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A Person 's Social Status Essay

Decent Essays

A person’s social status and income level can be a source of shame. We are defined by our experiences which develop personality and perspective on life. What may be considered shameful to one person, may be an acceptable everyday existence of another person. American author Brene Brown, in The Gift of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, writes, “Shame works like the zoom lens on a camera. When we are feeling shame, the camera is zoomed in tight and all we see is our flawed selves, alone and struggling. (Goodread)” The author of Shame, Dick Gregory, experienced some aspects of shame through family, school, and society. Dick Gregory’s family experienced financial struggle, especially with no father figure in his life. The only income he received was from shining shoes and selling papers. He lacked attention at home because of the competition from six siblings. When the pipes froze and there was no water to wash his only pair of clothes, he went to the local grocery store and was granted the leftover water from the melted ice in the soda machine. Frequently, the fire went out at night, causing Gregory to wear damp clothes to school the next day. This caused him to be sick quite often. The meals he experienced at home were not very satisfying. “You can’t really make a meal of paste, or put it on bread for a sandwich, but sometimes I’d scoop a few spoonfuls out of the big paste jar in the back of the room” (Gregory 164). Gregory

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