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Crystal Leota
Professor Wills
Composition 100
October 17th, 2012
The G.A.P (Great Altitude of Poverty) in Society
Poverty’s existence shapes the lives of many, globally and domestically. It
stretches as far out to the slums of India and reaches within the abandoned streets of
America, creating this G.A.P in society. Ascher’s article “On Compassion”, presents the
reality of poverty in America through her personal narrative illustrating a common scene
of poverty and it’s influence on the locals of our society. It affects the understanding that
poverty is an undeniable factor of life. Along with Ascher’s perspective of poverty,
comes statistics from the U.S Census providing data of poverty in America creating an
understanding of poverty’s stance in America numerically. It also proves that poverty
does not only exist in third-world countries but it also exists in the U.S. The online
article called “Going Hungry in America:’ Distressing’, “humbling’, and ‘scary’,”
portrays a collection of narratives that reveal poverty within the realms of America. It has
brought my attention to the fact that poverty is misconceived and that it could easily be
interpreted into the last paycheck in a struggling home. In contrast to the effectiveness of
narratives are the images of poverty in India. The images of India are just a mere taste of
what poverty is really like, giving the audience a visual understanding of poverty’s
existence. Time’s book on Mother Teresa, “Her Ministry is Born”, conveys Mother
Teresa’s work in the slums of Calcutta through her dialogues, vivid details provided, and
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first-hand images of Mother Teresa’s people, all illustrating an understanding of the
devastating existence of poverty in India. The most urgent need of poverty would have to
be food and nourishment because that is the main factor to living. Many can see that the
greatest poverty is presented through third world countries such as India, however,
America, by far, has reached it’s great altitude in poverty.
Barbara Ascher’s article, “On Compassion,” portrays the ideal poverty in America
through narratives and message dealing with the different perspectives of compassion.
Ascher’s message to the audience is that compassion isn't just an act but a lesson learned.
As Ascher puts it, "Compassion is not a character trait...it must be learned”(Ascher 58).
Poverty affects people’s ideal act of compassion. Ascher brings up the question "Was it
out of fear or compassion that motivated the gift?" (Ascher 57). This question reaches out
to the reader asking them what motives drive a person to be compassionate. Sometimes
people act out in compassion out of fear that something bad will react if it is not done
while others will act out of compassion because they're really compassionate about a
certain person or thing. In this case, two events have taken place to emphasize acts of
compassion. The use of her narrative form affects the message by beginning to
sympathize the topic of compassion. It reaches out to the audience's emotions. Her
narrative was a good way to move smoothly into her message of compassion. She starts
off with a detailed narrative then smoothly transitions to her points of poverty including
the ethical cases of NY poverty then ends off with his main point of compassion. The
way she frames her piece of writing certainly strengthened her point especially with the
use of the narrative because it paved a smooth passage to her key message. She also uses
this form of narrative to grasp the readers’ attention. The structure of the sentences' flow
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and the author use of vivid details including the man's facial expression along with his
attire, “The man's grin is less the result of circumstance then dreams or madness. His
bottomless shirt, with one sleeve missing..."(Ascher 56), all give the reader an image to
the characters taking place as well as the event. It is to my understanding that poverty
existence is an undeniable factor of life. As Ascher puts it, “We cannot deny the
existence of the helpless as their prescreens grows. It is impossible to insulate ourselves
against what is at our very doorstep”(Ascher 58).
The existence of poverty is as true as the images we see. The images of the
poverty existing in India are devastating to watch. Many of the people depicted are
malnourished, ill, homeless, and simply poor. For example, the image depicted on
Mother Teresa’s article is of thin legs illustrate the “shadow of Death”. Caption says, “A
painfully undernourished man lies in a bathing room at Teresa’s’ Home for the dying in
Calcutta”. It is obvious that the image is as vivid as the detailed caption. Other images
taken by Professor Wills in her trip to India depicts a malnourished young lady laying on
the bed and a malnourished young girl upon her bed. Even though the images show these
ladies with necessities such as clothes and a roof over their head, they also illustrate how
both lack the proper nourishment. You can visualize what poverty is like in India but you
can never truly understand how it’s existence can ruin a mass of innocent people.
