Two Lovely Beasts

    In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel.

In "Two Gallants," the sixth short story in the Dubliners collection, James Joyce is especially careful and crafty in his opening paragraph. Even the most cursory of readings exposes repetition, alliteration, and a clear structure within just these nine lines. The question remains, though, as to what the beginning of "Two Gallants" contributes to the meaning and impact of Joyce's work, both for the isolated story itself and for Dubliners as a whole. The construction, style, and word choice of this opening, in the context of the story and the collection, all point to one of Joyce's most prevalent implicit judgments: that the people of Ireland refuse to make any effort toward positive change for themselves.

Imagine: A young boy scavenges for food to provide for his impoverished family which was composed of his ill mother and starving siblings or a homeless, single mom desperatley seeking for shelter. These synopses from "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt and "The Street" by Ann Petry share a common theme: perseverance through hardships. In "Angela's Ashes," a memoir by Frank McCourt, he stells about the harships he endured through his childhood, such as, struggling to assist his family in the midst of poverty by stealing food to provide for them. Futhermore, in "The Street," a novel by Ann Petry, tells the story of young Lutie Johnson, a homeless single mom who is seeking shelter for herself and her children. In these two excerpts, the authors use the characters, settings, and events to develop the theme, which I've identified as perseverance through hardships.

In the same fashion, dealing with Maureen Walls, the youngest child of the Walls family, had to rely on her friends and people she hardly knew to provide for her. This situation went as far as Maureen going to her friend’s house to eat meals and

“People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early childhood, but nothing can compare with the Irish version”(11).

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In “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift discusses how Ireland is in bad shape. He describes the poor conditions of the economy and society of Ireland. To illustrate the poor state of the economy in Ireland he gives examples of the poverty people in Ireland are living. Swift says, “It is a melancholy to those… when they see the streets… crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags…” To further show the unfortunate state of Ireland, Swift demonstrates how the society is in a deprived

The essay illustrates that the greed-filled English have taken away everything from the Irish. This includes their material things such as their money, their

Circumstances, no matter how terrible, can be made better by knowing that there are people who care about you. The main focus of the articles "The Suitcase Lady" by Christie McLaren and "The Firewood Gatherers" by Thierry Mallet are the two old women the articles describe. One woman is homeless, forgotten by her family and the rest of the world. The other woman is blind and shriveled, gathering firewood with her grandchildren. While the two women are largely alike, both old and on the sidelines of society, their circumstances are made vastly different by their familial situations.

The authors brings a new perspective on the ability of surviving poverty and overcoming the odds. He illustrates society’s views on people who are from the Appalachia mountain area throughout the book. By reviling his accounts and struggles, he opens the eyes of the readers who view these individuals as lazy, inbreed, rednecks, buy giving them a glimpse of his life struggles. The book, Hillbilly Elegy was a simple story of a poverty-stricken boy who grew up surrounded by negativity. The author took notice of all the people, events, failures, and his surroundings and use these to help mold him into who he is today. He would use the mentorship and observation of his grandmother and later his grandfather, who would, started as a salvage

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In the literary work of A Modest Proposal, one of the better examples of satire in literature by Jonathan Swift he writes as a concerned citizen to the Irish poor, which he describes in detail about their suffering. Swift often refers to the economy of Ireland as being unsutible for its people due to the fact that Ireland is over populated. Swift argues that the problem they are having is poverty in Ireland and describes his remedied on how it can be stopped. His work shows how savage, insane, and frightening it could be for the people of Ireland. From his work he allows many details about alienation. One of the points where this becomes about is how he takes the stand for the poor Irish people and shows how in society they have been alienated

Joyce 's novel demonstrates a city and a society full of contradictions, parochial ideas, and paralysis. The Dublin inhabitants are divided by the river Liffey, into 'North and South ', 'rich and poor classes

Poverty is a primary theme in O’Henry’s iconic short story. It begins at Christmastime and focuses on the couple`s poverty. The author provides a description of the small flat in which they live: “There was nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. ... A furnished flat