summary of the essay what is poverty

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Analysis of Theodore Dalrymple’s “What Is Poverty?”'. 5 July.

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What is Poverty?: Summary & Exercise [Class-11]

Summary of what is poverty.

In the essay "What is Poverty?" by Jo Goodwin Parker, the author provides a detailed and poignant description of what poverty is and how it impacts the daily lives of those who experience it. Through vivid and descriptive language, the author conveys the physical and emotional challenges of living in poverty, including inadequate housing and living conditions, limited access to education and healthcare, and the constant stress and decision-making involved in trying to provide for one's family on a limited budget.

The essay also touches on the societal prejudices and negative stereotypes surrounding poverty, and the barriers and challenges that those living in poverty face in trying to access assistance or advocate for themselves. The essay concludes with a call to action, urging the reader to consider the realities of poverty and to take action to address the issue. Overall, the essay provides a powerful and compelling portrayal of the devastating and all-encompassing impact of poverty, and encourages the reader to consider their own role in addressing and addressing this complex and pressing issue.

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions., a. what is poverty according to parker.

According to Parker, poverty is a combination of physical and emotional struggles including dirty and unsanitary living conditions, chronic illness and tiredness due to poor diet and lack of access to healthcare, and constant stress and decision-making about how to make ends meet and provide for one's family.

b. How is poverty difficult for Parker’s children? List some specific examples.

Poverty is difficult for Parker's children in various ways. For example, they often do not have enough food to eat, and the food they do have is often not nutritious. They also do not have access to clean clothes or proper hygiene, and they are at risk of illness and injury due to unsanitary living conditions. The children also lack access to education and opportunities for personal and social development.

c. How does Parker try to obtain help, and what problems does she encounter?

Parker tries to obtain help by going to welfare offices and asking for assistance, but she encounters problems such as long wait times, bureaucracy, and insensitive or judgmental treatment from staff.

d. Why are people’s opinions and prejudices her greatest obstacles?

People's opinions and prejudices are Parker's greatest obstacles because they often lead to negative stereotypes and misunderstandings about the causes and realities of poverty. These prejudices can also prevent people from recognizing the systemic and structural issues that contribute to poverty and from advocating for policies and programs that address these issues.

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 by explaining the various barriers and challenges she faces in trying to access assistance. She also discounts the usual solutions society has for poverty by pointing out that these solutions are often inadequate or unavailable to those in poverty, and that they do not address the root causes of poverty. Instead, she advocates for systemic change and more comprehensive approaches to addressing poverty.

Reference to the Context

A. explain: poverty is looking into a black future..

In the context of the essay "What is Poverty?" by Jo Goodwin Parker, the phrase "Poverty is looking into a black future" refers to the many ways in which poverty can prevent individuals and families from envisioning or achieving a brighter or more positive future. Throughout the essay, Parker describes the various challenges and struggles that come with living in poverty, including inadequate housing and living conditions, limited access to education and healthcare, and constant stress and decision-making about how to make ends meet. These challenges can make it difficult for those in poverty to see any hope or opportunity for improvement in their circumstances. Additionally, the societal prejudices and negative stereotypes surrounding poverty can further contribute to a sense of hopelessness and despair about the future, as it may feel like there are few options or opportunities for those living in poverty to lift themselves out of their situation.

b. What does Parker mean by “The poor are always silent”?

By saying "The poor are always silent," Parker is likely expressing the idea that those living in poverty are often not able to speak out or advocate for themselves and their needs due to the challenges and limitations they face. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as a lack of resources or support, fear of retribution or judgment, or a feeling of powerlessness or resignation about their circumstances. Additionally, societal prejudices and negative stereotypes about poverty may lead to the marginalization and silencing of those living in poverty, further preventing them from being able to speak out and have their voices heard. Overall, the phrase "The poor are always silent" suggests that those living in poverty may feel unable to speak up or advocate for themselves due to the many challenges and barriers they face.

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?

At the beginning of most of the paragraphs in the essay "What is Poverty?" by Jo Goodwin Parker, the author uses the rhetorical device of anaphora, repeating the phrase "Poverty is" at the beginning of each paragraph to emphasize the various ways in which poverty impacts an individual's daily life. This repetition creates a strong and cohesive structure for the essay, helping to build a clear and comprehensive understanding of what poverty is and how it affects those who experience it.

The recurring pattern in the use of anaphora is that the phrase "Poverty is" is repeated at the beginning of most of the paragraphs, followed by a description of a specific aspect of poverty and how it impacts an individual's life. For example, in one paragraph, the author writes, "Poverty is dirt. You can say in your clean clothes coming from your clean house, 'Anybody can be clean.' Let me explain about housekeeping with no money." This repetition of the phrase "Poverty is" at the beginning of the paragraph emphasizes the theme of the essay and helps to draw the reader's attention to the specific aspect of poverty being described in that paragraph. Overall, the use of anaphora helps to create a strong and cohesive structure for the essay and helps to build a clear and comprehensive understanding of what poverty is and how it impacts those who experience it.

d. How does Parker develop each paragraph? What details make each paragraph memorable?

Throughout the essay "What is Poverty?" by Jo Goodwin Parker, the author develops each paragraph by providing specific and detailed descriptions of the various ways in which poverty impacts an individual's daily life. In each paragraph, the author focuses on a specific aspect of poverty, such as the physical and emotional challenges of living in unsanitary and inadequate housing, the impact of poor diet and lack of access to healthcare, or the stresses and decision-making involved in trying to provide for one's family on a limited budget.

