The Theme Of Poverty In The Book Hillbilly Elegy

891 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Summary on the effects of poverty on children

In the book, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance overcomes the odds and proves statistics wrong. Statistics show that a child who live in poverty or in an unstable home are destined to stay in poverty. Vance was an exception. He was able to leave in the past, thanks to Mamaw, Papaw, Aunt Wee, and Lindsay; each of these people gave Vance the support he needed to overcome and leave poverty behind.
Papaw and Mamaw gave Vance a real home. I refer this a real home because in his house Vance’s mom was always causing problems. There was always some kind of violence happening, whether it be seeing his mom getting abused by one of her boyfriends or seeing her abuse alcohol and drugs, resulting in causing physical harm to Vance. The time Vance’s mom tried to hurt …show more content…

One day Vance came home upset because in one of his classes in first grade there were playing a game of addition and a kid surprised the teacher with a multiplication problem. This upset Vance because he didn’t even know what multiplication was. Vance got home and told Papaw, Papaw then turned it into a lesson and he showed Vance how to multiply and divide in a single day (59). I think receiving education is important and getting the additional help at home can help a child’s development improve enormously. Vance would receive a reward if he did well, most of the times the award was ice cream. Mamaw would take Vance to the library and made sure he always had access to books whenever he needed or wanted them. Vance’s grandparents helped him get a head start that was much needed. This allowed him to gain more confidence in …show more content…

According to Vance, she was his real sister because she would take care of him when no one else would. A reason I believe Lindsay was so important to Vance is because she sacrificed her time for Vance’s wellbeing. Lindsay is only five years older than Vance but he always saw her as a bigger figure as they were growing up. When mom didn’t arrive on time for dinner, Lindsay ensured they had something to eat for dinner. (83). Papaw referred to Lindsay as ‘“the one true adult in the house”’ (83). Lindsay did the laundry when no one else would, made sure Vance never went to sleep on an empty stomach, etc. Everything mom forgot to do Lindsay would pick up on and made sure it got done. Lindsay sacrificing her teenage life to maintain her brother as well as herself is what made Vance look up to

Show More
Related

  • All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Bragg family grew up with virtually nothing. The father left the family a number of times, offering no financial assistance and stealing whatever he could before he left. When he was there, he was usually drunk and physically abusive to the mother. He rarely went after the children, but when he did the mother was always there to offer protection. Mr. Bragg's mother's life consisted of working herself to exhaustion and using whatever money she had on the children.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of David K. Shipler's At The Edge Of Poverty

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    David K. Shipler in his essay At the Edge of Poverty talks about the forgotten America. He tries to make the readers feel how hard is to live at the edge of poverty in America. Shipler states “Poverty, then, does not lend itself to easy definition” (252). He lays emphasis on the fact that there is no single universal definition of poverty. In fact poverty is a widespread concept with different dimensions; every person, country or culture has its own definition for poverty and its own definition of a comfortable life.

    Read More

  • Poverty in Janet Poppendieck's Want Amid Plenty

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Poverty Exposed in Elva Treviño Hart's Autobiography, Barefoot Heart

    1756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Life for young Elva Treviño Hart was less than ideal and in her autobiography, Barefoot Heart she vividly explains the back-breaking work, financial hardships, and emotional struggles a migrant worker faces. Influenced by the struggles of day-to-day life, migrant work, school life, and society, Elva was shown over and over again what life would be like if she did not make an effort to change her predestined life. All too commonly people like Elva Treviño who are born into poverty will remain living in such conditions for the rest of their lives; however, growing up in poor conditions will have a great positive influence the life decisions someone like Elva makes.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Theodore Dalrymple's 'What Is Poverty'

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mrs. Dubose Courageous Essay

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mrs. Dubose was sitting on her porch when Jem and Scout went by. She stopped them on their way for playing hooky. “It is noon and hot outside, so both of you go inside your house otherwise I will call you principle” # said, Mrs. Dubose. Jem and Scout told that they have been alone to town, but she never believed them. In a sense, Mrs. Dubose worried for the children and at the same time, she was angry at them. She came to know in the morning that Jem broke down Ms. Maudie’s

    Read More

  • Poverty In A Tree Grows In Brooklyn By Betty Smith

    2262 Words  | 5 Pages

    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is a novel that perfectly represents a life lived in poverty. Smith uses childhood in Brooklyn to help build her story. In almost every chapter her main characters face many problem of poverty in early twentieth-century America. The problems that are thrown at the characters often seem unbearable and impossible to overcome. They struggle to break through the problems of the lower class. Though, they always find a way to defeat the unpleasant situations they are in and make something good out of them. The characters’ fight through poverty in A Tree Grow in Brooklyn shows that they have strong mental and physical characteristics. Demonstrating that people may run into tough obstacles in life, but if they persevere it is possible to overcome them. Betty Smith gives a strong voice to the underclass, inspiring them to overcome the struggles of poverty. She allows the reader to see the main characters overcome these problems through education, pride, saving money and persevering in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

    Read More

  • Appalachian Poverty

    2456 Words  | 5 Pages

    science people have been able to hold onto jobs a lot easier (650). It has

    Read More

  • Summary Of Battling The Plantation Mentality By Laurie Green

    285 Words  | 1 Pages

    After reading “Battling the Plantation Mentality” by Laurie Green, I noticed the theme of state violence towards black bodies. In my response, I will point out cases that stood out to me.