Mother Teresa’s article featured in Time Books illustrates her compassion
towards those in poverty living in the slums of Calcutta. In comparison to Barbara
Ascher’s article “On Compassion”, both Mother Teresa and Ascher touch base with the
idea of compassion, its’ motives, and poverty. Ascher’s narrative illustrates an ideal
everyday situation of compassion towards the poor vividly. Her perspective of poverty is
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common among the wealthier beings of society, whose motives to help the poor are
influenced by “fear” or “compassion”. The compassion Ascher’s article conveys,
however, is nothing compared to Mother Teresa’s true definition of compassion. Mother
Teresa lives poverty itself. "It is one thing to hear God's demand to live and minister
among the poor, but another to fulfill it"(33). To Mother Teresa poverty was not just a
noun to be defined, but also a verb she felt needed to be fulfilled. Mother Teresa’s choice
of living within the slums of India in order to show compassion on a common level as
those suffering, entails her to leave the life of wealth she once lived and puts her in the
position of poverty. Mother Teresa's choice to live and work among the radically poor
affects our understanding of and perspective on poverty by giving a deeper and true
meaning of compassion within the realms of poverty. She is truly compassionate about
helping the poor, "Why do you do this? And I said, ‘because I love you"(33). The fear
that we have of the unknown was challenged and lived by Mother Teresa herself. She
lived what we could not and grasped what we could merely begin to understand. She
defined compassion, and defied poverty through her compassionate heart.
As critical as it is, poverty does not only exist in third-countries but it also exists
in the U.S. According to the U.S online report, U.S in 2010 had reach 15.1% rate of
poverty, which was 0.8% higher than the year before. “The number in poverty increased
for both married-couple families (6.2 percent and 3.6 million in 2010 from 5.8 percent
and 3.4 million in 2009) and female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (31.6
percent and 4.7 million in 2010 from 29.9 percent and 4.4 million in 2009). For families
with a male householder no wife present, the poverty rate and the number in poverty were
not statistically different from 2009 (15.8 percent and 880,000 in 2010)” (US CENSUS).
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From the statistics listed, the audience can realize that poverty is existent within the
borders of America, even those with houses. One can also see that poverty is mainly
targeted in struggling families with children. Those right above the poverty line or even
those within the middle-class, fear that they are next to drop right below that line. They’ll
never know if their next week’s paycheck may be their last. As the numbers increase, so
does the fear of many struggling lives also increase.
Another source that contributes to the evidence of poverty in America would be
the online article, “Going Hungry in America”. The collection of narratives brings about
the different perspectives of poverty in America; issuing the difference between those
below the poverty line and those struggling to keep themselves above the poverty line.
“Who would think that in the land of plenty, hard-working families would go hungry?
But I am living proof it is true,” (Skillern webpage 1) quotes Preston. Cheryl Preston
shares her story of how a $500 loss in her family’s monthly income and the increase of
grocery prices has become a daily task for he ash she struggles to ration her family’s
food. She states,” There are days I skip meals so that my husband and son can eat”. But
she is not alone. “Eighteen percent of Americans say there have been times this year that
they couldn’t afford the food they needed, according to a Gallup poll”(Skillern webpage
1). It is to an understanding that poverty can easily be dropped into poverty in America
due to the loss of a dependable income, the rising prices of food, and the hard decisions
people have to make.
A You Tube clip named, “An Urgent Call for Action: Undernourished Children of
INDIA” greatly displays poverty in India. The video clip uses statistics, and images to
present poverty in an effective way. “30% of all babies in India are born underweight
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which is double the percentage of low-birth weight prevalence in the world. 36% of all
women are chronically undernourished and 55% of all women are anemic. In comparison
to the malnutrition levels of Africa (20%) and China (7%), India stands at a peak of
43%”. It is evident that the reality of poverty in third-world countries is seen through both
women and children. This video presents the most urgent reality of poverty as India
struggles to maintain a healthy weight to give birth to healthy babies. In comparison to
the devastating images of India, this video clip gives more insight to the understanding
that poverty’s existence in India has reached a great altitude through facts, statistics and
moving images of the women and children in poverty in India.