The details that make each paragraph memorable include the vivid and descriptive language the author uses to convey the reality and impact of poverty. For example, the author writes, "Poverty is getting up every morning from a dirt- and illness-stained mattress. The sheets have long since been used for diapers." This vivid and specific detail helps to bring the reader into the experience of living in poverty, and helps to create a strong emotional connection to the subject matter. Similarly, the author describes the smell of poverty as a "smell of urine, sour milk, and spoiling food sometimes joined with the strong smell of long-cooked onions," again using specific and descriptive language to convey the reality of living in poverty.

Overall, the use of specific and descriptive details helps to make each paragraph in the essay memorable and helps to convey the impact and reality of poverty in a powerful and compelling way.

e. In the final paragraph, how does the author use questions to involve the reader in the issue of poverty?

In the final paragraph of the essay "What is Poverty?" by Jo Goodwin Parker, the author uses questions to involve the reader in the issue of poverty by urging the reader to consider the ways in which poverty affects the lives of those who experience it and to take action to address the issue. Specifically, the author writes: "...The poor are always silent. Can you be silent too?"

In this final paragraph, the author uses questions to draw the reader into the experience of living in poverty and to challenge the reader to consider their own role in addressing the issue. The use of questions encourages the reader to think about the realities of poverty and to consider what they can do to help those who are experiencing poverty. This use of questions helps to involve the reader in the issue of poverty and to encourage them to take action to address the issue.

Reference Beyond the Text

Define a social problem (homelessness, unemployment, racism) imitating parker’s style..

Homelessness is waking up every morning with no place to call home. It is feeling the cold concrete beneath your body as you try to find a spot on the sidewalk that is out of the way and yet still visible to potential passersby who may offer a kind word or a spare change. It is the constant search for shelter and safety, never feeling truly secure or at ease. It is a constant struggle to find a way to make ends meet, to eat and stay warm, with no permanent address or access to resources. It is feeling invisible and forgotten as if the rest of society has turned a blind eye to your existence. It is the weight of shame and stigma, the fear of being judged or discriminated against because of your circumstances. It is the endless cycle of poverty and despair, feeling trapped and helpless to change your situation.

Using adjectives to highlight the futility of the situation, write a short definition essay on Growing up in Poverty.

Growing up in poverty is a devastating and all-encompassing experience that can have a profound and lasting impact on an individual's life. It is a constant and overwhelming struggle to meet basic needs and to provide for oneself and one's family. It is a life marked by inadequate housing and living conditions, limited access to education and healthcare, and constant financial and emotional stress. It is a life filled with insecurity and uncertainty, with little hope or opportunity for improvement. It is a life of constant struggle and sacrifice, with few if any opportunities for personal or social development. It is a life of never-ending hardship and despair, with few chances to escape the cycle of poverty. Growing up in poverty is a soul-crushing and demoralizing experience that leaves its mark on every aspect of an individual's life.

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5 Essays About Poverty Everyone Should Know

Poverty is one of the driving forces of inequality in the world. Between 1990-2015, much progress was made. The number of people living on less than $1.90 went from 36% to 10%. However, according to the World Bank , the COVID-19 pandemic represents a serious problem that disproportionately impacts the poor. Research released in February of 2020 shows that by 2030, up to ⅔ of the “global extreme poor” will be living in conflict-affected and fragile economies. Poverty will remain a major human rights issue for decades to come. Here are five essays about the issue that everyone should know:

“We need an economic bill of rights” –  Martin Luther King Jr.

The Guardian published an abridged version of this essay in 2018, which was originally released in Look magazine just after Dr. King was killed. In this piece, Dr. King explains why an economic bill of rights is necessary. He points out that while mass unemployment within the black community is a “social problem,” it’s a “depression” in the white community. An economic bill of rights would give a job to everyone who wants one and who can work. It would also give an income to those who can’t work. Dr. King affirms his commitment to non-violence. He’s fully aware that tensions are high. He quotes a spiritual, writing “timing is winding up.” Even while the nation progresses, poverty is getting worse.

This essay was reprinted and abridged in The Guardian in an arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King. Jr. The most visible representative of the Civil Rights Movement beginning in 1955, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. His essays and speeches remain timely.

“How Poverty Can Follow Children Into Adulthood” – Priyanka Boghani

This article is from 2017, but it’s more relevant than ever because it was written when 2012 was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. That’s no longer the case. In 2012, around ¼ American children were in poverty. Five years later, children were still more likely than adults to be poor. This is especially true for children of colour. Consequences of poverty include anxiety, hunger, and homelessness. This essay also looks at the long-term consequences that come from growing up in poverty. A child can develop health problems that affect them in adulthood. Poverty can also harm a child’s brain development. Being aware of how poverty affects children and follows them into adulthood is essential as the world deals with the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Priyanka Boghani is a journalist at PBS Frontline. She focuses on U.S. foreign policy, humanitarian crises, and conflicts in the Middle East. She also assists in managing Frontline’s social accounts.

“5 Reasons COVID-19 Will Impact the Fight to End Extreme Poverty” – Leah Rodriguez

For decades, the UN has attempted to end extreme poverty. In the face of the novel coronavirus outbreak, new challenges threaten the fight against poverty. In this essay, Dr. Natalie Linos, a Harvard social epidemiologist, urges the world to have a “social conversation” about how the disease impacts poverty and inequality. If nothing is done, it’s unlikely that the UN will meet its Global Goals by 2030. Poverty and COVID-19 intersect in five key ways. For one, low-income people are more vulnerable to disease. They also don’t have equal access to healthcare or job stability. This piece provides a clear, concise summary of why this outbreak is especially concerning for the global poor.

Leah Rodriguez’s writing at Global Citizen focuses on women, girls, water, and sanitation. She’s also worked as a web producer and homepage editor for New York Magazine’s The Cut.

