in all probability feels the same way.
Lars Eighner's short essay, "Dumpster Diving," reveals the stereotypes about homelessness in America. In order to confirm these known stereotypes about American culture, Eighner includes autobiographical accounts of the economically inferior class, as well as revealing his elitist rules that governs the life of a homeless person. According to Eighner, homeless people fall into the following categories, 'can scroungers', 'Dumpster divers', and 'scavengers.' (Eighner, 1993). In addition, Eighner's blatant demonstration of his superiority to the people he scavenges from reveals his true character of snobbery.
“Compassion is always, at its most authentic, about a shift from the cramped world of self-preoccupation into a more expansive place of fellowship, of true kinship.” These words come from the book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, written by Gregory Boyle, an American Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, an organization that provides employment training and support to former gang members. I was first introduced to Father Boyle’s work during my final semester at College of the Holy Cross in “Contemporary Christian Morality”, a favorite course of mine that examined the fundamental ethics of moral agency, human freedom, conscience, sin, suffering and virtue. It was a book that has continued to stay with me for
Ascher commences with a descriptive narrative of an encounter where she witnesses how a mother reacts to a homeless man when he starts shuffling towards her and her baby at a bus stop. She then includes a second descriptive narrative right after about a bakery owner giving a homeless man some coffee and
“Untouchables” by Jonathan Kozol goes on a journey to discover the mistreatment of homeless Americans. The story is very well detailed in explaining how society does not accept these individuals and how they are literally “untouchable.” Kozol shows characters and tells stories of how they life got affected by homelessness and the treatment that came along with it. The author also explains how easy it is to be prune to homelessness by making one little mistake. Not only does Kozol show society thoughts about the homeless are bad, but he also shows the homeless people thoughts of how society responds to them being “low class.” In Jonathan Kozol’s short story “Untouchables,” he exhibits this by explaining how they are misunderstood, stereotyped,
Mark Peterson’s 1994 photograph, Image of Homelessness, compares the everyday life of the working class to the forgotten life of the lowest class in society. In the image, the viewer can see a troubled homeless man wrapped in a cocoon of standard manipulated 12in by 12in cardboard boxes and yarn. The yarn is what is keeping the man and box tied to the red bench. This bench has chipped paint and is right in front of a black fence. Underneath the bench is dirt and debris from the dead fall leaves. The center focal point is the homeless man on the bench. He is the focal point because he is the greatest outsider known to man. Behind this man is vibrant life. There is pulsating people crossing the clean street, signs of life from all the advertising on store windows, families walking and blurred cars filled with
Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, written in 1984, and Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers, published in 1925, are both aimed at adolescent and adult audiences that deal with deep disturbing themes about serious social conditions and their effects on children as adults. Both books are told in the first person; both narrators are young girls living in destitute neighborhoods; and both young girls witness the harsh realities of life for those who are poor, abused, and hopeless. Although the narrators face these overwhelming obstacles, they manage to survive their tough environments with their wits and strength remaining intact.
A suburban life is a paradise full of shopping, colorful gardens, and well-groomed homes. Despite all these benefits, a suburban life is an isolated life. People living in suburbs are rarely exposed to miseries in society. One of these conflicts is homelessness. When living in an environment surrounded by homes, individuals often have difficulty imagining not being able to sleep in a warm bed, eat a proper meal or even receive necessary medical attention. This grim situation is depicted in the writings of Jeannette Walls. In the autobiography The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls accurately portrays homelessness by explaining its causes, its impact upon daily life, and its effect on victimized families.
In the featured article, “Beside Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy,” the author, Judith Butler, writes about her views on what it means to be considered human in society. Butler describes to us the importance of connecting with others helps us obtain the faculties to feel, and become intimate through our will to become vulnerable. Butler contends that with the power of vulnerability, the rolls pertaining to humanity, grief, and violence, are what allows us to be acknowledged as worthy.
...on the homeless community. I previously held preconceived notions that the homeless consisted of people who were either unable to connect and form relationships with others or didn’t desire to do so. Yet, I observed most everyone greeting one another and reminiscing with those who have been absent from the community for a while, as well as, expressing concern for those missing. I recognized that the homeless may live in a non-traditional way, but they have established their own communities and are successful in forming and maintaining cohesive relationships.
Mike Dick, a homeless man from San Francisco, has been living on the street for years. He was photographed and followed around by Kevin Fagan, a writer and photographer, who wrote an article on Dick for the San Francisco Chronicle. Fagan followed Dick around and learned his story. In his article, Homeless, Mike Dick was 51, Looked 66, He worsens the situation by mentioning after Dick was “scooped off the streets by city homelessness counselors and given a roof” (Fagan 335), he passed away from being sick after only being there for 15 months. Admittedly, impoverished people are not getting the help they need right away and by the time they do receive help it is too late because they die of a disease they contacted while they were out on the street for years. In Our tired, Our poor, Our kids, by Anna Quindlen, a novelist from New York City, talked about three mothers who are trying their best to help get out of the shelter and improve their children 's lives. Sharanda is a mother of five who is currently undergoing drug treatments and is living in a shelter. She decided it was best to get clean so her children and herself can have a better life and someday move out of the shelter. Rosie and
There are many other cases of why the homeless are homeless like domestic violence, mental illness, addictions, and unaffordable health care. Homelessness is a problem which has been caused by many different aspects but mainly money because of massive unemployment rates. A hidden aspect to homelessness that we may not think of is ...
“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)
To do this, one strategy he uses is reflection. He reflects on some of the life lessons his mother shared with him like “Don’t forget where you came from.”(162) He gives it serious thought and consideration. Another strategy he uses is metaphors. He talks about how “one small act of kindness can be tomorrow's big whirlwind of human progress.”(165) He over-exaggerates it, or uses a hyperbole to emphasize it. One last strategy he uses is imagery. He uses vivid descriptions to describe how the small act of kindness the Harvard student did to help a little lady write a letter meant so much.(163) Asgedom’s perspective is that we all are part of a community and must help each other
Alan Radley et al points out that the act of walking, not just for homeless people, is often an act of remembrance, where we trace our steps in hopes to remember the good times had or to imagine good times that could happen. For homeless people alike streets are their homes, and therefore majority of their memories remain on the streets. This is shown within the study of Alan Radley et al where a woman tells her story of the streets that claim her, in which she likes to act out events as if she is in a theatre or pretend to take on the life of another. This is where the streets come alive, and homeless people feel like they really get to live for a couple of hours, or even days. It is important to think about the way different people experience the streets, to be able to fully understand that the task of walking is not as mundane as
In my opinion, I am very lucky to have had a roof over my head for my entire life, so far. My parents are what I consider to be very hard working people and I believe myself to be lucky for having them always pay the bills and provide not only a house for me to live in, but also the life that I have become accustomed too. By no means is my family incredibly wealthy, but in my opinion and in comparison to the women in the article “Fear, Romance and Transience in the Lives of Homeless Women”, my family is significantly better off. This article focuses on the lives of three women who are homeless and explores their struggles and triumphs of the life that they live.