The Garbage King
The Garbage King by Elizabeth Laird, portrays international issues that associate with the global context, Fairness and Development. This novel consists of a realistic view of a child who is living through a harsh life in Ethiopia involving child labour and poverty. The other side of this story shows the case of a boy who is a runaway because he receives harsh punishments at home.
The global context, fairness and development, is recognized by the issue taking place of this novel, child labour. As related to the global context, this part of the novel shows how a child is treated unfairly through child labour. The child worker (Mamo) does not have the same rights as other children in the area because
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Children’s developments and their future are affected deeply by poverty. Children have to beg to make money so they develop a bad habit of begging and also don’t know how to make money properly. Children on the streets do not have access to education so they won’t be learning the valuable lessons that most children are taught. Children on the street also don’t know what is right or wrong so they might do anything such as smoking or drinking alcohol without knowing that it is bad for their health. For example, when the gang was drinking tej (alcohol), they didn’t know how alcohol would affect their health and since they are young, the bad effects of alcohol are much more severe towards them. Furthermore, children have to survive on the streets and do not have equal rights as most kids. Kids on the street have very poor healthcare as stated in the novel, “Karate was very sick and died overnight”. This states the horrible health conditions of living on the streets. Poverty affects the development of kids very deeply as well as their …show more content…
The reason children run away is because they are treated unfairly at home. This shows a direct message of fairness and development because as humans, we should be treating others fairly but in this case, the children aren’t being treated as they’re supposed to be which is why they run away. Children feel neglected and are in fear of their own guardians. For example, Dani is clearly scared of his father because of the punishments he receives ,which is why Dani ran away and joined the gang so he can be protected by them.. The novel shows that Dani isn’t comfortable with his father at all. This affects their relationships with people because they feel like they cannot trust people and feel unsafe. As a quote from the novel states, “please protect me, I don’t want to be seen by my father”, said Dani. This quote states that Dani is scared of his own father because of the punishments he receives at home. These children are deeply affected by the treatment of other people, so they take a big risk of running away from their
The children in this book at times seem wise beyond their years. They are exposed to difficult issues that force them to grow up very quickly. Almost all of the struggles that the children face stem from the root problem of intense poverty. In Mott Haven, the typical family yearly income is about $10,000, "trying to sustain" is how the mothers generally express their situation. Kozol reports "All are very poor; statistics tell us that they are the poorest children in New York." (Kozol 4). The symptoms of the kind of poverty described are apparent in elevated crime rates, the absence of health care and the lack of funding for education.
This film chose to focus on very young people struggling to survive in poverty. All three of the boys are younger than 18 years old and thus are in an important developmental stage. The film gives us a view into the effects of a disadvantaged upbringing on a child’s development. These three boys grew up in situations defined by poverty and familial dysfunction and for two of them, the after effects are clear. Harley has severe anger issues and is unable to function at school. Appachey lashes out uncontrollably and has multiple diagnosed behavioral disorders. Both boys have had run-ins with the law and dealings with the juvenile court system. This solidifies the argument espoused in Marmot’s The Health Gap that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face significant developmental challenges. The evidence suggests that children who grow up in poverty have cognitive and developmental delays and suffer from greater risk of mental and behavioral disorders. As shown in the film, Harley and Appachey both suffer from extreme behavioral and cognitive deficits and exhibit the corresponding poor scholastic and societal performance which will serve to further negatively affect their
The children in the film were from various ethnic and religious backgrounds, and were from predominately low-income families. In the film, the children and some parents expressed their opinions and concerns
Often when children are spoiled, they develop a sense of superiority to those around them. However, after leaving the closed environment of a household, the need for authority and supremacy can create unintended consequences imbedded with sorrow. The fallout from this misfortune is seen in “Why I Live at the P.O.” in the family quarrel that ensues due to the return of Stella-Rondo. Throughout the narration, the author asserts that because, the world is apathetic to one’s dilemmas, a shielded and pampered upbringing can only hamper personal development. Through the denial of truth that the family exhibits in attempts to improve relations and through the jealousy that Sister experiences as inferior to Stella-Rondo, the source of hindered maturity is exemplified.
