What-Is-Poverty
What-Is-Poverty
By Jo Goodwin Parker
Summary:
This essay titled „What is Poverty?‟ was written by an anonymous person named
Jo Goodwin Parker from West Virginia in the United States South. With the
signature of Jo Goodwin Parker, this essay was mailed to George Henderson, a
professor at the University of Oklahoma. This essay was later published with no
further information about its author or source. The essay was published with the
facts of a woman‟s hardships as a result of poverty.
In this essay, we learn about the writer‟s painful experiences in her life as a result
of her poverty. She has described her miserable experiences ranging from
childhood to adulthood, during which she has faced a variety of adversities.
She has discussed various aspects of poverty in this essay. She has provided a
realistic and graphic account of what it is like to be poor on a daily basis. Poverty,
she claims, is more heinous and cruel than depicted in the media.
Poverty, according to her, is a state of living without hope, better food, medical
care, proper sanitation, and proper education. It‟s like an acid that eats away at
one‟s pride, honour, health, and future. Parker‟s main goal is to demonstrate how
humiliating, and disgusting it is to be poor. She wishes to draw the attention of the
readers to the plight of the poor. She wants her readers to understand poverty
without feeling sorry for her.
Poor people live restless life, fearing for their children‟s future. Poverty shatters
relationships. Parker was the mother of three children. Because of their financial
situation, her husband abandoned her.
He didn‟t have a steady job. Due to the burden of his family, he abandoned all of
them without even saying goodbye. During that time, their condition deteriorated.
They didn‟t even have enough money to buy contraception to avoid unwanted
pregnancies. She was employed. She was only making $22 per week at the time.
She had anemia as a result of her poor diet. The doctor advised her to have surgery,
but she did not have the funds. She struggled alone to care for her children and
faced a variety of difficulties during the cold and summer seasons‟ days and nights.
She once left her children in the care of her mother. When she returned home,
however, she discovered her children in a pitiful state.
Her youngest son was covered in fly specks, and he hadn‟t had his diaper changed
since the morning. Her next child was playing with broken glasses, and her oldest
son was alone at the lake‟s edge. She didn‟t have enough money to enrol them in a
nursery school.
She had to pay $20 per week for three children to be admitted. Her income,
however, was only $22. She decided to leave her job in order to care for the
children.
Answer the following questions.
a. What is poverty according to Parker?
➜ Poverty, according to Parker, is a lack of hope, better foods, medical care,
proper sanitation, and proper education. It‟s like an acid that eats away at one‟s
pride, honour, health, and future.
b. How is poverty difficult for Parker’s children? List some specific examples.
➜ Parker‟s three children are severely disadvantaged as a result of their family‟s
financial situation. They live in misery as a result of a lack of adequate food,
education, clothing, and medical care. Parker has brought her children‟s
deteriorating health into the discussion. She has given us information about the
poor condition of her children. They used to have oilless corn cornbread for
breakfast, according to her. They used to dress in filthy clothes. They were not
enrolled in a formal school. Parker has told us about an incident that occurred one
day when she left her children in the care of her mother while she went to work.
That day, after work, she discovered her youngest covered in flyspecks, whose
diaper hadn‟t been changed since the morning. Her next son was tinkering with the
shattered glasses. Her eldest son was playing on the edge of the lake.
c. How does Parker try to obtain help, and what problems does she
encounter?
➜ Parker tries to get help for her children by spreading her hands in front of
various people and institutions. Due to a lack of funds, she makes every effort to
find supportive hands most of the time. Most of the time, she has difficulty
locating the appropriate organization and person to assist her. She must transfer to
new organizations. She has to wait and tell her dreadful story over and over.
d. Why are people’s opinions and prejudices her greatest obstacles?
➜ People‟s opinions and prejudices are her greatest obstacles because they prevent
her from receiving supportive hands for her family‟s sake. The majority of people
are unaware of the agony of poverty. Poor people‟s suffering is insignificant to
them. They continue to express their prejudices and opinions about poor people. In
Parker‟s case, people‟s opinions and prejudices prevent her from obtaining
assistance to run her family.
e. How does Parker defend her inability to get help? How does she discount
the usual solutions society has for poverty (e.g., welfare, education, and health
clinics)?
➜ Parker defends her inability to get help and support by expressing her feelings
about her poverty experiences. She dismisses society‟s usual solutions to poverty
by recounting her own experiences with welfare, education, and health clinics.
