Garret: A Fictional Narrative

Had Jeannette never experienced poverty, had she never had to make do with what she had, she would never have thought to create her own braces. Hence, because poverty forces her to manage with the little she has throughout all of her childhood, Jeannette gains resourcefulness. Poverty’s final gift to Jeannette and her siblings is the desire to survive. Throughout her childhood, Jeannette is forced to survive. She must survive burns from a freak accident and cuts from falling out of a car. She must survive constant moving around and repeated incidents with sexual predators. All of these incidents instill in Jeannette a desire to survive. As a junior in high school, Jeannette flees to New York City where she finishes high school and begins college. Jeannette works hard to support herself but eventually runs out of money. Instead of quitting and falling through the cracks, Jeannette works harder; she refuses to give up and continues to live her life in the face of difficult circumstances. Thus, the Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle changed my views about poverty by revealing that poverty can produce more than negative outcomes; it can foster resiliency, ingenuity, and a desire to succeed.

describing how outsiders are poorer and unable to have the funds for the luxuries that

Kneeling helplessly on the streets of a busy city in broad daylight an elderly homeless man. Growing up in an extremely impoverished family, he has struggled his entire life to survive in a harsh world. Everyday he leaves a jar open for money on the street, while countless rich businessmen pass him without a slight glance every day. As they walk to their high paying job in big skyscrapers, the men pay no attention to this unfortunate man living on the side of the street. While spending another monotonous day kneeling on the street, the homeless man hears a clang. Looking over to see spare change in his jar, he glances up to see a set of kind eyes staring back at him. This kind man looked to be a construction worker just off of work, he

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” Jim Rohns quote highlights the basis of Debra Oswald’s play Gary’s house, and also Miroshav Holubs poem The Door. This essay will explore the notion that change causes people to shift their thinking and actions after significant catalysts. Gary’s House illustrates many of the issues and predicaments confronted by the characters and how their alteration in behaviour can have a beneficial outcome for them or others around them. The concept of "The Door" is based on the idea of taking risks and embracing change. The poet uses persuasive techniques to encourage and provoke the audience to take action.

Jonas pushed the bars with all his strength. Locked. "Please," He called into the darkness. "Is anyone there? Please, I need help!" Past the gate there lay a community that, at first glance, seemed not unlike Jonas' old home. Except, it wasn't very much like Jonas' community at all. The houses weren't all the same, and the colors- he had never seen so many house colors! The streets twisted and turned, and all the bumps and hills made them seem as if they went on forever. Jonas now saw the snow differently. Now it wasn't just a burden that slowed him down; it was beautiful! A thin, shimmery white sheet covered everything, and-

Poverty is a main part of life for many people in the world, more importantly the United States. Jeanette Walls shows how big of a problem poverty is in her memoir “The Glass Castle”, with her stories of how she grew up and her family’s struggles. How her family was treated along with what the people living around them found important clearly shows their economical class. The problem of food scarcity, or not having the bare necessities are some of poverty’s main problems. In “The Glass Castle”, the issues of poverty are displayed through not having the basic necessities, not being able to provide for children, and how there is not always enough food to feed everyone in the family.

Alienation, starvation, neglect and abuse are all words that invoke unfavorable connotations and are treatments that no person would ever want to be subjected to. Living in those conditions is something that most people choose not to think about let alone witness with their own eyes. By not seeing it, they find it easier to pretend it doesn’t exist. In the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” Ursula Le Guin writes about a city that from the outside looks like the perfect utopian society – a rich culture that is full of laughter, joy and peace, devoid of any violence, poverty or social inequities. Beneath the surface though hides a very dark secret that bares the true nature of Omelas. The citizens of this ostensibly flawless

Many people tend to take things for granted. We overlook the things that some people wished they had so they can live without struggle. It usually just comes so easily for us and we don’t realize how hard other people’s lives are. Jeannette Walls knows firsthand what it’s like to be without these modern luxuries. In her memoir, “The Glass Castle” she writes about how she sometimes grew up without things like a place to live, clothes to wear, food on the table, electricity to power the house and keep her warm. In her upbringing, her parents never really supplied her with the things she needs or took very good care of her so she learned how to survive with the little she got. She learns throughout her life that she should never take anything for granted and to appreciate the good things in life because she doesn’t get most of the essentials that other people have normally. Throughout the story she always knew to be grateful and value every little thing she got because she didn’t get much.

