Poverty: Imminent Failure or Potential Motivation
One major issue, not only taking place in the United States but in other countries around the world as well, is poverty. Poverty, being a state in which one lacks a certain amount of money and possessions, greatly impacts all who become a victim of it’s unfortunate circumstances. Probably one of the worst circumstances faced while under poverty is an abundance of missed opportunity. Compared side by side, a poverty struck family is less likely to do well in any aspect of life, than a family who already has money and can afford a quality education. Poverty can drastically impact someone’s future in the terms of their financial and educational success.
Poverty does not only affect a person’s/family’s
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Although their situations were nearly the same, Eminem and James Braddock resolved and conquered this problem differently. Eminem grew up in the poverty struck area of 8 Mile, located in Detroit, Michigan. Stuck in an underprivileged, and sometimes troublesome life, it seemed as if he would never escape. He had moved back home with his mother and came to the realization that he had gone nowhere since high school. Wanting to pick up his rap career, Eminem would attend local rap battles, but frequently get sick, or “choke” on stage because he couldn’t handle being labeled as “that poor white kid from the trailer park.” This judgement fueled him with anger which acted as a minor setback in his life. It was not until he embraced his situation as being a part of him, and used all of the anger and judgement as a fuel for his music, which in the end, turned out to lead him to the success of becoming one of the greatest, and most inspiring rappers of all time. James J. Braddock’s situation, on the other hand, was a bit different. Braddock was a successful and wealthy heavyweight boxer in New York until the great depression struck the nation, causing many people to live in poverty. Failing to be able to pay for life’s necessities, Braddock was forced to look for work on the docks, with an injured hand. As time passed, he began to find more and more work, but it still was not enough to support his family. After one of his children got sick, his wife suggested they send them away for better care, and this was where it all changed. Soon after Braddock’s old boxing manager came to him with a small time fight and told him if he won, he would have another fight. It was this sense of hope, for him and his family, that drove Braddock to fight with everything he had, just to keep his family together. Against all odds, he advanced to a title bout and actually won the heavyweight
The Great Depression of the 1930’s caused widespread poverty, but the popular culture of the time did not reflect this. People wanted to escape from this harsh time so movies, dancing and sports became very popular. Radios broadcasted boxing matches and boxers became stars. The heavyweight champion James J. Braddock aka “Cinderella Man,” gained popularity. James Braddock gained fame by winning many fights and proving everyone wrong when they said he was too old and couldn’t win.
When one thinks of poverty often the mental picture that comes to mind is of single parent welfare, dependent, women and unemployed, drug-addicted, alcoholic lackadaisical men. The children are often forgotten. The impact of poverty, the destruction of crime and stigmatization of the violence on the children is more devastating and irreversible than the miseducation and illiteracy that most often companies poverty. The implication is not the poverty can not be overcome but that the cycles of teenage pregnancy, welfare dependency, and dropping out of high school continues and are hard to break. The badges of poverty are just as addictive and capitiving as any disease such as alcohol or drugs.
There are multiple causes of why a family or individual can fall into poverty, which includes but is not limited to, disability, unemployment, age, and recessions, as we have seen through the 2008 recession and the Great Depression. Throughout this paper, I will address poverty as a social problem and its causes. I will also focus on how children and family households headed by single mothers are affected by poverty, and how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families came about to help children and families in poverty. Before we can explain the causes of poverty, one must first define what poverty is. If you were to ask someone for their definition of poverty, you would get several different definitions.
Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.
Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man tells the story of boxer James J. Braddock and the struggles he and his family face. At the start of the movie, the Bulldog of Bergen is a wealthy boxer, with a large home and happy family. After breaking his hand in the ring, he finds himself unable to fight, and loses his boxing contract. Braddock is forced to work on the docks after his dismissal, with a broken hand, not earning enough to get his family by. After being forced to send his kids to stay with family, Braddock takes to begging his former employers for enough money to bring his kids back. Luckily for James Braddock, a last-minute withdrawal presents him with the opportunity to rejoin the boxing world. After winning the fight, the Bulldog is suddenly thrown back into the arena, much to his wife’s dismay. Many fights later, James Braddock fights Max Baer, a bloodthirsty fighter guilty of killing two men in the ring. In an astonishing fight, the Bulldog of Bergen manages to snag the championship title.
Poverty is an important and emotional issue. Last year, the Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty in the United States declaring that there were nearly 35 million poor persons living in this country in 2002, a small increase from the preceding year. To understand poverty in America, it is important to look behind these numbers--to look at the actual living conditions of the individuals the government deems to be poor. For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter.