The children also argue with their mother often. The children think that their mother, with no doubt, will be perfect. They idealize their mothers as angel who will save them from all their problems, which the mothers actually never do. The children get angry at their false hopes and realize that their mothers aren’t going to...
The most obvious effect of poverty remains the material aspect. The family has no money, therefore they cannot afford a good of decent quality. They can only purchase subpar goods. The family gets cheated numerous times in money related incidents. The housing agent cheats them the most, as they must pay much more money then he told them they would. Not only do they get cheated on the insurance, but they pay much more for the house than the value of it. The bosses cheat them as well: “big businesses had become even bigger. Large corporations were making a great deal of money, and some owners and managers became very rich. However, most of the people working in business and industry were not getting rich” (Duyne). When problems arise with the house, the family can only buy cheap goods to fix them with. When the...
The children, Christina and Stella, believe that what the father did to their mother was "awful." Leaving the house not only affected the mother but affected them too, seeing as they were both so young. The father does not really understand that by divorcing their mother he did the same to them: "'When you're older, ...
This story makes the reader wonder, why must parents do this to their children, what kinds of motifs do they have for essentially ruining their child’s life. I believe
The children in the story give the other people like Joana and Florian hope which drives
One of the main causes of poverty is a lack of money. There are some families that do have at least one person employed in the household but the money earned is not enough to provide for the family. Tough decisions such as paying rent buying groceries become a daily challenge for struggling households. Those living in households headed by people with no high school degree are the most likely to enter poverty. Limited options in the job market make it hard for those without degrees the ability to find jobs that will pay above minimum wage. Many Americans earn less than the nation’s median income which hinders most Americans from living a life free of hunger. Children who grow up in poverty suffer more persistent, frequent, and severe health problems than do children who grow up under better financial circumstances. Children of poverty are at an extreme disadvantage and cycle ends up repeating itself until the pattern is somehow
New York City is claimed to be one of the greatest cities in the world. Many are blinded by the breathtaking skyline, the endless opportunities, and the hustle and bustle of the streets. As one of the economic capitals of the world, it is surprising to hear that about 30 percent of children currently residing in New York City are living in poverty (Cheney). New York City has evolved into a city for the wealthy by eliminating inexpensive housing and jobs, forcing many families to the streets (Elliot). Many are unaware of how prevalent child poverty is. To raise awareness, the New York Times did a series of articles that followed the life of a young girl named Dasani. The article highlights the brilliance that Dasani had at such a young age and emphasizes the everyday struggles that she had to face growing up as a child in poverty. Some ways that can lower the amount of child poverty is through after school programming and through work-for-rent housing.
The story provides many sources for the boy's animosity. Beginning with his home and overall environment, and reaching all the way to the adults that surround him. However, it is clear that all of these causes of the boy's isolation have something in common, he has control over none of these factors. While many of these circumstances no one can expect to have control over, it is the culmination of all these elements that lead to the boy’s undeniable feeling of lack of control.
The people who are homeless need food to stay healthy ,and a place to sleep. Scientists have found that growing up poor is damaging for the brains. The study has shown that the kids in poverty might have a harder time vanquishing in school. Fifty-one percent of students in U.S public schools are in low income families. The children growing poor can experience unsafe neighborhoods, stressed parents, and not as much healthy food.
When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors.
To begin, there are two main types of poverty in the world, non-income and income poverty (ZPRP). Non Income Poverty is when people may have money, but only a little to keep themselves alive (ZPRP). They don’t have the money to afford physical services and social events such as schooling, work, medicines, health care, sanitation, and transportation (ZPRP). The best way to condense the cause of non-income poverty is to make sure that individuals have access to inexpensive and exceptional social services, that they feel safe when in their homes and that they have family and friends to protect them when needed (ZPRP). Income poverty is when people are living on less than 1 dollar a day, which is far from the normal amount a family can survive on (ZPRP). They tend to not have fresh food and water, medicine, live in poor houses, sometimes no houses, and have dirty and ragged clothes (ZPRP). Just as there are many types of poverty, there are many effects to it to.