A Story About Iona Grayson

Katie Nolan, Francie’s mother, is the main reason that Francie is able to survive her arduous childhood and succeed in life. Food, heat and protection are always available to the Nolan children even if it means that Katie has to work multiple jobs or even sacrifice some of her own needs. Katie gives all she can to provide for her children and Francie truly values her mother’s hard work. Francie appreciates her mother’s thougtful acts, but still, Francie develops

As a child, Jeannette’s sense of wonder and curiosity in the world undermine the need for money. During her young adult years, a new wave of insecurity associated with her poor past infects her. Finally, as an experienced and aged woman, Jeannette finds joy and nostalgia in cherishing her poverty- stricken past. It must be noted that no story goes without a couple twists and turns, especiallydefinitely not Jeannette Walls’. The fact of the matter is that growing up in poverty effectively craftsed, and transformsed her into the person she becomeshas become. While statistics and research show that living in poverty can be detrimental to a child’s self-esteem, Jeannette Walls encourages children living in poverty to have ownership over their temporary situation, and never to feel inferior because of past or present socio-economic

Poverty is a major issue in today’s world. Not only does it hurt families, but it can create a feeling of hopelessness. Lizabeth, from “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, knows just what it feels like to be hopeless. In the story, Lizabeth’s family struggles with poverty. Through this struggle, Lizabeth learns a very important lesson about finding hope in her life. Symbolism, characters, and setting help to illustrate the theme of the story; that hope can be found in everything, even the tough times in life.

Alicia is a neighborhood girl who lives on mango street on which her mother died. She has to do all the chores such as cooking and cleaning while trying to attend college. Alicia uses public transportation everyday to go to school so she can escape her life. One night, she stays up all night studying and sees a mice, her father gives her a hard time about her studies and say the mise?? doesn’t exist. He basically explains that her life is to wake up morning after morning to make tortillas for her younger siblings lunches.“Alicia, who inherited her mama’s rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and smart and studies for the first time at university.” Alicia tries to use her education to have freedom, to leave her family and go have a better life.

Evidently, her life exemplifies the overcoming of poverty and how it really is possible as long as you stick to education and persevere through life.

Jeannette was at the lower class growing up, but she learned to survive anyway she could at a very young age. Considering Jeannette’s parents were not very stable, Jeannette saw that even though she was at the lower side of things, there is always a chance for greatness. A good example

However, in most poverty stricken families in America, most of these children give up in life and drop out of school (Brooks-Gunn Jeanne and Duncan 60). In addition, most of them even end becoming street children and later on join gangs in the streets and are introduced to drugs which later on turn them into criminals. A good example from the story is Maureen. She was defiant and only found solace in drugs and running away from home and the ultimate outcome was that she ended up in a mental hospital. What happened to Maureen in the story is what happens to many American children living in poverty. Jeannette and her other siblings endured hunger, bullying and poverty in their family with the hope that they were going to become great in future. The children in the family cared for each other and they strived to be successful, which they did, except for Maureen who never accepted to be

It was on July 22, 1975, I can remember it as vividly as if it was yesterday. I was having lunch with my 2-year-old goddaughter, Tiare, and suddenly a fire broke out in our apartment. We tried to find a way out but the fire escape had already collapsed. I went to the balcony and found a crowd of people, pedestrians, firemen, policemen and even photographers. Everyone was hustling to help us but it was nearly impossible to reach us on the upper floor. Eventually a firefighter came to rescue us. As they were placing a ladder, the balcony suddenly fell. I grabbed the firefighter’s legs as he held onto the ladder. In a glimpse of an eye I found myself mid-air with nothing to do but pray that my daughter would be fine as she we were just inches apart. This is my story, I am Diana Bryant. I’ve heard plenty of conversations about the pictures that were taken of me in this

Lily Owens is a teenage girl who wishes her life was different. At the age of four Lily’s mother died after being shot. Everyday she wishes her mother would be there to protect her from an abusive father and a miserable life. Lily’s mother left very few possessions behind, only a picture and a mason jar. These items allowed Lily to feel safe. The memory of her mother helped her face each trial. She spent much of her life searching for a mother figure and recreating her mother’s story.

