Jo Goodwin Parker. What Is Poverty - Essay Example

Jo Goodwin Parker. What Is Poverty? Essay

“Jo Goodwin Parker. What is Poverty? Essay” will summarize an article by this character. She tells the meaning of poverty using personal experience. She uses her life from childhood to adulthood to demonstrate the kind of poverty she lived through. She can show poverty from even the most unexpected angles. In this short story, Parker covers the different aspects of poverty that a reader ignores.

Parker has three children. Although she knew that she could not provide for them, she decided to have them anyway. Many would condemn her for having the kids, yet she knows she couldn’t provide for them. She lives in poverty together with her kids, as highlighted in the essay. For instance, the family cannot afford the treatment for the health conditions they are suffering from. The little help she gets from the government in terms of a certain amount of money per month is enough to meet her needs.

I wouldn’t say I like it that the author is pessimistic in the essay. Her view that the outside cannot help her and her criticism is not encouraging at all. Nevertheless, this can be blamed on the unfortunate situation that saw her live a life that she did not like. Regardless of the many challenges that she faced in her life, she continued taking care of her three children. Reading this article enabled me to view poverty on another angle, especially on people having kids. The story shows how some of the things that we are used to can be a privilege to others.

One of the things that Parker achieves is making the reader feel guilty. Her story makes the readers feel guilty for the things that they have. For instance, when she says, “‘You say in your clean clothes coming from your clean house ...”, she shows the reader that some things that they take for granted are not to others. She cannot be clean like anyone else around. She uses only what she cannot afford. She also mentions that hot water is something that she cannot afford because of poverty.

I agree with her on the issue with the middle class in the essay. She says that people in this income group can afford things like soap and hot water, which she cannot. Reading this story makes one appreciate the things that they have. I am now proud of the few things that I own because, through her story, I now know some people view them as a luxury.

The use of imagery can be seen throughout this story. Parker has perfected the use of imagery to enable the reader to understand her condition. While many readers may start reading this article with a different understanding of poverty, the perceptions are more likely to change after going through this story. The readers can now see it at an angle never perceived before.

Parker lives in a dirty house. She cannot afford to clean it as she does not have enough money. In her words, the house has a smell of urine, sour milk, and other bad things (167). This description is something that may not be in the mind of many readers. She uses this experience to enable the reader to imagine that life. One can see how the lack of basic things like soap and water is common among low-income families in society.

Poverty is associated with everything bad in this story. Due to economic status, Parker does not have a husband. Having kids make it hard to take care of herself and the family. Therefore, she has no one to assist her in all these struggles. She has to know what the children eat and where they sleep. Besides, she does not have friends whom she can turn for help.

Consequently, she has to figure out how she is going to solve her problems alone. She has no help. The mention of all these things in the article enables the ready to see how poverty begets poverty. Maybe the friends we have today are there because of the money that we have. Maybe those married are only living as couples due to their financial status.

Poverty is not only demonstrated in the kind of life that Parker lives. She admits that she looks older than she is, possibly because of the suffering associated with poverty. Her back is also bent because she spends a lot of time washing. And due to a pure diet, she is anemic. Poverty has also affected her mental health, as she is always afraid that something bad will happen. For instance, she is worried about rains, as the diapers won’t dry.

Parker knows how to make the audiences feel guilty. She knows very well that her story alone may not invoke these feelings in all readers. She uses her children to show how poor she is. The kids have no books, magazines, and other things that most people would consider basic. Therefore, the reader can feel sorry for the kids and feel guilty at the same time.

Health is considered a basic thing in many families in this essay. Some people do not think that there are people who cannot buy their medicine. Parker says her children are not healthy. Although they have worms and other infections, she cannot afford their treatment. Introducing the kids helps her argument to become more powerful. It is something that many people cannot imagine and are shocked to learn that it is what the author and her family experience every day.

Many people attribute poverty to laziness. However, the story Parker introduces a new perspective to the reader. In this essay, she says that there was a time she was babysitting. However, she left her children alone. On returning home, she found them in dangerous situations. Having the children in a nursery school would have enabled her to work without worrying about their safety. However, the money she gets is not enough for the fees and other needs. She uses this experience to show how hard it is for her to work.

From her story, one can see why the poor continue living in poverty. For instance, she is not employed, and, therefore, she does not have money. She cannot remain clean, as the things that she needs for cleaning are too expensive for her. Having a family makes matters only worse. According to the essay, she used her two-month savings on only a single jar of Vaseline! Buying soap is also a problem. The reader can understand poverty better through Parker’s story.

When you read this article, you learn about the life of Parker. The level of poverty covered in this story is something I cannot imagine. Having three children with no job or husband is perhaps one of the worst things that happen to a human being. The essence of this essay, I think, is to allow the reader to see the truth.