Part II: Informational Texts—A Survey
Long-Form Journalism:
“ Up From the Holler: Living in Two Worlds, at Home in Neither”—Summary In this piece, Tamar Lewin examines Della Mae Justice’s life through narrations from Ms. Justice’s point of view, as well as his own interpretation of the sections of her life and how they could be broken up. The first section of the article functions as an introduction to Ms. Justice’s life. The readers learn how she grew up very poor in Kentucky, but that she has grown to become a member of middle class. However, through both Ms. Justice’s personal statements, as well as Lewin’s description of her, the readers are made aware of how despite Ms. Justice’s change in status, she still feels uncomfortable and like an outsider. She describes how social class is a defining factor in a person’s life and that even now as a member of middle class she feels insecure and sensitive to the things that are used to define a person’s class, such as the luxury items one buys or the trips one splurges on. Later in the second section, Lewin delves deeper into her past, particularly the time she spent in foster care when she was 15 years old, and how that has affected how she feels about her past. Her experience in foster care seems to be a central factor as to why she has struggled with feeling at home in the various social classes she’s been in. To Ms. Justice, being in foster care is even worse than simply being poor. After she was taken in by her more
The story I chose to analyze is “Why I Live at the P.O.” by Eudora Welty. The author, Eudora Wetly, is originally from Mississippi from a prosperous family, she was born in 1909 and passed away in 2001.During her early days she worked at small places involved with writing until she launched her literary career. ‘Why I Live at the P.O’ is about sibling rivalry and favoritism among family. My thesis states that this story shows a good example of favoritism among families and good insight from the outcast.
That was illegal, so from time to time she would get in trouble with the government authorities and, as a result, I would go live with my grandparents. Things changed when I turned 14, 15 years old. My mother finally accepted partial help from my grandparents. She officially opened her business with my grandparents’ investments. From that time on we became a solid representation of the middle class. Thus, answering the question about how the information in this book relates to me and my life, I can certainly state that I have crossed the bridges from Upper Class to Poverty and from Poverty to Middle Class, where, I believe, I presently belong.
In this both heart wrenching and slightly humorous memoir, journalist Jeannette Walls tells the bittersweet story of her rather dysfunctional and poverty stricken upbringing. Walls grows up in a family trailed by the ubiquitous presence of hunger and broken homes. Throughout the memoir she recounts memories of moving from one dilapidated neighborhood to another with her three other siblings, insanely "free sprinted" mother, and incredibly intelligent yet alcoholic father. The author focuses on her unconventional childhood with parents who were too lazy and self-absorbed to obtain decent jobs. Although Walls's childhood gushes with heartbreaking tales of searching through dumpsters for food, she remains as unbitter as possible and
It is a widely known fact that sometimes, life isn’t fair. Whether it’s for something simpler, a teenager complaining about how they didn’t make the sports team, or something on the grander scale like societal class differences. This is perfectly illustrated by three different characters in Tennessee Williams’ “A Lady’s Beaded Bag.” The lowly trash-picker, the working-class maid Hilda, and lavish Mrs. Ferrabye are all examples of contrasting classes
In society, there is no “normal” but there is often a certain expectation from the member in it like holding down a job, raising children, and many other. Yet Jeannette's parents do none of these things, instead they consider it to be positive that they live outside of society. To begin with the opening of the novel Jeanette is all grown up and a full member society and a complete opposite of her younger self. Jeannette illustrates ,“ I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a dumpster” (1). This is the opener of the memoir and is setting up a large class difference between two characters. Jeanette may never have been supported in her childhood but she has made her way to a high place in society, unlike her mother who never changed in her ways. Here Walls is creating a vivid picture of what society deems as correct and incorrect drawing the reader in to find out the cause of two members of the same family being so far apart from each other in society. In the same way when Jeannette is young and, is explaining how she receives her education. Jeannette admits, “ We might enroll into school, but not always. Mom and Dad did most of our teaching” (20). Most children in society have an education from some sort of school, but since the Walls family exists outside of society in many ways. Including how they receive their education, early on in life, the children are not inside a school system. Instead they are taught how to live outside of society like their parents even if they do not want to live that way. Later on, Jeanette has moved away from her parents and has the proper schooling she is a full member of society which is everything her mother did not want. Her mother argues, ‘ Look at the way you live. You’ve sold out. Next thing I know you’ll be a Republican.’ She shook her head. ‘Where are the
Earlier this year, I read Jeanette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle. The Glass Castle tells the story of Walls and her siblings as they experience and attempt to escape the poverty-stricken lives of their parents. In her descriptions of her life and the lives of her family members, Walls influenced my ideas about poverty, homelessness, and escaping hard lives.