    Read More

  • The Myth Of Poverty In America

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    As stated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, “the test of our progression is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” Many people may agree with this statement considering that the United States is such a wealthy country and in 2012, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in the United States and 15% of all Americans and 21.8% of children under age eighteen were in poverty.The honest truth is that many people do not know the conditions this group of people must live in on a daily basis because of the small number of people who realize the struggle there is not a great amount of service. In the article Too stressed for Success, the author Kevin Clarke asks the question “What is the cost of being poor in America?” and follows the question by explaining the great deals of problems the community of poverty goes through daily by saying, “Researchers have long known that because of a broad reduction in retail and other consumer choices experienced by America's poor, it is often simply more expensive to be poor in the United States.

    Read More

  • Mary Bell Murder

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    Furthermore, Mary’s father was abusive in the family home to both Mary and her mother. A lifelong criminal, who was known to commit violent armed robberies, was not a good influence for Mary. Billy was often out of work, depending on earnings form Betty to sustain the house. It must be noted that there is some question if Billy is actually Mary’s father, given Betty’s profession; chances are great that Billy was just another victimizer in Mary’s lif...

    Read More

  • The Theme of Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird

    2121 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the widely recognized controversies in American history is the 1930s, which housed the Great Depression and the post-civil war, the ruling of Plessy versus Ferguson and the Jim Crow Laws, and segregation. While textbooks detail the factual aspect of the time there is only one other literature that can exhibit the emotion experienced in the era. To Kill a Mockingbird is the acclaimed novel that displays the experiences of the South, through inequality and segregation, social class differences and the right to fairness. The novel’s experiences are narrated through a grown Scout, who appears as a little girl in the novel, offering her innocent views on the happenings in Maycomb County. The most observed aspect of the novel is race and racism; with Tom Robinson’s trial being the prime focus of the novel, the issue of race is bound to be discussed throughout the novel is race, racism and segregation; with Tom Robinson’s trial being the focus of the novel, the issue of race is heavily represented throughout the novel. With Mockingbird being a common book among English Language Arts and Literatures classrooms, the topic of race is bound to surface amid a young, twenty-first century group of student of students with the inevitability of this discussion, the question remains on how to approach the conversation as an educator. As an educator, one should seek to establish the context of the times, prepare the students for the conversation and examine the other characters and situations similarly to race. Educators must also be introspective before examining their students’ feelings, so that they are not surprised by their emotions and can also express their feelings to their students. The discussion should target a goal, one of examin...

    Read More

  • Puppy by George Saunders

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...

    Read More

  • Poverty And Poverty Essay

    2129 Words  | 5 Pages

    Several contributing factors can be viewed as reasons for crime. Depending on the circumstances, it can sometimes be very difficult to resist the temptation to commit a crime. It is even harder when you are coming from a place where crime is considered to be a normal part of society and looked at as a way of daily living that is supposed to be incorporated into daily lifestyles, hence the city we are not too far from: Fresno. In fact, by having a city or group of cities nearby where violence, crime, and gangs are abundant, it has given me an incentive to dig deeper into this issue. Now the question can be posed: What is the significance of crime in areas where poverty is present? True, this is not an easy question to answer considering that crime happens for many different reasons and sometimes location is not the problem. The origin of crime date back to the beginning of man, and the thing is it will never be stopped, as it is almost a part of human nature nowadays. But for now, we must study how crime and poverty are linked to one another, and what other contributing factors influence the effect of crime where poverty is relevant.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Slavery In Uncle Tom's Cabin

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory” (1 Corinthians 15:57). The novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a revolutionary book during 1852. This novel “helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War” (h-net.org). Slavery in the United States was not abolished until 1865 through the Thirteenth Amendment to the American Constitution. Harriet Beecher Stowe, being a white woman, felt that she could not speak out about this topic because of her status. Due to this she decided to portray her thoughts through rhetorical approaches in her books. Stowe uses religious aspects, perspectives, and symbolism to call for an end to slavery.

    Read More

More about The Theme Of Poverty In The Book Hillbilly Elegy

Open Document