“Chicago Slums: The Other America” "Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate. (Anonymous)” In the 1980 Chicago slums this quote couldn’t be truer. The slums were/are a terrible place for not just children, but everyone to live. The Henry Horner homes in particular are full of death, drugs, and poverty. This may not seem like the greatest place for children to be raised, but for some, they know nothing different. The constant gang trouble, drug trafficking, and hiding from stray bullets are an everyday occurrence for people living in these government housing complexes. The devastation is a never-ending cycle. The parents get into drugs and violence, and the children have no choice but to imitate their parents …show more content…
I can imagine that Pharoah’s mind looks somewhat like mine did when I was his age. I had the biggest imagination and often used it as an escape from normal life. No, normal life for me was not drugs, gangs, and street violence; but I still had a sometimes empty and scary reality. My military family and I lived overseas all of my childhood and my father was often absent due to fighting for our country. Every day he was gone my siblings and I would wonder if we would ever get to see him again, or if he would be killed doing his job and never return. That was my scary reality, and the constant absence of my father caused me to daydream and life in a fantasy world most of my days. Because of this, I can understand why Pharoah tries so hard to hold onto his childhood and how he can life every day in a daydream to escape the harsh reality of his life. “As the young children pursued each other from one end of the parking lot to the other, Pharoah stood by himself on the building’s back stoop. He leaned on the black metal bannister. Chin in hand, and stared into space, paying little attention to the shrieking children just a few yards away.” (Kotlowitz, 61) Poverty, the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor (Webster Dictionary). Poverty is a constant issue for not only the America, but all over the world. This theme runs the course of the books narrative, and is clearly shown in the
The book “There Are No Children Here” by Alex Kotlowitz details the challenges two young boy’s face by being raised in the inner city housing project (Henry Horner Homes). These challenges stem from racism, discrimination, the social construction of reality, social location, social class, and the deviance theory, which is due to their location and influences at which causes many youths to lead a life of crime. The book focuses on the Conflict and Symbolic Interaction theories of sociology. What is the true cause of their struggle? Is it the run down housing, lack of education, race, gangs, violence and drugs? I think that all of these play a part into their everyday
"There Are No Children Here" by Alex Kotlowitz stands as a gut-wrenching and thought provoking piece of non-fiction that meticulously dives into the lives of two young brothers, Lafayette and Pharoah Rivers. The narrative unfolds within the Henry Horner Homes, a public housing project situated on the west side of Chicago during the late 1980s. Kotlowitz skillfully explores the intricate web of poverty, violence, education, and systemic failures that define the experiences of residents in the inner-city neighborhood. The narrative intimately tracks Lafayette and Pharoah as they navigate their challenging environment, offering readers a deep glimpse into the broader societal issues afflicting urban America. The book unfolds in three distinct
There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz tells the harrowing story of the Rivers family and their shocking experiences living in an underserved Chicago public housing project. The story focuses on Lafayette, a middle school aged boy discovering his identity, Pharoah, an elementary school aged boy with high ambition and goals, and their resilient mother LaJoe. Matza’s Techniques of Neutralization discuss how people can create rationalizations to justify delinquencies and crimes. Specifically applicable to There Are No Children Here is the theory of Denial of Responsibility which occurs when the perpetrator of an offense claims the situation was out of their control, they did not know the law, they were a victim of circumstance, or they were acted upon by outside forces rather than acting themselves. The second theory applicable to There Are No Children Here is Becker’s theory of Master Status. The theory of Master Status states that labels can take on a “master status” and can have an enormous influence and once you’ve been labeled, then define you. These theories aid in understanding how the pattern of violence and destruction is perpetuated in the projects of Chicago and the misfortune in the Rivers family.
Poverty is defined as deficiency, or inadequacy. It can be used to represent more than just the lack of money. Poverty is constant throughout the novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton. Poverty is evident in almost every area of Ethan's life.
Poverty is the state of being extremely poor, meaning having little to no money, goods or means of support. Lacking basic living materials such as food ,clothes ,shoes, and a household. You may not be missing all of these but could could just be barely able to afford them. Poverty is a multidimensional issue that concerns a person’s level of health access and coverage, available educational opportunities and quality of life, according to the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. “ The U.K.-based think tank released on Tuesday the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, which helps provide a better understanding of the causes of poverty to better address the issue”(Caratao).
Poverty is the state of lacking vital living essentials such as money, food, water, clothing, and shelter. The American economist defined poverty as being deprived of "those goods and services and pleasures which others around us take for granted" (Orshansky). Poverty is a global problem, but there is much debate regarding how to define poverty and how to remedy it in its various forms. Poverty affects both isolated individuals and larger groups of people. It is especially common in developing countries that have yet to establish governmental social programs, civil services, and human rights standards.
Poverty is when a person is almost at the stage of being poor to where they can hardly take care of themselves and can hardly depend on becoming successful. The condition of poverty is when people don’t have any money to pay for food, clothing and their shelter is not being met. The U.S. needs a new war on poverty.
What is poverty? A question most Americans will not have to think twice before answering. Poverty is, of course, simply a lack of money. The views of a specific person will defer when politics or morals are introduced, however, the idea stays the same. Those in poverty are there because they have less money than what has been decided to be livable. Poverty has changed significantly over the last two hundred years in the United States, and yet, the definition has hardly changed. As the United States of America has because a better-established country and therefore a more prosperous country, the type of people that are considered poor has changed quite a bit. Before industrialization and immigration became a bigger
Although many people are born into it, not many people actually move up and out of poverty. 14.5% of America’s population suffers in poverty so that’s about 45.3 million people. Poverty is all around us and sadly the numbers are only increasing.
Poverty is a situation in which income is inadequate to provide for basic needs such as food, shelter, medical care, and clothing. Poverty has been a problem for societies since the beginning of time.
Poverty is a hard concept for people to put into words. Ruby Payne states a working definition of poverty in her book A Framework for Understanding Poverty in which she says, “The extent to which an individual does without resources” (7). For a better look, the dictionary defines poverty as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions”
Poverty is a problem in the United States that affects many people through the course of their lives. Poverty is the state of one who lacks a socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is not a choice but a matter of circumstance.
Poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support: condition of being poor (Poverty, n.d.). There are numerous reasons that contribute to the overwhelming poverty rates in America, some of which cause sever hunger and death. The economy, cultural beliefs, minimum wage, and lack of jobs are a just a few reasons more than 45 million people are in poverty. The American government has set the limits to what is considered to be poverty under a set guideline of 48 possible thresholds. The thresholds vary according to the size of the family and the ages of the family members. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, poverty
Poverty: The state of being extremely poor. The state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount.
Poverty is “about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter”(what is poverty, 2009). Everybody might know this meaning and the problem.