The setting of a rundown house in a poor neighborhood gives the impression of their struggle to survive as African Americans. The shabbiness of the exterior suggests their low social status. “A relatively recent addition to the house and running its full width, the porch lacks congruence. It is a sturdy porch with a flat roof. One or two chairs of dubious value sit at one end where the kitchen window opens on to the porch. An old fashioned ice box stands silent guard at the opposite end” (Wilson, setting description). While the newly added porch may represent an attempt to

I was riding my horse, in bad conditioned weather, it was raining and snowing with a little bit of ice on the ground. I was just minding my own business then I hear 3 bells the first one is a little loud, the second one was medium loud, and the third one was extremely loud. I started panicking and so I tied my horses reign to the hitch. I started panicking everyone was riding in their wagon trying to get home, but I stopped to see what was going on in then I see John with a musket and I tell everyone to go home and lock their doors because this wasn’t going to end well. I went up to him and asked him, “what are you doing man, what is wrong with you, why are you doing this?” He replied and said, “I don’t know.” Then I said, “what do you mean?” he replied and said, “I don’t know what is wrong with me I think I need to go see a doctor because I don’t feel right at all I don’t even own this

Poverty is a main part of life for many people in the world, more specifically the United States. Jeanette Walls displays how immense of a problem poverty is in her memoir, “The Glass Castle”, with her stories of how she grew up and her family’s struggles. How her family was treated along with what the people living around them found important unmistakably shows their economic class. The problem of food scarcity, or not having the bare necessities are some of poverty’s key problems. In “The Glass Castle”, the issues of poverty are displayed through not having the basic necessities, not being able to provide for children, and how there is not always enough food to feed everyone in the family.

Imagine you’re driving down a road and arrive at a red light. As you glance to your right, you see a woman standing there with a sign that reads, “Without work, anything will help”. Do you stop and give the spare change in your purse? Do you look the other way? Poverty is a difficulty that affects numerous families not only in the United States, but around the world. Jeannette Walls shows in her memoir, The Glass Castle, which describes her hardships as a child, that some poverty-stricken families chose to remain silent, afraid of the embarrassment they feel they’d face, or in denial of their situation. Despite the various drawbacks that weighed down the families hopes of survival, it only lit a fire in Jeannette to become a strong woman who appreciates what she has, knowing it could all disappear in an instant.

“This week is just full tragedies,” Brian said with suspicion. “Why do you say that Brian?” questioned Jennifer. “Alex is still missing, there were the two deaths at the beginning of the week, and now Griff strained and cut his ankle while he was in his track practice. He was jumping hurdles when he tripped over one thus injuring himself,” explained Brian. “He is also extremely sick,” added Evan. Then, Brian said further, “I bet it’s because of that sickening cut he got.” To get such a bad infection from his cut meant Griff was not going to fully recover. The group, distraught with their friend's sickness, decided they should send Griff a “Get well soon” card instead of visiting him, to avoid becoming sick themselves. “We should leave Griff

So many people in the American society live paycheck to paycheck and are one financial catastrophe away from financial ruin. In my own experience, after my husband’s employer continually embezzled from employees and clients, we found ourselves in a terrifying position. Jobless, penniless, and entrenched in mountains of subsequent debt, we were acquainted with the terror many American’s face while struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over our family. Just as the chapter 9 in our textbook describes, Aaron and his wife quickly realized that their income was “no longer sufficient to meet their needs,” (Openstax Intro to Sociology, 2015), we found ourselves in the same position. During my husband’s search for a new job, he began doing all he could to keep food on the table. He participated in tree removal, a laughable wage for hard physical labor. In desperation, I took a full time babysitting job looking after two very difficult little girls for a measly $250 a week. Looking back, although the situation was terrible and trying, we cannot wish it away. The situation taught us what mattered. There were so many things my family took for granted. The situation opened our eyes to the trials and suffering of many people in our society and allowed us to develop compassion, love, and understanding. Now, as we think back to our own struggles, it is much easier to reach out

As I walked out of my nine-story apartment complex, I saw an interesting array of faces. Mixed genders, some male, some female, all very different deep down inside. I study their faces, wondering what it'd be like to walk a day in their shoes. Some people are like open books, you can look at their facial expression and instantly guess what their emotions are, yet others are like locked diaries. You can't tell what they're thinking and you'll probably never know. I shake the thought out of my head as I rummage through my pathetic excuse of a handbag, pulling out my most recent bank statement. Thirty-two cents to my name. How do I live like this? My train of thought is lost as my mind ponders elsewhere. Do you think people can tell I'm a broke