“Climate apartheid”: World’s poor to suffer most from disasters” – Al Jazeera and news Agencies

The consequences of climate change are well-known to experts like Philip Alston, the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. In 2019, he submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council sounding the alarm on how climate change will devastate the poor. While the wealthy will be able to pay their way out of devastation, the poor will not. This will end up creating a “climate apartheid.” Alston states that if climate change isn’t addressed, it will undo the last five decades of progress in poverty education, as well as global health and development .

“Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America” – Barbara Ehrenreich

In this excerpt from her book Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich describes her experience choosing to live undercover as an “unskilled worker” in the US. She wanted to investigate the impact the 1996 welfare reform act had on the working poor. Released in 2001, the events take place between the spring of 1998 and the summer of 2000. Ehrenreich decided to live in a town close to her “real life” and finds a place to live and a job. She has her eyes opened to the challenges and “special costs” of being poor. In 2019, The Guardian ranked the book 13th on their list of 100 best books of the 21st century.

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of 21 books and an activist. She’s worked as an award-winning columnist and essayist.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

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The top 11 causes of poverty around the world

Feb 3, 2022

Approximately 10% of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. But why? Updated for 2022, we look at 11 of the top causes of poverty around the world.

For most of us, living on less than $2 a day seems far removed from reality. But it  is  the reality for roughly 800 million people around the globe. Approximately 10% of the global population lives in extreme poverty, meaning that they're living below the poverty line of $1.90 per day.

There is some good news: In 1990, that figure was 1.8 billion people. We've made progress. But in the last few years we've also begun to move backwards — in 2019, estimates were closer to 600 million people living in extreme poverty. Climate change and conflict have both hindered progress. The global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic only made matters worse.

There’s no one single solution to poverty . There isn't a single cause of poverty, either. In fact, most cases of poverty in 2022 are the result of a combination of factors. Understanding what these factors are and how they work together is a critical step to sustainably ending poverty.

Learn more about the causes of poverty — and how we're solving them

1. inequality.

Let's start with something both simple and complex: Inequality is easy enough to understand as a concept. When one group has fewer rights and resources based on an aspect of their identity compared to others in a community, that's inequality. This marginalization could be based on caste, ability, age, health, social status or — most common and most pervasive — gender.

How inequality functions as a cause of poverty, however, is a bit more multifaceted. When people are given fewer rights or assets based on their ethnicity or tribal affiliation, that means they have fewer opportunities to move ahead in life. We see this often in gender inequality , especially when women have fewer rights around their health and economic power. In this case, equality isn't even relative. It doesn't matter that someone has more.  What matters is that someone else doesn't have enough.

This is especially harmful when inequality is combined with risk — which is the basic formula we use at Concern to understand the cycle of poverty . A widow raising a family of five won't have the same resources available to her husband. If she lives in an area vulnerable to the effects of climate change, that puts pressure on what few  resources she has. In some countries, this is the rule rather than the exception.

To address inequality, we must consider all groups in a community. What's more, to build equality we have to consider equality of results, as opposed to equality of resources.

2. Conflict

If poverty is caused by inequality multiplied by risk, let's talk about risks. At the top of the list of risks for poverty is conflict . Large-scale, protracted crises, such as the decade of civil war in Syria , can grind an otherwise thriving economy to a halt. As fighting continues in Syria, for example, millions have fled their homes (often with nothing but the clothes on their backs). Public infrastructure has been destroyed. Prior to 2011, as few as 10% of Syrians lived below the poverty line. Ten years later, more than 80% of Syrians now live below the poverty line.

But the nature of conflict has changed in the last few decades, and violence has become more localized. This also has a huge impact on communities, especially those that were already struggling. In some ways, it's even harder to cope as these crises go ignored in headlines and primetime news. Fighting can stretch out for years, if not decades, and leave families in a permanent state of alert. This makes it hard to plan for the long-term around family businesses, farms, or education.

3. Hunger, malnutrition, and stunting

You might think that poverty causes hunger (and you would be right!). But hunger is also a cause — and maintainer — of poverty . If a person doesn’t get enough food, they’ll lack the strength and energy needed to work. Or their immune system will weaken from malnutrition and leave them more susceptible to illness that prevents them from getting to work.

In Ethiopia, stunting contributes to GDP losses as high as 16%.

This can lead to a vicious cycle, especially for children. From womb to world, the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are key to ensuring their future health. For children born into low-income families, health is also a key asset to their breaking the cycle of poverty. However, if a mother is malnourished during pregnancy, that can be passed on to her children. The costs of malnutrition may be felt over a lifetime: Adults who were stunted as children earn, on average, 22% less than those who weren't stunted. In Ethiopia, stunting contributes to GDP losses as high as 16%.

4. Poor healthcare systems — especially for mothers and children

As we saw above with the effects of hunger, extreme poverty and poor health go hand-in-hand. In countries with weakened health systems, easily-preventable and treatable illnesses like malaria , diarrhea, and respiratory infections can be fatal. Especially for young children.

When people must travel far distances to clinics or pay for medicine, it drains already vulnerable households of money and assets. This can tip a family from poverty into extreme poverty. For women in particular, pregnancy and childbirth can be a death sentence.  Maternal health is often one of the most overlooked areas of healthcare in countries that are still built around patriarchal structures. New mothers and mothers-to-be are often barred from seeking care without their father's or husband's permission. Adolescent girls who are pregnant (especially out of wedlock) face even greater inequities and discrimination.

5. Little (or zero) access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene

Currently, more than 2 billion people don’t have access to clean water at home. This means that people collectively spend 200 million hours every day walking long distances to fetch water. That’s precious time that could be used working, or getting an education to help secure a job later in life. And if you guessed that most of these 200 million hours are shouldered by women and girls… you're correct. Water is a women's issue as well as a cause of poverty.