Unfortunately, her father expected her to go to college and earn a degree like her brother Sheldon and sister Bunny. Toni, unlike her siblings, did poor while she was at UH Manoa and had to move back home to Hilo. Her father Harry was extremely disappointed and no longer had high hopes for her. When she moved back, her sexual encounters with family friends Wyatt and Maverick Santos grew and she became closer with longtime Haole family friend Billy who was six years younger than her. Her relationship with Billy blossomed into mutual feelings for one another; however, Toni refused to take it to the next level due to the fact that Billy was younger than her, a Haole, and was considered as family. As months past, Toni found herself pregnant from either one of the Santos brothers with her family deeply ashamed by her actions. She did not finish college, was not married, and now she was pregnant. When her baby was born, things started to slowly change for Toni. Her baby became the joy of her life and her father’s new found joy and hope that had once died when Toni did not meet his expectations. Toni later became the co-owner of her father’s business and finally felt accepted into her own family and community. Toni’s experiences is indeed also reflective of our highs and lows in life and is something that most, if not all of society can relate to.

“Education was her dream of dreams, a passion so strong it was almost a disease, and she infected not only her own children with it but generations of little Morrisons yet unborn” (23). Kate, raised in such a family, naturally considers being intelligent and having education as a symbol of success in life. After receiving her university degrees, Kate realizes that Great-Grandmother’s desire for knowledge is not without reason: “the world was spreading itself out before me; I felt that I could go anywhere, do anything. Be anyone” (188). From Kate’s perspective, no obstacle can obstruct her ambitions from this point onward since success in attaining education is the ultimate goal in life, as believed by the Morrisons. Kate’s faith in education, inherited from Great-Grandmother, is also the major reason behind her admiration for Matt – he is the most brilliant of all four children and resembles Great-Grandmother the most. “It seemed to me that the only time those fierce old eyes showed any sign of softening was when Matt walked into the room.” (27) Kate

The main character in this story is a Jewish girl named Alicia. When the book

For many years of her childhood, she was constantly teased and abused because she was different. Even through the abuse, Jodee always stayed kind and caring. One person she helped was her high school friend Noreen. Jodee befriended the lonely girl in her speech class, later she learned how much it helped Noreen. Noreen, just like Jodee, was constantly harassed for being different, leading her to have no friends at the high school. Jodee gave Noreen someone to share her pain with, and gave her someone she could trust in. Another person Jodee helped was Marianne. Jodee helped her by working with the deaf children at Holy Ascension, treating Marianne like the little sister she never had. She was an outcast from regular children and the deaf children as well. This was due to the fact that even compared to the deaf kids she was different, and they couldn't understand her.”... A small bungalow, though the home was in need of repair, the yard was well tended” (Blanco 27)This made what Jodee did even more important,because Marianne wasn’t exactly the most wealthy, so she had a life just as bad at home as at school, meaning so much more to have Jodee act as her big sister.. Jodee also helped Rodger, a special ed student in her high school. She worked on a prom for the special ed kids since they were not invited to the regular prom for their school. He was able to feel like he was just a regular student for one night of his life. She

Gwendolyn Brooks was a black poet from Kansas who wrote in the early twentieth century. She was the first black woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize. Her writings deal mostly with the black experience growing up in inner Chicago. This is the case with one of her more famous works, Maud Martha. Maud Martha is a story that illustrates the many issues that a young black girl faces while growing up in a ‘white, male driven’ society. One aspect of Martha that is strongly emphasized on the book is her low self-image and lack of self-esteem. Martha feels that she is inferior for several reasons, but it is mainly the social pressures that she faces and her own blackness that contribute to these feelings of inferiority. It is

Maureen and Mag are isolated because of their physical location and their relationship with each other. Maureen dreams of being free of her mother’s house and small town life in Leenane. She blames her mother and her sisters for her circumstances; however, she is faced with the hard truth that men don’t come to call. Farming towns like Leenane were previously communities built on supporting each other, but over time families grew more isolated from one and other, leaving people like Mag and Maureen without the help of friendly neighbours.