Flavo's Home By Gordon Parks

The author uses tone and images throughout to compare and contrast the concepts of “black wealth” and a “hard life”. The author combines the use of images with blunt word combinations to make her point; for example, “you always remember things like living in Woodlawn with no inside toilet”. This image evokes the warmth of remembering a special community with the negative, have to use outdoor facilities. Another example of this combination of tone and imagery is “how good the water felt when you got your bath from one of those big tubs that folk in Chicago barbecue in”. Again the author’s positive memory is of feeling fresh after her bath combined with a negative, the fact that it was a barbecue drum.

Understanding that there is a big separation between rich and poor, Gordon Parks was in for a rude awakening in ‘Flavios Home’ when he came face to face with a family doing all they can to survive. Parks comes across a young fellow named Flavio da Silva who was struggling to carry water in a tin over his head and is immediately intrigued to learn more about him. Having an assignment over poverty, Parks took the chance to get better insight by following Flavio home. Recreating the environment and interactions he had creates an awareness that is able to give those not in nor around those in poverty to make a change. Parks goes beyond just going through the events by using descriptive words that allows readers to accompany him.

Imagine coming home to a house that has no warmth or food. Constantly feeling like you are in a place you can’t get out of. This is how poverty may feel to others. The expeirences from the author Jo Goodwin Parker in the story “What Is Poverty” and the McBride family from the novel “The Color Of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute To His White Mother” show that there are various effects of living in poverty that include emotional problems, adolescent rebellion, and

Linda Tirado, author of Hand to Mouth Living in Bootstrap America, tells her story of what it’s like to be working poor in America, as well as what poverty is truly like on many levels. With a thought-provoking voice, Tirado discusses her journey from lower class, to sometimes middle class, to poor, and everything in between. Throughout the read, Tirado goes on to reveal why poor people make the decisions they do in a very powerful way.

In professor and editor Diana George’s article, “Changing the Face of Poverty: Nonprofits and the Problem of Representation,” published in the printed book Popular Literacy: Studies in Cultural Practices and Poetics, in 2001, she insists that representations of poverty in the media, only reveal of a small percentile of everyone impoverished, which makes them counterproductive. Opening with a brief anecdote about donation appeals made by nonprofit organizations, George directs her article towards the organizations themselves offering a suggestion to maximize the impact of their work. That suggestion is that representing poverty in a wider light, helping to display the more complex ways individuals are considered to be in poverty. The examples that George provides, become a pillar for her thesis that these current representations of poverty, while emotionally capturing, work against themselves.

In “Changing the Face of Poverty”, the author Diana George shows different ways poverty is advertised and displayed. She disagrees with the way poverty is addressed and visually represented, in a limited way. I agree with the way she wants people to acknowledge how poverty is being misunderstood.

In Tattoos on the Heart, the reader accompanies Father Gregory Boyle throughout a series of heart-warming conversions he conducts through his interactions with numerous gang members in the Los Angeles projects. Likewise, J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy constructs a memoir of his tumultuous upbringing in the Midwest as well as of his familial roots in Kentucky. A commonality throughout the novels is the poverty faced by members of these communities and how it contributes to the conflicts that drive the plot. The topic of poverty, its causes, and possible solutions has always interested me a lot due to a concept of the Lottery of Birth, which is a philosophical position that comes up frequently in my debate competitions. Basically, where we are born, in terms of one’s position and class in society, is arbitrary; I did not choose to be born in the socioeconomically comfortable neighborhood of Massapequa Park. This is a perpetual unfairness to which there is no solution, but there has to be some action that can alleviate the suffering of the over three billion people worldwide who live on less than three dollars a day (DoSomething.org).

The novel, “Child of the Dark,” details the stories of a poor woman and her struggles in life. The book is a diary written by Carolina Maria de Jesus where she writes about her experiences living in the favelas in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Carolina’s diary details the events in her life that took place between the years of 1955 and 1960. Carolina documents the everyday lives of people who live in the favelas and details what life is like for poor people in Brazil. Carolina’s diary gives a good depiction of life in the favela.

