Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits - Essay Example

In this article, Suki Ki presents a candid discussion on the plight of immigrant groups in the socially stratified American society. as a Korean origin, Ki recounts how challenging life was to her and her family. Her story revolves around the agonies of the poor immigrants who were confronted with lots of hardships in New York. All these began when her father was compelled to relocate to New York after being declared bankrupt. In order to shed more light on this issue, Ki explains how her life suddenly changed from the lavish one to an impoverished one in which she had to change her lifestyle.

The bankruptcy of her father did expose her to poverty, but traumatized her father because he was compelled to move to America lest him being jailed in his native South Korea. Later, upon settling in New York, Ki came to face the realities of life especially when she had to attend public school.I would like to point out that Ki provides a true picture of what was happening in the American society at the time. Indeed, as she says, America has been a stratified society. It is highly segregated into the rich, poor, privileged, natives and immigrant groups.

Since each of these occupies a different position in the society, they have diverse rights and privileges to enjoy. For example, when it comes to education, children from poor families only attend public schools as compared to their privileged counterparts who go to high cost private ones. This is the misfortune that befell Ki when her life became prone to hardships after her father losing all his riches.