Another You Tube clip called, “Hunger & Poverty In America”, also displayed
poverty except this time it is in America. Providing narratives, statistics, and facts, this
video clips effectively portrayed the great altitude of poverty in America. In this video
clip, a young girl describes her personal life story with her brother of how their family
struggled to live in America’s recession. They say that it was embarrassing to have to go
to the restrooms in Wal-Mart to wash up and get ready for school. Their family was of
the wealthy middle-class, having more than just enough for themselves. However, when
the family income dropped due to a loss in a job, the family ultimately lost everything
even their home. “14 million children were in poverty before the recession; now 16
million children are in poverty after the recession”("Hunger & Poverty In America”).
This huge increase shows how America has by far reached its’ great altitude in poverty
since the Great Depression. This You Tube clip also provides facts such as the growing
number of homeless shelters surrounding Disney World in Orlando, FL. It gives the
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audience an understanding of how poverty is rooted in hunger and homelessness and how
it not only affects third-world countries like India, but it also affects the U.S.
Poverty always has a story behind it and with every story comes a struggle along
with a lesson learned. Living in Long Beach and married with three kids, Moses Leota
lives each week struggling to make ends meet. Having more bills than money, and
working a full time job with over time on his clock, Moses fails to have enough for his
own family. His stress level has come to an all-time high because he can’t provide for his
family as he wants but knows that he has enough to provide for what they need. With the
increase in gas prices and grocery prices, the family vacations and outings have been
significantly cut. He fears that the next paycheck may be his last. What to expect next
with the recession he lives in is fearful as the altitude of poverty greatly takes its’ toll.
However, he remains grateful for what he has now because as a former immigrant from
Samoa, Moses knows what it is like to live poverty in its’ worse state.
This ideal circumstance of poverty is important to me, because Moses is my
father. I learned that poverty is everywhere and I even had experiences myself. My
experience witnessing poverty in Samoa and my father’s life story only showed me how
much I’ve taken for granted. When I would complain about certain things such as food, I
never paid much attention when my mother would slap me and say, “Hey, be grateful for
what you have! Other kids in other countries don’t have it good like you do!” But from
what I’ve learned so far about poverty, I have now opened up my mind, heart, and eyes to
those in need. It also molds my heart to have compassion for those who are not only
homeless or poor, but also for those who simply don’t have as much as I do. I also
understand that poverty isn’t just found in the slums of India or on the streets of America,
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but it is also existent in homes that are struggling to make ends meet. I now realize that
many of my families and friends are in poverty because what they have isn’t always
enough. My greatest fear of poverty is to wake up one day to the next Great Depression.
In my understanding poverty is like an earthquake; you can predict it’s coming but cannot
tell when it will hit and when it does it creates a disaster. And when an earthquake has
reached it’s greatest altitude, it moves the lives of many emotionally, physically, and
spiritually. Ultimately, it leaves behind an unforgettable disaster of hopeless lives.
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Works Cited
"An Urgent Call for Action: Undernourished Children of INDIA." YouTube. YouTube,
04 Aug. 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoWmbdNx6U>.
Ascher, Barbara L."On Compassion" 50 Essays - A Portable Anthology. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin's(2007).Print.
"Census Bureau News -- Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:
2010." PR NewswireSep 13 2011. ABI/INFORM Complete; Los Angeles Times;
ProQuest Newsstand. Web. 15 Oct. 2012 .
"Hunger & Poverty In America." YouTube. YouTube, 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR3jQOgs9gc>.
Skillern, Tim. "Going Hungry in America: 'Distressing,' 'humbling' and 'scary'" Yahoo! News.
Yahoo!, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/goinghungry-america-distressing-humbling-scary-011618014.html>.
Van, Biema David. "Chapter Three, Her Ministry Is Born." Mother Teresa: The Life and Works
of a Modern Saint. New York: Time, 2010. 30-37. Print.
Wetzstein, Cheryl, and WASHINGTON T. THE. "U.S. Poverty Rate Tops 15 Percent, Highest
since '93." Washington TimesSep 14 2011. Los Angeles Times; ProQuest
Newsstand. Web. 15 Oct. 2012 .
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Images of Poverty in India:
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