Contaminated water can also lead to a host of waterborne diseases, ranging from the chronic to the life-threatening. Poor water infrastructure — such as sanitation and hygiene facilities — can compound this. It can also create other barriers to escaping poverty, such as preventing girls from going to school during their cycles.

6. Climate change

Climate change causes poverty , working as an interdependent link between not only extreme poverty but also many of the other causes on this list — including hunger , conflict, inequality, and a lack of education (see below). One report from the World Bank estimates that the climate crisis has the power to push more than 100 million people into poverty over the next decade.

Many of the world’s poorest populations rely on farming or hunting and gathering to eat and earn a living. Malawi, as an example, is 80% agrarian. They often have only just enough food and assets to last through the next season, and not enough reserves to fall back on in the event of a poor harvest. So when climate change or natural disasters (including the widespread droughts caused by El Niño ) leave millions of people without food, it pushes them further into poverty, and can make recovery even more difficult.

How climate change keeps people in poverty

By 2030, climate change could force more than 100 million people into extreme poverty.

7. Lack of education

Not every person without an education is living in extreme poverty. But most adults living in extreme poverty did not receive a quality education. And, if they have children, they're likely passing that on to them. There are many barriers to education around the world , including a lack of money for uniforms and books or a cultural bias against girls’ education .

But education is often referred to as the great equalizer. That's because it can open the door to jobs and other resources and skills that a family needs to not just survive, but thrive. UNESCO estimates that 171 million people could be lifted out of extreme poverty if they left school with basic reading skills. Poverty threatens education, but education can also help end poverty .

8. Poor public works and infrastructure

What if you have to go to work, but there are no roads to get you there? Or what if heavy rains have flooded your route and made it impossible to travel? We're used to similar roadblocks (so to speak) in the United States. But usually we can rely on our local governments to step in.

A lack of infrastructure — from roads, bridges, and wells, to cables for light, cell phones, and internet — can isolate communities living in rural areas. Living off the grid often means living without the ability to go to school, work, or the market to buy and sell goods. Traveling further distances to access basic services not only takes time, it costs money, keeping families in poverty.

As we've found in the last two years, isolation limits opportunity. Without opportunity, many find it difficult, if not impossible, to escape extreme poverty.

9. Global health crises including epidemics and pandemics

Speaking of things we've learned over the last two years… A poor healthcare system that affects individuals, or even whole communities, is one cause of poverty. But a large-scale epidemic or pandemic merits its own spot on this list. COVID-19 isn't the first time a public health crisis has fueled the cycle of poverty. More localized epidemics like Ebola in West Africa (and, later, in the DRC ), cholera in Haiti or the DRC, or malaria in Sierra Leone have demonstrated how local and national governments can grind to a halt while working to stop the spread of a disease, provide resources to frontline workers and centers, and come up with contingency plans as day-to-day life is disrupted.

All of this comes, naturally, at a cost. In Guinea, Liberia , and Sierra Leone — the three countries hit hardest by the 2014-16 West African Ebola epidemic — an estimated $2.2 billion was lost across all three countries' GDPs in 2015 as a direct result of the epidemic. This included losses in the private sector, agricultural production, and international trade.

The crisis in Kenya: Climate, COVID, and hunger

The worst drought in four decades, the worst locust invasion in seven, plus the domino effects of a global pandemic have northern Kenyans living out an underreported crisis and facing an uncertain future.

10. Lack of social support systems

In the United States, we're familiar with social welfare programs that people can access if they need healthcare or food assistance. We also pay into insurances against unemployment and fund social security through our paychecks. Theses systems ensure that we have a safety net to fall back on if we lose our job or retire.

But not every government can provide this type of help to its citizens. Without that safety net, there’s nothing to stop vulnerable families from backsliding further into extreme poverty. Especially in the face of the unexpected.

11. Lack of personal safety nets

If a family or community has reserves in place, they can weather some risk. They can fall back on savings accounts or even a low-interest loan in the case of a health scare or an unexpected layoff, even if the government doesn't have support systems to cover them. Proper food storage systems can help stretch a previous harvest if a drought or natural disaster ruins the next one.

At its core, poverty is a lack of basic assets or a lack on return from what assets a person has.

People living in extreme poverty can't rely on these safety nets, however. At its core, poverty is a lack of basic assets or a lack on return from what assets a person has. This leads to negative coping mechanisms, including pulling children out of school to work (or even marry ), and selling off assets to buy food. That can help a family make it through one bad season, but not another. For communities constantly facing climate extremes or prolonged conflict, the repeated shocks can send a family reeling into extreme poverty and prevent them from ever recovering.

Solutions to Poverty to Get Us To 2030

What would Zero Poverty look like for the world in 2030? Here are a few starting points.

How can you help?

At Concern, we believe that zero poverty is possible, especially when we work with communities to address both inequalities and risks. Last year, we reached 36.9 million people with programs designed to address the specific causes of extreme poverty in countries, communities, and families.

Pictured in the banner image for this story is one of those people, Adrenise Lusa. Born 60 years ago in the DRC's Manono Territory, Adrenise joined Concern's Graduation program in 2019 and participated in trainings on income generation and entrepreneurship, which gave her ideas on how to increase her production and income. With monthly cash transfers as part of Graduation and a loan from her community Village Savings and Loans Association, she invested in a few income-generating activities including goat rearing and trading oil, maize, and cassava. Prior to joining Graduation, she had the ideas. But, as she explains, "I didn’t start these businesses because I just didn’t have enough money."

