Rhetorical Analysis Of On Compassion

Compassion and empathy are two different emotions that humans can have for other people. Sometimes one does not always recognize the difference between these two emotions. Ascher and Quindlen convey the importance of having a place to call “home,” and to illustrate how homeless people are individual’s who need compassion shown towards them by the human race.

The mother grows impatient and pushes the stroller before her, bearing the dollar like a cross. Finally, a black hand rises and closes around

Asher’s word play is remarkable, especially her use of rhetorical questions. She questions every action of a person, making the reader wonder why they did something. Her essay was really able to make me analyze myself and why I do things. She is able to capture a small detail that completely changes the situation, like when the mother’s “hands clos[ed] tighter on the stroller’s handle” (56); this little movement makes the reader feel like the mother gave the money out of fear instead of

Ascher’s “On Compassion” offer readers a brief encounter with New York City’s citizens as they confront the less fortunate members of society- the homeless. She describes a young mother walking down the street with her baby in a stroller who becomes agitated upon seeing a homeless man walking

Homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. This terrible misfortune has led to many unsuspecting people leading impoverished lifestyles, and facing the horrific and heart-wrenching tragedy of abandonment. The purpose of this essay is to not only persuade the readers to get involved in ending homelessness on local and national efforts, but to embrace new and creative ways of helping to end this rapidly growing problem, by taking action to end this catastrophic situation. Also, I will demonstrate the causes and effects of the homeless resorting to violence, by using comparison and contrast to examine the views and standpoints on helping the forgotten, so that we might end this calamity once and for all. In an increasingly

Ascher’s essay describes the ways she has seen compassion showed, through voluntary donations, food, shelter. She openly questions what drives humans to be compassionate to each other. As a successful author who

For Father’s Day this past year my family and I treated our Dad to a Houston Astros baseball game. The game was held at Minute Maid Park in the heart of Downtown Houston. We were running late for the game and it began to rain. While driving around I witnessed more homeless people on the streets than ever. As we walked to the stadium after parking, I could not help but think about each of their (the homeless) situation. It was daunting to me that they were spending a holiday alone and it was a norm for them. Homeless people are often not given the time of day by everyday citizens. Chris Hadfield explains that when a problem exists, human nature causes us to bolt from the situation rather than approach it immediately (Hadfield 55). Currently (2016) there are approximately two million Houstonians (Suburban Stats) and of those, more than 5,000 citizens are homeless (Homeless Houston). It is easy to forget about the homeless because they are neglected from society. If homeless people were given a purpose, then they would not be occupying space on the streets.

Seeing homelessness develop is a process that the older generation can say they have been apart of. The young generation, on the other hand, cannot say they have seen the development of homelessness. People who are thirty years old or younger have grown up believing that homelessness was always part of the landscape. The younger generation has come to believe that there have always been homeless people sitting on park benches. When an individual is asked what they see most in a large city like Chicago or New York, ‘homeless people’ is a common response. According to the United States Census Bureau, 320.8 million individuals currently live in the United States of America. Imagine the proportion of individuals that do not own a car or even a house to live in. The National Law Center on Homelessness and poverty did studied to conclude that in America more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year. Those concerned with the issue of homelessness are curious as to what events had to have happened that lead to the individuals living on the streets. The reasons are different for each and every person. Some of the more major issues that contribute to this are lack of affordable housing, declining welfare assistance, and most importantly, mental illness. Resolving the issue of homelessness is very possible with new ways of housing and treatment for the mentally ill. The relation between the homeless and the mental illness has risen, and the United States as a whole

Today's world is filled with both great tragedy and abundant joy. In a densely populated metropolis like New York City, on a quick walk down a street you encounter homeless people walking among the most prosperous. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten the prosperous person will trudge straight past the one in need without a second thought. A serious problem arises when this happens continually. The problem worsens when you enter a different neighborhood and the well-to-do are far from sight. Many neighborhoods are inhabited only by the most hopeless of poverty - ridden people while others downtown or across the park do not care, or are glad to be separated from them. Such is the problem in New York City today and in Mott Haven in Jonathan

