The Homeless And Their Children Rhetorical Analysis

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Aaron J. Layton Professor McDermott-Sipe ENG 111 82N 16 September 2012 Homeless and Illiterate In his writing, “The Homeless and Their Children,” Jonathan Kozal writes about issues that arise from being homeless and illiterate by using a woman he calls “Laura” to illustrate the struggles of the families living in the Martinique Hotel in New York City in 1985. The hotel, which was set up by the city’s Human Resources Administration, houses almost four hundred homeless families, including twelve hundred children (Kozol, 252). Laura, the daughter of a Panamanian immigrant, is a single parent of four young children. Spanish is her first language. She also speaks English, although not very well. In the interview she talks about the problems that illiteracy caused. She is forced to buy higher priced food at the…show more content…
Also by using an interview form, he shows not only how the main character feels in her own words, he gives his audience a first- hand look into her situation. The fear and uncertainty that she lives in is unimaginable to me. Not being able to fully understand things like instructions for medication, labels for food, or welfare papers make it hard to take care of the everyday needs for her children. The living conditions that she describes put her family in constant danger physically and medically. I found this writing to be a very heartbreaking insight into the plight that Laura faces. It forced me to take a closer look at some of life’s basic needs that I take for granted like education, food, decent living conditions, and being able to earn a living without assistance from the government. Laura’s situation is a just one example of how difficult being illiterate and at the mercy of the welfare system can be. It is as if she’s trapped, due to her lack of education, and has no way

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