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Multicultural essays
Multicultural essays
Multicultural Literature: An Essay. (2000). Multicultural Perspectives l(2), 33-37
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Hunger was a recurring theme that was depicted in all of the readings and movies that were read and viewed throughout the course of American Multicultural Literature. The era of hunger ranged from the 1930s in Angela’s Ashes (McCourt, 1996) to 2003 In America (Sheridan, 2004) and from Afghanistan in The Kite Runner (Hosseini, 2003) and Osama (Barmak, 2003) to Ireland in Angela’s Ashes (McCourt, 1996) to the United States in the remaining text and videos. Hunger, or the modern term ‘food insecure,’ continues to affect millions of people worldwide and leads to education, socioeconomic and health issues.
When one thinks of hunger they picture a thin, gaunt, emaciated person or youngsters with a pot belly with ribs showing and skeleton arms; today’s hunger may well still be this picture but also includes those people that are obese. Hunger is not having enough food to eat, perhaps not know where your next meal will come from, however is also not receiving the vital nutrients needed to not only sustain life, but also for quality of life. “The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 795 million
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A Place at the Table believes that there is plenty of food for everyone; however due to economic reasons the food it not processed and distributed appropriately. U.S. Farm Report (August 2015), agrees that there is food available to feed the hungry. This report highlighted that farmers have maximum quotas for production and that any surplus must be destroyed (not given to the hungry) in order to maintain market value; this is despite the fact that the U.S. imports 40% of its, in this case, cherries--fruit that could be eaten by the hungry, less imported to the U.S. and left for others throughout the
In Janet Poppendieck's “Want Amid Plenty: From Hunger To Inequality” she argues that America puts excessive focus upon hunger issues among the poor when there are many other important issues that go unnoticed. Poppendieck believes that it is time to find a way to shift the discourse from undernutrition to unfairness, from hunger to inequality. In today's society, there are many food banks, food drives, soup kitchens, etc. Food is extremely abundant in America, therefore Poppendieck's statement is proven true when she states that there is too much focus on hunger. Throughout this text, she strongly supports her claims about hunger, equality, and poverty in general.
“Food as thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating,” is an article written by Mary Maxfield in response or reaction to Michael Pollan’s “Escape from the Western Diet”. Michael Pollan tried to enlighten the readers about what they should eat or not in order to stay healthy by offering and proposing a simple theory: “the elimination of processed foods” (443).
Richard Balko and Mary Maxfield discuss personal responsibility, and choices in one’s health in their essays “What You Eat Is Your Business,” and “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” respectively. Balko feels the government should not intervene in people’s food intake because it is an individual preference. Instead, Balko asserts that the government should foster a program to assist the American people to take on personal responsibility and ownership of their own health. Similarly, Maxfield paints the same picture that our culture now finds it immoral to eat what our body needs, therefore believing in the idea of eating less is healthier. Maxfield points out the multi-billion dollar campaign of corporations into advertising false hope into consumers by buying into eradication of fatness. Why has food have suddenly become a risky subject at the dinner table? And who is to blame? Is it everyone else or do we blame ourselves?
When a person thinks about hunger, food comes to mind. We never think of hunger as anything else. In Richard Wright's book titled "Black Boy (American Hunger)", a young boy faces many different types of hunger. He refers to the phrase "American Hunger" throughout his book. I feel that the "American Hunger" which he is referring to is the hunger to be considered an American and be treated as an equal. Throughout his life he was treated as if he were from another planet. He was always considered to be different, an outcast and a loser. He felt the need to be a part of the so-called American Culture. He wanted to be able to do what the white children did. He wanted to be able to go to school, to learn, to read, have friends, have a job; but because he was an African American he could not. This is what I will be discussing in this paper his intellectual hunger.
The constant hum of street vendors yelling, car horns blaring, and poor people complaining acts as the soundtrack to the family drama within the small apartment on Hector Street. There was never a quiet moment, and between the four sisters, an overworked mother, and an entitled father, the place was bustling and busy enough to burst. But to a young Sara Smolinsky, this chaotic ensemble was home. In the novel Bread Givers, immigrant author Anzia Yezierska writes about the realization of the American Dream for the ambitious and determined Sara Smolinsky, but the price of success is high. Sara starts her journey in the impoverished ghetto of Hester Street, and she escapes its dirtiness and shame, going on to achieve the American Dream. The apartment
It not only describes the literal hunger that Wright experiences throughout his life due to his poverty, but also his innate cravings for something more than the life he has. In the beginning of the book, after his father leaves the family without a way of supporting itself, Wright says he would, “find hunger standing at [his] bedside table, staring at [him] gauntly,” (Wright 14). This is representative of how his physical hunger was uncomfortable, but also, considering the title, foreshadows how constantly prominent Wright’s desire to find freedom will be. Later in life, because he is naturally inclined to attempt to read and learn, Wright feels as though his desire really sets him apart from other black people and it would be impossible to find a community among white people at this time in the South. Wright’s, “reading had created a vast sense of distance between [him] and the world in which [he] lived and tried to make a living, and that sense of distance was increasing each day,” (Wright 253). So Wright is alienated from most, if not all, of his potential peers, putting him in a unique, independent mindset for most of his early life which will ultimately shape him in the future. This makes him deeply introspective as well as less open and more clumsy when it comes to close relationships as he’s never been able to find someone with the same hunger as him, and he constantly has to watch who he reveals his hobbies to in case they react negatively to a black boy pursuing things like reading and writing. It is in this way that the title American Hunger gives a deeper look into Richard Wright’s
Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are limited to a small part of society and certain areas of the country, but the reality is much different. In many ways, America is the...