Though the family did not turn to violence like the Misfit, they still had their own set of issues. The other members of the family seem to be embodiments of society’s most self-interested and materialistic. O’Connor illustrates that with each generation of this family, there were no positive role models. Each generation had no effective parent to exhibit the correct way to function in society. Each generation then was stuck in
In the vignettes “The House on Mango Street,” “Cathy Queen of Cats,” and “A Rice Sandwich,” Sandra Cisneros is trying to portray that socioeconomic classes impact an individual 's self-confidence. These three stories tie together an underlying principle about someone 's outlook and perspective on their lives based on their living situation. The mix of the characters initial low esteem and the opinions of others upon their socio-economic class the reader can see the effect towards self-confidence.
Thousands of Americans use some type of help from the government, whether it is finical aid or food stamps and more than half of those Americans have children that they are trying to feed but barely getting by. It must hurt those thousands of people prides that they can’t put food on the table to feed their own children by themselves without help from the government hoping that one day they can support them; but they do what they must do to provide for their families, they put their pride aside and their responsibility first. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeanette’s parents Rose-Mary and Rex Walls have trouble doing this, they don’t accept hands outs or any form of charity because they think they can take care of their children by
According to Elizabeth Lowell, “Some of us aren't meant to belong. Some of us have to turn the world upside down and shake the hell out of it until we make our own place in it.” Sometimes what every situation needs is an outsider to flip the script and create a new outlook on everything. In Shirley Jackson’s novel, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” the speaker, Merricat, is an outsider of society on many levels, such as mental health, gender, and that she is an upper class citizen in a poor area. Although Merricat is mentally unstable, her outsider’s perspective criticizes the social standard for women in the 1960s, indicating that social roles, marriage, and the patriarchy are not necessary aspects in life such as it is not necessary to have the same outlook on life as others.
Writer, Jeannette Walls, in her memoir, The Glass Castle, provides an insight into the fanciful and shocking life of growing up poor and nomadic with faux-grandiose parents in America. With her memoir, Wall's purpose was to acknowledge and overcome the difficulties that came with her unusual upbringing. Her nostalgic but bitter tone leaves the reader with an odd taste in their mouth. In some memories, the author invites her audience to look back on with fondness; others are viewed through bulletproof glass and outrage.
In “Invisible Child,” a New York Times article written by Andrea Elliot, we follow a day in the life of a young African American girl, Dasani, growing up in New York City. However, instead of living in an “Empire State of Mind,” Dasani lives in the slums, growing up homeless with her two drug addicted parents and seven siblings. Dasani often finds herself taking care of her siblings, making sure they have enough to eat, tying shoelaces, changing diapers, getting them to the bus stop in time, and the list goes on. An 11 year old girl, essentially taking care of a whole family, as well as taking care of herself by going to school, receiving an education, and partaking in extra-curricular activities. Elliot captures the life and struggles of a family well under the poverty line, giving us an unprecedented look into what Dasani must do each day not just to grow up in New York City, but to survive.
It is evident that Mary and her family suffer social exclusion, which undermined their wellbeing. In the novel, Mike talks reflecting the true nature of the society in which they lived. He says, “But I’m a Hunky and they don’t give good jobs to Hunkies,” (Bell, 185). This particular statement demonstrates the limiting and oppressive nature of the American society. Putting this into context, Nancy Hewitt, in her book, A
In Stephen Crane’s Maggie, a Girl of the Streets, the reader is given key insight into the daily lives of a family that is torn apart due to their social environment. The story takes place in a poverty-stricken area called Rum Alley, which is located in the Bowery. The protagonist Maggie Johnson and her brother Jimmie are shaped by the society that they live in and the interactions they have. Maggie and Jimmie have abusive, alcoholic parents who constantly berate their kids for no good reason, resulting in Jimmie becoming an alcoholic and an abusive womanizer. Maggie was also affected by her social environment, but not in the same way as Jimmie.
As evident as the themes are in this story, the maintenance of social standards are unmistakable in modern day life. As the social media trend continues to evolve, people feel the need to “one up” each other. Following people on Instagram and checking Twitter is almost a haven for teenagers everywhere. The more likes one has, the more popular they are, and the more people start to feel like they are better than others. In “The Rocking Horse Winner”, Hester’s family feels superior to everyone else, even though they have hidden problems. Lawrence says, “The mother had a small income, and the father had a small income, but not nearly enough for the social position which they had to keep up” (Lawrence). This statement could be said about families in the modern world, as well as the family in this story. Many households live in debt and money shortages, yet they still maintain a life in which social status matters more than the condition they live in. From “The Rocking Horse Winner” to a nearby community, the impact of social statuses continues to be an enigma that no one generation can solve.