Jimmy Braddock is the main protagonist of Cinderella Man. His family consist of two boys named Jay and Howard, one girl named Rosemarie and his wife Mae. He is a boxer that earns money in order to provide for his family but has to stop boxing due to a bone injury in his right hand and loses his boxing license. That injury to his hand didn't stop him from looking for work every day although he conceals it in order to work in labor without any issues. The storyline is about the struggles that Jimmy and his family endures before he has a life or death match with a deadly opponent and gets back into boxing. As the protagonist of the film, Jimmy is loved in the boxing world and lives to compete in that sport to earn money to support his family. He has a great relationship with
Poverty itself is a controversial and widely debated issue with a variety of opposing viewpoints. Despite differences in opinions on how poverty should be treated, the vast majority agrees that poverty is a problem plagues the nation on both economic and social levels. Economically, poverty affects everyone. As taxes are paid by the entire nation, poverty influences where our money goes and how it is spent. Socially, poverty affects families and individuals on an emotional level. Impoverishment affects happiness and health, the decisions people make, and most importantly the development of children. To best understand poverty, one must look at the issue economically and socially, and contextualize the numbers surrounding poverty as well as
Poverty is an ever-growing problem throughout our modern world, with millions living in its extremes. There are many consequences of poverty and the way they affect children and family life is absolutely detrimental. Poverty can be simply defined as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Encyclopedia Britannica 2014). There are two distinct variations of poverty – absolute poverty and relative poverty, which will be further discussed throughout this essay. The total number of people worldwide who live on less than $2.50 (the bare minimum of the poverty line) is 3 billion (Global Issues, The Human Development Report, 2012). According to many, there are a varied number of consequences for those who live in poverty, especially children and families. The effects of poverty have proven to have detrimental effects on child development and the nature of family life. Saunders (2005) reiterates these factors of poverty in his book “The Consequences of Poverty”. This essay will state the many aspects of poverty and the detrimental effects its holds within child development, family life and the health of indiviudals.
The classic tale of Cinderella is well known for the fight of overcoming great obstacles despite great odds. However, there are always a few ill-hearted people who go out of their way to cease any competition that they might face, as seen with Cinderella’s step-sisters. Samuel Jackson says is his distinguished quote, “The hunger of imagination…lures us to…the phantoms of hope,” to help develop a more defined view of a fairytale. The story of Cinderella fully embodies the ideals of a true fairytale by encompassing magic, hope, and struggle between good and evil throughout the duration of the plot.
More and more people are falling into insular poverty. Insular poverty is rapidly growing, in our nation, into a huge problem today. It’s affecting student’s education causing them to work so much harder than the average American. To get a higher education in a poverty stricken home is almost impossible. Research is showing that poverty negatively impacts students during their educational
Living the life of poverty is like living on a rapid downward spinning spiral towards failure. If you were born into poverty there is a slim chance of you making a brighter future for yourself. IN some countries, especially Africa, they have a law that states if you’re contagious then you can’t go to school. Most kids in poverty are chronically ill, therefore seldom going to get an education. The lack of education is a major difficulty for these children later in life. According to Causes of Poverty, over 101 million children aren’t attending school. Out of these 101 million only a scarce number will be given the opportunity to work. However, most when seeking a job will be rejected die to the lack of education. Children aren’t the only ones who see a atrocious future, adults do too. Insufficient education isn’t the only thing that hurts poverty stricken people the absence of the basic fundamental skills is a huge burden. Around the world, there are about one billion people that are illiterate. Not retaining the skills to read or write is a huge disadvantage. People will try to take mastery of you because you’re rubbish to the upper to middle class. Growing up in pove...
Poverty is an undeniable problem in America. In 2014, 14.8 percent of the United States was in poverty (“Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet”). There are more people in the United States than it seems that do not have their basic necessities. In an
In conclusion, sometimes actions take place that changes a person’s outlook on life and as you can see poverty is one that can have a huge effect on not only one person, but also the people around him/ her.
Those living in poverty have a lack of funds to invest in education, thus their schools lack the material and staff to probably train their students for future success. This lack of education is the root cause of poverty, because those with no education can’t compete for higher paying jobs that require basic understanding in subjects like math, such as being an accountant or bank manager. Their lack of education has limited their job opportunities, therefore limiting them from improving their lifestyle. Furthermore, poverty travels from generation to generation like an endless cycle. Also Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school all together because they are more likely to have to work or care for family members. In addition, Dropout rates of 16 to 24-years-old students who come from low income families are seven times higher than those from families with higher incomes. Also Less than 30% of students in the bottom quarter of incomes enroll in a 4-year school. Among those less than 50% graduate from college(Dosomething). The lack of education and training for well-paying jobs inhabits these people from ever escaping the cycle of poverty. However, the reason many of these people lack the required education is simply that they can’t afford to attend school or earn a degree. Therefore, this allows them to only have jobs that offer little benefit, and