Since launching her new ventures, Adrenise has increased her income from approximately 30,000 francs per month to anywhere between 100–400,000 francs per month, depending on the season. She's used her additional income to buy a plot of land and build a new house, feed her family with more nutritious food, and send her son and daughter to university.

You can make your own impact by supporting our efforts working with the world’s poorest communities. Learn more about the other ways you can help the fight against poverty.

More about the causes of poverty

Extreme Poverty and Hunger: A Vicious Cycle

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What is Poverty by Jo Goodwin Parker: Summary | Questions and Answers | Class 11 English

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What is Poverty? by Jo Goodwin Parker

Detailed summary.

What is Poverty by Jo Goodwin Parker

This personal essay, ‘What is Poverty?’ has been written by an anonymous person named Jo Goodwin Parker from West Virginia, in the Southern United States. This essay was mailed to George Henderson, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, with the signature of Jo Goodwin Parker. Later on, this essay was published with no further information about its actual author or source. The essay was published with the facts of the hardships faced by a woman due to poverty.

Here in this essay, we find the writer's painful experiences in her life due to her poverty. She has explained her miserable experiences from childhood to adulthood, where she has experienced various hardships in her life.

In her essay, she has talked about various aspects of poverty. She has given a real and graphic account of what being poor actually means on a daily basis. According to her, poverty is more ugly, cruel, and devastating than it is shown in newspapers.

She has defined poverty as a lack—that is, living without hope, better foodstuffs, medicinal care, proper sanitation, and proper education. It is like an acid that destroys pride, honour, health, and the future. Parker’s main purpose is to show how shameful, humiliating, and disgusting it is to be poor. She wants to draw the readers’ attention to the pathetic state of the poor. She wants her readers to know about poverty without showing pity for her.

Poor people have to live a restless life, looking at the dark future of their children. Poverty breaks relationships. Parker had three children. Her husband left her due to poverty. He didn't have a regular job. He left all of them due to the burden of the family. He left home without saying goodbye. Their condition was quite worse during that time. They even didn't have money to buy contraceptives to prevent unwanted births. She had a job. She only earned 22 dollars a week then. Due to her poor diet, she suffered from anaemia. The doctor advised her to have an operation, but she didn't have money. She struggled alone to care for her children. She faced various hardships to care for her children during the cold and summer seasons' days and nights.

Once, she left her children under her mother's care. But when she returned home, she found her kids in a very pitiable condition. Her youngest son was covered with fly specks, and his diaper hadn’t been changed since morning. Her next kid was playing with broken glasses, and the oldest son was playing alone at the edge of the lake. She didn’t have enough income to admit them to a nursery school. She had to pay up to 20 dollars a week for three children to admit them. But, her income was 22 dollars only. For the sake of the children's care, she decided to quit her job.

ANALYSIS OF THE ESSAY

This essay is related to the problems of poverty. Poverty makes us weaker in various aspects. Money plays a vital role in poverty. If we want to solve problems, we need money. To get rid of the garbage, we need a shovel. But to buy a shovel, we need money. To get any job, we must be neat and clean, but we need money to buy soap and clothes. The writer has described various events that happened to her because of poverty. She left the school because rich people’s children used to tease her all the time in the school because she was poor. She became pregnant many times because birth control was expensive for her. Her husband left her because of poverty. Her economic status was too poor, so she couldn’t do her operation in time. She used to provide cornbread without oil as a breakfast to her kids. She used to wash dishes with cold water without using soap. She didn't buy soap in order to buy her baby's diaper. She even didn't buy vaseline for her hands or the baby's diaper rash. She visited various government and private agencies to ask for help but did not find the right person to help her. She felt much shame and humiliation. For the sake of three children, she had to spread her hands in different places.

SHORT SUMMARY

This essay, "What is Poverty?" has been written by American writer Jo Goodwin Parker. In her essay “What is Poverty?" Jo Goodwin Parker has described her life living in poverty and her daily struggles for the sake of her family. Here, we find her very descriptive in the text about her daily life. She has put forward her personal painful experiences of living a life in poverty. According to her, poverty is a lack—that is, living without hope, better foodstuffs, medicinal care, proper sanitation, and proper education. It is like an acid that destroys pride, honour, health, and the future. Parker describes herself as “dirty, smelly, and living life with no proper underwear on and with rotten teeth that stink much." She describes that due to the high cost of essential things such as hot water, soap, medicine, and clothing, she doesn't have luxuries in her life. She informs all her readers through her writing that it is difficult to get help from government agencies' programmes. Help-related programmes for poor people by government agencies never existed in her area. She wants to get help through various agencies, but she has no means to travel to reach them. Parker explains that her job even doesn't support her getting out of her situation because the job does not pay enough to cover the expense of child care. Parker writes that “poverty is looking into a black future” and states that her children have no future. She suffers a lot due to her poverty. It's difficult for her to run her family on a daily basis. For her, running her life on a daily basis is a great challenge. In this situation, no one can expect a good future. Parker does not want sympathy, but rather she wants an understanding of poverty for her readers.

The writer has described various events that happened to her because of poverty. She left the school because rich people’s children used to tease her all the time in the school because she was poor. She became pregnant many times because birth control was expensive for her. Her husband left her because of poverty. Her economic status was too poor, so she couldn’t do her operation in time. She used to provide cornbread without oil as a breakfast to her kids. She used to wash dishes with cold water without using soap. She didn't buy soap in order to buy her baby's diaper. She even didn't buy vaseline for her hands or the baby's diaper rash. She visited various government and private agencies to ask for help but did not find the right person to help her. She felt much shame and humiliation. For the sake of her three children, she had to spread her hands in different places.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

BEFORE YOU READ

a. What do you consider poverty to be? Do you have a definitive explanation of it or do you consider it an abstract circumstance?

