Summary Of Theodore Dalrymple's 'What Is Poverty'

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True Poverty What is poverty? Is poverty measured by a state of being or is poverty measured by the money we make and material possession’s we hold on to so tightly. In Theodore Dalrymple’s “What is Poverty” he explains the effects of a being a “welfare state”, such as England is, but does this truly answer the question of what it truly means to be povern. The devastating effects of poverty, which affects all nations, go beyond the money that is provided in your paycheck. With a lack of sufficient funds arises a lack of adequate nutrition, there is never enough money in which to buy food to fill the bellies of the hard working men and women who give their all to place a hot meal on the family table. Homelessness, due to having to decide whether …show more content…

For example, Theodore Dalrymple writes of a woman so terrified by her boyfriend and filled with hopelessness that she tries to do the unthinkable and take her own life by overdose even though months before while in a drunken state she becomes pregnant, yet again by another abuser, and has shown a pattern of moving from relationship to relationship to escape one abuser only to crawl into the arms of another. With no money the government of England provides this young woman with a way to flee her abuser by gifting her with groceries to feed her children who have no escape from the everyday monotony of living such a life, a home warmed in the winter and cooled in the summer that has also been supplied with modern day appliances and entertainment such as furniture, a refrigerator, stove, and TV’s. With no repayment required due to lack of funds on the recipients half she will once again as Theodore Dalrymple states “invite him there” once again without the consequence of losing all that she has been …show more content…

No matter the walk you take in life at the end of the day are you rich with love, respect and honor. Or, are you poverty stricken simply because you choose not to allow love, respect and honor to shine through. Not only on yourself but, also on those around you. In life a hard lesson needs to be learned and we can only learn this for ourselves, be rich because of who you are and not what you have because in the end people will not remember the house you had, the material possessions you bought or gifts that you gave, what they will remember is if you held your head high, even through the rough times, the respect you gave and most importantly, the love you

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