According to her, in the name of welfare, she must move and spread her hands in a
variety of agencies across the country. She has to deal with shame all the time in
these organizations. She must repeatedly demonstrate her poverty. She has to retell
her story several times. Sometimes welfare programs promise to assist, but getting
to them takes a long time. School launch programs exist in the name of education,
but they serve no purpose. She has witnessed the condition of her two children
after sending them to school. When it comes to the most important aspects of
health clinics, Parker‟s life is far from the facilities of health clinics. She has to
walk for miles to get medical help. If she asks for help, the helper anticipates
negative outcomes from her. As a result, Parker is completely disconnected from
all three critical aspects.
Reference to the context
a. Explain the following:
Poverty is looking into a black future.
➜ The writer Jo Goodwin Parker stated in her essay, “Poverty is looking into a
black future.” She has presented this line to her readers in order to present her
experience with poverty. The writer is advising all of the readers in this line about
an ugly and cruel aspect of poverty. Poverty, according to her, leads people to a
dark future. On a daily basis, poor people must endure a miserable existence. It is
extremely difficult to provide them with adequate daily foods. There is no future
hope for them. They continue to live in disparity, looking forward to a black future.
Poverty shatters future hopes and dreams.
b. What does Parker mean by “The poor are always silent”?
➜ Parker is referring to poor people‟s helplessness when she says “the poor are
always silent.” Money is extremely important in poverty. Money is the perfect
solution to all problems. Poor people, on the other hand, feel weaker as a result of a
lack of resources. They always keep their mouths shut in front of others. Because
of their pitiful state, they must listen to others‟ words while remaining silent.
c. What writing strategy does the author use at the beginning of most of the
paragraphs? Do you notice a recurring pattern? What is it?
➜ The author employs her repetition strategy at the beginning of the majority of
the paragraphs in this essay. Yes, I‟ve noticed a recurring pattern, and it‟s the
structure “Poverty is.” The essay is well-organized, with the phrase “Poverty is”
repeated at the beginning of each paragraph. She attempts to establish a
relationship between the woman and the readers here by using her repetition
strategy. Because of the author‟s casual style, the writing appears to be part of a
casual conversation between the narrator and the readers. Goodwin Parker‟s
writing is extremely effective and accomplishes its goal.
d. How does Parker develop each paragraph? What details make each
paragraph memorable?
➜ Parker begins each paragraph with her repetition strategy. She begins the
majority of her paragraphs with a repetition statement such as “Poverty is.” She
then shares her personal experiences with her topic sentences. The author first
makes it clear to her readers that her goal is to help them understand what poverty
is. Her second goal is to persuade all of her readers to help those in need. Each
paragraph is memorable because of the details related to her personal painful
experiences and the harsh reality of poverty.
e. In the final paragraph, how does the author use questions to involve the
reader in the issue of poverty?
➜ The author uses questions in her informal style of direct conversation in the
final paragraph to engage the readers in the issue of poverty. Parker has done an
excellent job of engrossing her readers with her persuasive style. She instructs
them to look at the poor with an angry heart rather than a pitiful heart. This style of
question has piqued the readers‟ emotions as well as their attention. In the final
paragraph, she has succeeded in drawing her readers‟ attention to her plight and the
struggles of others in her situation.
Reference beyond the text
a. Define a social problem (homelessness, unemployment, racism) imitating
Parker’s style.
➜ Sleeping on the streets is a form of homelessness. Homelessness forces you to
sleep on the sidewalks. Living life on footpaths weakens you in a variety of ways.
It is the end of your pride and prestige.
Unemployment is a life of embarrassment. Unemployment reduces your social
value. You are constantly ashamed and humiliated because you do not have a job.
People make fun of you because you are unemployed.
Racism is a humiliating way of life. Racists make you feel socially inferior. They
continue to degrade you because of your skin colour. You will be humiliated in
your society because of your skin colour. It is a curse to live your life under the
guise of racism.
b. Using adjectives to highlight the futility of the situation, write a short
definition essay on Growing up in Poverty.
➜ Poverty is defined as a pitiful situation in which people lack a variety of
essentials in their lives. Aside from other people‟s perspectives, I believe that
growing up in poverty is vexing. You can never be happy if you are poor. The
majority of the time, poverty irritates you. Growing up in poverty is a tedious
experience. You never try to do anything interesting because you are
poor. Growing up in poverty is both perplexing and discouraging. You are
constantly perplexed by your life. Disparity and inequality never allow you to be
free and do good in your life. Growing up in poverty is a terrifying experience that
exposes you to a variety of hardships and struggles. It gives you a tiring and
worrying experience where pains are always waiting to greet you.