I consider poverty to be a curse. Yes, I have a definitive explanation for it. I have watched the lifestyle of poor people in my lifetime. Just like the writer, I also think the same about poverty. Poverty is living life in disparity, where we feel a lack of various things. Poverty is living life without hope, better foodstuffs, medicinal care, proper sanitation, and proper education. It is like an acid that destroys pride, honour, health, and the future.

b. Look at this picture. What do you see? Where do you see such people? Who are the poor? Why are they poor? Where do the poor usually live? 

I see a poor woman with her baby on her lap. The poor are those who lack basic requirements in their lives. They are poor because they don't have good economic status and support. They usually live in different places, such as footpaths, fields, deserts, old houses, etc.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Answer the following questions:

a. What is poverty according to Parker ?

According to Parker, poverty is a lack - that is, living without hope, better foodstuffs, medicinal care, proper sanitation, and proper education. It is like an acid that destroys pride, honour, health, and the future.

b. How is poverty difficult for Parker’s children? List some specific examples.

Parker's three children suffer a lot due to poverty. They live miserable lives due to a lack of proper foodstuffs, education, clothing, and care. Parker has presented the very bad condition of her children along with her. She has provided us with information related to her children's bad state. According to her, they used to eat oilless cornbread as breakfast. They used to wear dirty clothes. They weren't sent to a proper school. Parker has informed us about a day's event when she left her children under the care of her mother during her job. After her job, that day she found her youngest covered in fly specks, whose diaper hadn't been changed since morning. Her next son was playing with the broken 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?

Paker tries to obtain help by spreading her hands in front of different people and institutions for the sake of her children. Due to the lack of money, she tries her best to find supportive hands most of the time. To get help, she encounters problems finding the right organisation and person most of the time. She has to move to different organisations. She has to wait and tell her miserable story again and again.

d. Why are people’s opinions and prejudices her greatest obstacles?

People's opinions and prejudices are her greatest obstacles because these aspects prevent her from getting supportive hands for the sake of her family. Most people don't realise the bitter experience of poverty. For them, the pain of poor people is nothing. They keep on giving their opinions and prejudices against poor people. In the case of Parker, these opinions and prejudices of people make her fail to get help 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 through her opinions related to her experiences of poverty. She discounts the usual solutions society has for poverty by sharing her experiences related to welfare, education, and health clinics. According to her, in the name of welfare, she has to move and spread her hands in many agencies in many places. In these agencies, she has faced shame all the time. She has to prove her poverty time and again. She has to tell her story many times. Sometimes, welfare programmes promise to help, but reaching them takes a lot of time. In the name of education, school launch programmes are there, but they are of no use. She has experienced her two children's conditions since sending them to school. If we talk about the vital aspects of health clinics, Parker's life is quite far from health clinics' facilities. To get medical help, she has to walk miles. If she asks for someone's help, the helper expects negative things from her. Thus, Parker is quite away from all three important aspects.

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

a. Explain the following:

  Poverty is looking into a black future.

This line, "Poverty is looking into a black future," has been stated by the writer Jo Goodwin Parker in her essay. She has put forward this line for her readers to present her experience related to poverty. Here in this line, the writer is advising all the readers about an ugly and cruel aspect of poverty. According to her, poverty leads people towards a black future. Poor people have to live a miserable life every day. It is quite difficult to manage proper daily foodstuffs for them. For them, there is no hope for the upcoming future. They keep on spending their lives in disparity, looking into a black future. Poverty breaks expectations and dreams of future days.

b. What does Parker mean by “The poor are always silent”?

By "the poor are always silent", Parker means the helpless state of poor people. In poverty, money plays a very vital role. Money itself is the right solution for all the problems. But, due to a lack of money, poor people feel weaker. They always remain silent in front of others. They have to listen to others words while being silent due to their pathetic state.

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?

In this essay, the author uses her repetition strategy at the beginning of most of the paragraphs. Yes, I notice a recurring pattern. It is the structure of "poverty." The essay is well organised, and the structure “Poverty is” is repeated at the beginning of each paragraph.

Here, with the help of her repetition strategy, she tries to establish a relationship between the woman and the readers. The author's informal style makes the writing appear as part of a casual conversation between the narrator and the readers. Goodwin Parker’s writing is extremely effective and reaches its purpose.

d. How does Parker develop each paragraph? What details make each paragraph memorable?

Parker develops each paragraph, starting with her repetition strategy. She starts most of her paragraphs with a repetition statement, "Poverty is." Later, she provides her personal experiences about her topic sentences.

The author first clearly explains to her readers that her purpose is to help people understand what poverty is. Her second purpose is to convince all her readers to help people in need. The details related to her personal painful experiences and the bitter reality of poverty make each paragraph memorable.

e. In the final paragraph, how does the author use questions to involve the readers in the issue of poverty?

In the final paragraph, the author uses questions in her informal style of direct conversation to involve the readers in the issue of poverty.

Parker has done a successful job of involving her readers through her persuasive manner. She asks them to look at the poor with an angry heart but not with a pitiable heart. This manner of question has attracted readers' emotions as well as attention. Here, in the final paragraph, she has become successful in attracting her readers' attention towards 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.

Homelessness is sleeping on footpaths. Homelessness compels you to sleep on footpaths. Living life on footpaths makes you weaker in various aspects. It ends up boosting your pride and prestige.

Unemployment is living a life with shame. Unemployment degrades your value in society. Due to the lack of a job, you feel shame and humiliation all the time. People ridicule you in the name of unemployment.

Racism is living a life of humiliation. The racists make you feel weaker in society. They keep humiliating you in the matter of skin colour. Due to your skin colour, you will have to face humiliation in your society. Living life under the concept of racism is a curse.

