Poverty: Refelection Questions - Essay Example

Secondly, the author wants his readers to listen attentively to the voices and cries of the poor in order to establish the reasons they became poor or they live in poverty (Eitzen, & Smit, 2008). This essay will therefore analyse different readings from the book in order to establish the best method of enhancing change in the society. In the given section, the author focuses on lives of poor people through the daily experiences of a narrator. The section traces the life of the narrator through his childhood to his marriage and divorce.

The first reading describes poverty as a recurring phenomenon that affects members of a particular generation. For instance, the narrator grew up in at Boston in a neighbourhood that is widely inhibited by Italian immigrants. The fact that their ancestors were economic immigrants is the basic cause of their poverty. The migrants migrated from Italy due to economic hardships. Their immigration to western Boston did not stop them from been poor but their poverty replicates through generations. The second reading tells the life of a young girl who was adopted into her family.

Although she was an adopted girl, her life was better than that of other people in her neighbourhood due to the small size of her family. She was the only child of that household. At her early teenage, she decided to elope with a man who had little consideration about her welfare. In addition, she got into marriage as a way of spicing up her life. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last for more than two years. She ended up becoming a single mother of a one-year-old child. According the author, she was responsible for creating her own poverty.

From the two readings it is evident that people can get it problem voluntary or involuntarily. The different ways or source of poverty in a society is the basis of introducing changes in the society. Changes in a society are symbolized by the standards of living of each member of the society. Different societies have different views towards change and hence different approaches. The best way to introduce change into a society is to address problems from within the society (Eitzen, & Smit, 2008).

This is because problems affect each of the individual members of the society. Solution to such problems will be reflected as change in the society. In addition, problem such as poverty affect every member of the society and therefore eliminating poverty in such a society will depict changes in the society. From the readings, absolute changes in the society can only be achieved if the different societies find a solution out of their poverty. Surviving Chicago’s ‘Toxic Doughnut’ Ordinary Perspective This essay revolves around the life of Hazel Johnson who was a community activist.

Hazel Johnson was concerned about the environment and the irreversible effects of environmental pollution. Disposal of waste or environmental pollution not only affected the older generation but also children who were denied the chance of being in contact with nature. After noticing the problems that resulted from environmental pollution, Mrs Johnson decided to lead her community towards environmental conservation. She achieved this by conducting various environmental surveys and public awareness campaigns.

Her involvement with environmental conservation enabled her encounter several parties and government institutions involved with