This speaks on a very deep level, in regards to the genuine warmth the author implied toward the mother in his piece. There is a subliminal truth of sentimental “value”, because the reality of this world is that all material wealth can be lost in a moment, but real wealth is not some slice of pie one luckily stumbles upon in the world, real wealth is first found in the human being, and the human becomes the reflective producer of these

Ascher believes observing the adversity of homelessness is a necessity in learning compassion because “Compassion is not a character trait. . .It must be learned, and it is learned by having adversity at our windows” (Cohen 42). Ascher believes we can learn and grow from others' adverse experiences without being a part of it. Although Ascher would have us believe we can learn compassion simply through observing adversity at our windows (homelessness), Eighner would likely disagree because he has struggled in adversity and learned the importance of true sentiment first hand, not through observation. Eighner writes of the importance of having an intimate connection with adversity in his own homelessness, “Once I was the sort of person who invests material objects with sentimental value. Now I no longer have those things, but I have the sentiments yet. . . .The things I find in dumpsters, the love letters and ragdolls of so many lives, remind me of this lesson” (Cohen 157, 158). Eighner has grown and holds sentiment in those lessons because he had those experiences, not because he has simply observed others. Ascher gives us a lesson in learning from adversity but does so from an outsiders' point of view while Eighner's personal experience contrasts to shows us that much can be learn from experiencing adversity more intimately.

A homeless person is an individual without a permanent, stable housing situation who either spends his or her nights on the streets or in temporary facilities, such as shelters and abandoned buildings. Throughout history, society has been “holding the poor, rape or incest victims, minorities, or the handicapped responsible for their misfortunes” (Zur). Society has been blaming the homeless for being in the position they are in. However, upon closer inspection, it must be noted that “children under the age of 18 accounts for 39% of the homeless population…battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness…[and] 40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces” (Who Is Homeless?). It is clear that those who are homeless are not

Not every homeless person is to blame for the condition that they are in. It was a clear, sunny, and cold morning during my second visit to Woodruff Park on Saturday. To my surprise, the same couple was sitting by the same exact bench as the last morning. Firstly, I was confused by how this couple looked wretched, but both the man and the woman were smoking cigarettes. The couple was alone, so I decided to approach them. Moreover, I introduced myself and told the homeless couple the purpose of this interview. Without any doubt in my mind, I wanted to comprehend what made the homeless couple suffer in this condition. After asking the homeless couple why they have been on the streets, Andre quickly claimed that they cannot find a home that is

The word “homeless” is used to describe many different kinds of people with a variety of problems; the “homeless” includes veterans, the mentally ill, the physically disabled or chronically ill, the elderly on fixed incomes, men, women, and families that have lost their source of income, single parents, runaway children who’ve been abused, alcoholics and drug addicts, immigrants, and traditional tramps, hobos, and transients (Martin, 1999). In “Helping and Hating the Homeless”, Peter Martin claims that although these people all have different backgrounds, histories, and reasons for not having a “home”, they are categorized and stereotyped by society and all looked down upon for being “homeless”. He addresses his readers, those that pass by

Soon it would be six o’clock and that is when the city buses drop-off the individuals who finished work at five o’clock. I wanted to head out before the Center became even more crowded than before, Sarah wanted some fresh air so we ended up walking to the gas station on the corner of Sample and Main Street. When we got to the convenience store, Sarah committed what would be an informal social sanction in our society. Much to my dismay, she asked me, someone who was a total stranger to her six hours ago, if I would give her some money so she could buy a pack of cigarettes. Although I was a little surprised she had the guts to ask me, I did not hesitate to reach into my wallet and proceeded to hand her a Lincoln. Similar to a hungry vending machine, she snatched it, smiled from ear to ear, gave me a hug, and ran inside. To clarify, I did not see this as a bribe or a dash to maintain our friendship in case I had more questions during the composing of this essay, because I saw it more as a reciprocal exchange. Grateful for the hours she had spent on her day off of work entertaining me, I was more than willing to give her enough money for her to buy herself a pack of