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 pitiable situation where people feel a lack of various essential things in their lives. Apart from others' opinions, I think growing up in poverty is annoying. Poverty never allows you to be happy. Living in poverty annoys you most of the time. Growing up in poverty makes your life boring. You never try to do anything interesting while living within the criteria of poverty. You feel both confusing and disappointing about growing up in poverty. You feel confused about your life all the time. Disparity and inequality never let you be free and do something good in your life. Growing up in poverty is a frightening experience where you have to face various hardships and struggles. It provides you with a tiring and worrying experience where pain is always ready to welcome you.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Singer Solution to World Poverty — Analysis of “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”

Analysis of "The Singer Solution to World Poverty"

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Summary of "the singer solution to world poverty", analysis of singer's argument.

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Project 2025 decried as racist. Some contributors have trail of racist writings, activity

They include richard hanania, whose pseudonymous writings for white supremacist sites were uncovered last year..

Former President Donald Trump has spent weeks distancing himself from Project 2025, a sprawling 900-plus page manifesto that seeks to create a blueprint for the next Trump presidency.

Billed as a vision built by conservatives for conservatives, the effort “dismantles the unaccountable Deep State, taking power away from Leftist elites and giving it back to the American people and duly-elected President,” according to its website.  

But for months commentators and academics have been sounding the alarm on Project 2025. The effort, they say, is a deeply racist endeavor that actually is aimed at dismantling many protections and aid programs for Americans of color.

“Really, it's kind of a white supremacist manifesto,” said Michael Harriot, a writer and historian who wrote an article earlier this month titled: “I read the entire Project 2025. Here are the top 10 ways it would harm Black America.”

And a closer look at the named contributors to Project 2025 adds to the concern: A USA TODAY analysis found at least five of them have a history of racist writing or statements, or white supremacist activity.

They include Richard Hanania, who for years wrote racist essays for white supremacist publications under a pseudonym until he was unmasked by a Huffington Post investigation last year. 

Failed Virginia GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart, another named contributor, has long associated with white supremacists and calls himself a protector of America’s Confederate history tasked with “taking back our heritage.” 

One Project 2025 contributor wrote in his PhD dissertation that immigrants have lower IQs than white native citizens, leading to “underclass behavior.” Another dropped out of contention for a prestigious role at the Federal Reserve amid controversy over a racist joke about the Obamas. 

The presence of contributors to Project 2025 who have published racist or offensive tropes comes as no surprise to academics and commentators who have been sounding the alarm on the endeavor for months.

The plan calls for the abolition of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government. It would severely limit the mailing of abortion pills and disband the Department of Education. It would replace the Department of Homeland Security with a new, more powerful border and immigration enforcement agency to choke immigration . It would also curtail or disband programs that experts say greatly benefit communities of color, including the Food Stamp and Head Start programs. 

“Project 2025 is a plan about how to regulate and control people of color, including how they organize, work, play and live,” said Arjun Sethi, a civil rights lawyer and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law. “It seeks to regulate what they do with their bodies, how they advocate for their rights, and how they build family and community — all while disregarding the historical injustices and contemporary persecution they have experienced.”

What is Project 2025? Inside the conservative plan Trump claims to have 'no idea' about.

It’s not clear how much influence the contributors USA TODAY identified had on the creation of the Project 2025 manifesto. They are listed among scores of contributors to the document, and none would agree to an interview for this story.

But even among the broader collection of think tanks, nonprofits and pundits on the author list, others have past controversies on the issue of race. Seven of the organizations on Project 2025’s Advisory Board have been designated as extremist or hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, according to a May report from Accountable.us, a nonpartisan organization that tracks interest groups in Washington, D.C. 

This proliferation of organizations and individuals with racist modus operandi is by design, not accident, Harriot said.

“One of the things that you see when you read Project 2025 is not just the racist dog whistles, but some ideas that were exactly lifted from some of the most extreme white supremacists ever,” Harriot said. 

After multiple requests from USA TODAY, the Heritage Foundation declined to address questions about the Project 2025 contributors and their past statements.

Project 2025 contributor wrote for white supremacist websites

Hanania is a right-wing author and pundit who has built a reputation among Republicans as an “anti-woke crusader.” 

Before he became a favorite of prominent conservatives – including Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, who is now Trump’s pick for vice president – Hanania was pushing a far more extreme version of his right-wing views.    

An investigation last year by the Huffington Post unmasked Hanania as having written under a pseudonym for websites connected to the “alt-right,” the white supremacist movement that flared up before and during the first Trump presidency.

In the early 2010s, writing under the pen name “Richard Hoste,” Hanania “identified himself as a ‘race realist.’” Huffington Post reported last August. “He expressed support for eugenics and the forced sterilization of ‘low IQ’ people, who he argued were most often Black. He opposed ‘miscegenation’ and ‘race-mixing.’ And once, while arguing that Black people cannot govern themselves, he cited the neo-Nazi author of ‘The Turner Diaries,’ the infamous novel that celebrates a future race war.”

Hanania acknowledged writing the posts under a pseudonym and, since then, has only partly renounced his past. Two days after the Huffington Post exposé, in a post on his website titled “Why I Used to Suck, and (Hopefully) No Longer Do,” Hanania wrote “When I was writing anonymously, there was no connection between the flesh and blood human being who would smile at a cashier or honk at someone in traffic, and the internet ‘personality’ who could just grow more rabid over time.”

Vance’s connection to Hanania was documented in a 2021 interview with conservative talk show host David Rubin — two years before Hanania began denouncing his racist past — when Vance described Hanania as a “friend” and a “really interesting thinker.”