In Alison Bechdel 's Fun Home, there is a focus on a sculpted perception of gender roles produced by society and a great emphasis on how Bruce and Alison challenge these strict gender specific characteristics. Through Bruce’s femininity and Alison’s masculinity along with their homosexuality, they are able to go against the norms and the collection of rules set by society. It is also through their struggle with gender roles that one is able to understand their sexual orientation. Although Bruce and Alison seem fairly different from one another, there are elements that pull them closer together revealing their similarities.

Throughout “Flavio's Home,” Parks effectively informs the reader that the issue of poverty is ignored by those who have the power and resources to make a change. By appealing to the reader's emotions, Parks uses ethos to encourage the reader to want to stop such tragedies from occurring. He is also credible, by being a well-known photographic essayist who has grown up knowing the struggle of poverty

He adequately clarifies the message behind poverty by prosperously using pathos. The techniques that he uses to describe Flavio allows the readers to radiate sympathy and compassion, as well as his profound use of imagery which compels the reader to indulge and sink into their creative and imaginative side. For instance, as Parks and his team enter Flavio’s home, a shack with a rusted tin roof, the only furniture spotted was “a sagging bed and a broken baby’s crib” (Parks 2). By incorporating imagery, Parks draws a painting of Flavio’s home in the reader’s mind, allowing the readers to appreciate the small things in life. Moreover, due to the fact that Parks was once living in poverty, he is able to convince the readers, by using ethos, that poverty is a very complex

Kotlwitz reveals to incredible ability What's more passing water to as much article; as much point by point methodology to composing empowers book fans to structure visual pictures of the neediness that surrounds the inner-city poor. Hosting required primary hand encounters with the West side community, Kotlwitz effectively illustrates those hardships that are faced, making as much bookworms unavoidably feel compassionate. Despite this indicates him will make a point about conviction, as much portrayal of the inner-city poor Concerning illustration defenseless consumers to standard of America obviously uncovers the author’s subjectivity of the issue; Hosting depended All the more with respect to rationale Also rational, Kotlwitz might need to produce to a stronger contention. Nearing those limit for as much article, Kotlwitz finishes up that the exchange of designs the middle of bunches may be a false association. Furthermore, a transfer, for any form, will be at last even now a connection; as much rejection of the connection, done turn, makes as much decisive contention skewed until furthermore decreased.

Whether it be at the Hearthside or Walmart, it is important “not to ‘know too much’” or do what is not necessary (pg. 195, Ehrenreich). There is a negative connotation on over exertion at these establishments, as is understood, given the amount they are payed at both of these locations, which is hardly enough for one person to survive off of, let alone a whole family. Some of the co-worker’s she meets along the way are examples of poverty in the United States, many of whom share apartments with others, and one coworker, Joan, lives behind the hearthside in her car and showers in a coworkers motel room. The article “Poverty in the United States: An Overview” by Cliff Brown, is a great example of poverty in America and its characteristics. Those living in poverty have more health and educational issues, and individuals who fall below the poverty level are among the most vulnerable and distressed in the United States. Factors such as: race, ethnicity, family structure, sex, age, and geography are linked to poverty.(p. 89) In regards to the hearthside, or Jerrys, or the Maid Service, there is no one significant race or sex, there are many different representations of poverty, from the nineteen year old George who lives with other Czech immigrants in hope of garnering the American dream, to Caroline, the aunt of a friend who lived through what Ehrenreich is

Comparing ?Everyday Use?, ?Sonny?s Blues? and ?The Cathedral?, one can conclude that they share a common meaning. Although all three stories consider poverty as their theme, each chooses to elaborate it in a different manner. In fact, ?Everyday Use? emphasizes on the state of extreme poverty in which certain people live. On the other hand, ?Sonny?s Blues? contributes to the theme by describing the poverty of spirit of Harlem?s ?inner kids?. Carver?s ?The Cathedral?, however, prefers to explore the notion of poverty as a state of one?s mind rather than the environment in which one lives.

The thesis of this excerpt is how “savage” poverty is; the anecdote is centered on Flavio and his impoverished family and lifestyle. 2.Flavio’s siblings are presumed to be dirty and a bit violent. His parents are both hardworking and manage utilizing what they can to earn money for their family. Flavio is the eldest son therefore has the most responsibility within the household when the parents are working; he cooks, cleans, and keeps the other children out of trouble. 3.Flavio’s home is in Catacumba, which is an impoverished favela.