“Hunger as Ideology” by Susan Bordo has numerous sections that deal with the same concept. She focuses on the idea of image and perception, which she describes in her brief as “reading” images. Bordo digs deep into issues of class, gender roles, and ideology. Although Bordo makes many important points throughout her essay, there are four in particular that I generally agree with and think are correct, that I will point out and elaborate on throughout my response. I will discuss the targeting of women at a young age, sexual appetite operating as a metaphor for eating pleasure, how women are never shown in the act of eating, and the concept that men eat and women prepare. As I discuss these points, I will explain issues of class, gender roles, and ideology, and the roles they play in our generation’s cultural change.
Imagine your skin tightening around your body to the point that you see your veins, no fats or muscles, the foul odor that comes from your mouth, your eye sockets sunken in, your eyes bulging out, the visibility of your collar and chest bones, your stomach bloated, and your body eating itself. These are the symptoms of someone who is starving. The dictionary definition of someone who is starving or hungry is someone who displays the need for food, the need for calories in their body. This is a feeling that millions of people feel every day because there is not enough food being farmed for them to eat, food is too expensive for them to buy, and because they do not have the knowledge nor ability to grow and maintain their own food. This all can be fixed with one simple solution and that solution would be agricultural
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million people of the 7.1 billion people in the world, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in the years 2010-2012. Ellen Gustafson has spoken in ted talks on the issue of Obesity plus Hunger equals one global food issue. One the main issues Gustafson speaks of is world hunger and how to end it. She also speaks briefly on obesity and how in comes into play with world hunger. Even though some people would argue that there just is not enough food in the world, world hunger and obesity can easily be prevented and eliminated with proper knowledge and programs.
The correlation between over-population and growing world hunger has become a controversial topic in today’s society. Concerns of population expansion, world starvation, and environment destruction are matters of debate and are of much concern for their outcomes affect everyone of society. The world is home to an estimated 6 billion people with more than 80 million additions every year. With this astonishing growing rate of population it is necessary to address the matter of world hunger before it is too late. The three main theories of world population and the correlation to world hunger are debatable; however, it is ultimately left to an individual to determine the truth/ answer to such theories of world hungers origin.
Since 1970, the obesity rates in America have more than doubled. Currently two-thirds of (roughly 150 million) adults in the United States are either overweight, or obese (Food Research and Action Center). According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 whereas obesity is defined as a BMI greater than 30.” There are numerous factors that contribute to obesity such as: biological, behavioral and cultural influences (Food Research and Action Center). While these factors all have a large role in obesity, there is no factor with as great of an influence as poverty.
Do you know what it is like to suffer from hunger? Do you know how it feels to know that the meal you are eating today might be your last meal for about a week? Hunger is defined in the dictionary as "the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food" Hunger is not easy and it is certainly not right to watch another starve when you know you can help. Peter singer dig deep to how the world can help people suffering and dying because of hunger, shelter, and medical need. Watching hunger develop is absurd especially when others have so much that they are throwing it away and not being considerate to the ones that are suffering. Many others from outside countries can do something about it with just little from everybody. Singer
Throughout history, both men and women have struggled trying to achieve unattainable goals in the face of close-minded societies. Authors have often used this theme to develop stories of characters that face obstacles and are sometimes unable to overcome the stigma that is attached to them. This inability to rise above prejudice is many times illustrated with the metaphor of hunger. Not only do people suffer from physical hunger, but they also suffer from spiritual hunger: a need to be full of life. When this spiritual hunger is not satisfied, it can destroy a life, just as physical hunger can kill as well.
Modern poverty is so closely related with obesity for many reasons. First of all, poor people are ignorant and uneducated about their health and nutrition. Obviously, because of that they don’t really know what they are doing or even how they are taking the risk of eating some kinds of food. Poor people go for good tasting food without paying attention to the food’s freshness and safety. Moreover, children grow up without a proper understanding of good nutrition, so it is time to reintroduce nutrition to families and even in schools to kids. Second of all, poor people cannot afford buying healthy food. A person who is poor and hungry is going to buy the cheapest calories that he or she could find. In fact in today’s world, the cheapest calories come from junk food. It is cheaper and ...