Vance and Hanania have also interacted several times on X, formerly known as Twitter, liking and commenting on each other’s posts.

Richard Spencer, a white supremacist credited with creating the alt-right moniker, published several of Hanania’s articles on the website AlternativeRight.com, including one in which Hanania wrote “If the races are equal, why do whites always end up near the top and blacks at the bottom, everywhere and always?”  

In an interview this month, Spencer told USA TODAY that while Hanania may have moderated some of his views, “I think it’s very clear that Richard is a race realist and eugenicist.” The term eugenicist refers to proponents of eugenics, the belief that the genetic quality of the human race can be improved through certain practices — practices viewed by many as scientific racism.

Hanania did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

A Confederate cheerleader and promoting the ‘Great Replacement’ theory

In a 2017 speech at the “Old South Ball” in Danville, Va., Stewart, an attorney who would become the 2018 Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, told the assembled crowd he was proud to stand next to a Confederate flag: 

“That flag is not about racism, folks, it’s not about hatred, it’s not about slavery, it is about our heritage,” Stewart said. At the same event, he called Virginia “the state of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.”

According to a 2018 New York Times profile of Stewart, white supremacists volunteered on the then-Senate candidate’s campaign. “Several of his aides and advisers have used racist or anti-Muslim language, or maintained links to outspoken racists like Jason Kessler ” – who helped organize the white supremacist Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia – the Times reported. 

Stewart did not respond to an email seeking comment. Kessler did not respond to a phone call.

At least three contributors to Project 2025 have supported the racist “Great Replacement” theory, which contends that powerful Democrats and leftists are conspiring to change the demographics of the United States by turning a blind eye to, or even encouraging, illegal immigration. 

Michael Anton, a former senior national security official in the Trump administration, wrote in a pseudonymous essay published in 2016 that “The ceaseless importation of Third World foreigners with no tradition of, taste for, or experience in liberty means that the electorate grows more left, more Democratic, less Republican, less republican, and less traditionally American with every cycle. As does, of course, the U.S. population.”     

Anton has also written several essays, including one for USA TODAY, arguing to end birthright citizenship. His arguments have been widely criticized as factually incorrect and misleading. In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Tufts University politics professor Daniel Drezner called them “ very racist .”  

Anton did not respond to a request for comment.

Another contributor is Stephen Moore, who in 2019 withdrew his name for consideration for the Federal Reserve Board amid scrutiny for his misogynistic and racist jokes and commentary.

Moore, who had made a joke about Trump removing the Obamas from public housing when he took office, was widely mocked when he later tried to clear up the joke in a television interview. The fallout, combined with concerns about Moore’s history of writing articles viewed as disparaging toward women, led him to withdraw his name for consideration.   

Moore did not respond to a request for comment.

The 2009 PhD thesis of Project 2025 contributor Jason Richwine was titled, “ IQ and Immigration Policy .” The thesis includes statements such as: “No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.”

Richwine resigned from his position at the Heritage Foundation in 2013 amid controversy over his research. He now works at  the Center For Immigration Studies. The paper, and Richwine’s defense of it, were widely decried as racist , bigoted and scientifically incorrect .   

It didn’t help Richwine that his thesis was uncovered in the midst of controversy over an immigration study he co-authored that was roundly criticized by liberals and conservatives alike.  

“Had he not just argued, in an extremely tendentious fashion, that Hispanic immigrants are, on the whole, parasites, he might have endured public criticism of his dissertation,” read an analysis in The Economist . “Had he not in his dissertation argued that Hispanic immigration ought to be limited on grounds of inferior Hispanic intelligence, he would have endured the firestorm over the risible Heritage immigration study.”

Richwine did not respond to a request for comment.

“The fact that they consulted individuals with such abhorrent views to develop this plan is further evidence of just how un-American these proposals are,” Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable.us told USA TODAY. “The idea that the next conservative administration might replace 50,000 government experts with extremists like this should concern every American.”

Trump’s connections to Project 2025

At a campaign rally in Michigan earlier this month, Trump told the crowd that Project 2025 is “seriously extreme.”

“Some on the severe right, came up with this Project 25,” Trump said. “ I don’t even know, some of them I know who they are, but they’re very, very conservative. They’re sort of the opposite of the radical left.”

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump had previously distanced himself from the effort.

“I have no idea who is behind it,” he wrote on July 5. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”

But reports show at least 31 of the 38 official authors and editors of Project 2025 have a connection to the former president and GOP presidential candidate. 

Vance, who Trump announced as his running mate earlier this month, also has connections to Project 2025. He wrote the foreword for a book being released later this year by Kevin Roberts, one of the manifesto's key architects.

“Never before has a figure with Roberts’s depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism,” Vance wrote in a review of the book,  published on Amazon, which has since been removed.

Trump has pointed to his own policy manifesto – “ Agenda 47 ,” so named because the next U.S. president will be its 47th – as evidence that he doesn’t plan to use Project 2025 if he wins in November. Agenda 47 focuses on the same broad issues as Project 2025: Education, immigration and crime, and also tackles the LGBTQ+ community and welfare programs. 

The plans differ in some ways. Agenda 47 doesn’t mention abortion once, for example, while abortion is a focus of Project 2025, which calls on the FDA to reverse its approval of abortion drugs and severely limit the mailing of abortion pills. 

Harriot, the author who has closely studied the document, described Project 2025 as the “employee manual” for a future Trump administration. Agenda 47 is the public-facing statement of the former president’s political intentions, Harriot said, but Project 2025 is where the details are.

“There’s some cognitive dissonance,” Harriot said. “Trump doesn’t get elected by people who are just outwardly racist, and being associated with Project 2025 would dismantle his plausible deniability, because it's so blatantly racist.”