Particularly vulnerable groups were the old, who had no means of acquiring money. The young, were dependant on their parents’ financial status and good will, if they were not orphans. Seasonal workers were vulnerable due to the cyclical nature of their employment. Anyone who suffered from illness either long or short term fell into poverty because there were no sickness benefits. Women were another vulnerable group because they were always paid at a lower rate than men.
“Hard Times” Studs Terkel wrote the book, “Hard Times”, to get the American people of what it was like from every situation during the great depression. Terkel called in a memory book in by doing so it just didn’t have historical statistic proof but it showed emotion in each interviewee. It was where some of his colleagues’ shared hurtful memories while other expressed exhilaration, sometimes both. Terkel shared some of his experiences as well. He could not remember the black day of October but he does manage to have blur images he can put together of that horrific day.
Setting of Nujood In the book I AM NUJOOD, AGE 10 AND DIVORCED there were three major settings; Khardji, Sana’a, and the Courthouse. Khardji was a small, rural, poor, and isolated community. The direct translation of the word means “outside” in Yemeni. There was no hospital; therefore the women there had no help birthing children. It was a poor community; crops were not often grown for profit, but for merely sustaining the lives of many in one household.
The rain causes loss of work for three months, living quarters were ruined, and the migrant worker’s sadness, suddenly turned into anger. “When the first rain started, the migrant people huddled in their tents, saying, it’ll soon be over, and asking, how long’s it likely to go on?” (554). Rain in the fields meant no work for the migrant workers. In the time period this book takes place in, the late 1930’s, working in the fields picking grapes, oranges, and cotton were in huge demand. Migrant workers lived on the plantation in either little shacks, or canvas tents, and worked more than 10 hours a day, for not much pay.
The majority of the rural population lived in abject poverty. Unification did not bring any new investment in southern industry. The south was far from European markets and lacking an efficient transport network. In the 1890’s 90% of southern Italy had no roads in contrast to 38,000km
Maycomb society and it's setting is situated around the concerns of ignorance. In chapter one of To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee is expressing to the reader through the perspective of Scout that Maycomb County is an aged town where people moved slowly and that there was "nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County.." (pg.5-6) This quote emphasises to the reader that Maycomb County is a small yet congested town that also reveals the widespread poverty of the town, implying that the setting of Maycomb County is in the midst of the Great Depression. It also reveals the town's lack of knowledge beyond the boundaries of Maycomb County, suggesting that the town itself is the only town in Alabama suffering from the unfortunate event of the Great Depression, publicising the fact that the town is in a state where they are unable to find hope or a sense of closure for the town. Thus, reinforcing the town's ignorance. Alongside of Maycomb society and its ignorance, the town also situates around the concern of discrimination - most particularly, towards the Radley Family.
Ethan Hefley Mrs. Barr Comp II April 17, 2012 “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird” demonstrates how courage is required when facing something even when it seems impossible. The setting, characters, and symbolism play a huge role in the purpose of the novel. “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Though every character Lee wrote into his novel was symbolic and important, the most significant characters are Atticus, Jem, and Scout Finch. Atticus, the narrator’s father, is a lawyer in Maycomb.
The lack of motivation caused by years of not having a job and watching your family suffer in poverty is a condition that not too many of us are familiar with. “Native American Poverty,” by Tom Rodgers justifies the allegations that a large percentage, about 25%, of the Native Americans live in poverty. “According to the US Census Bureau, these Americans earn a median annual income of $33,627. One in every four (25.3 percent) lives in poverty and nearly a third (29.9 percent) are without health insurance coverage.” The lack of money has become a huge component in the dismemberment of the culture that the Natives so lavishly submerged themselves into, and the picking up other undesirable traits such as drinking. The
The conditions were so bad many people ended up unable to work due to sickness or death from either the meat or exhaustion. Sinclair made it clear that the poor peasants were the hardest working and received nothing in return. His passion in writing is so deep for the lower class folks when he expresses the value of each individual in Jurgis’ group and their drive to keep
Poverty in America today is an unrecognized social dilemma that exists everywhere. Poverty comes in many ways but no one can pick up on it right away. Poverty is hunger the lack of shelter the face that you can be sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not being able to go out and peruse and education. Poverty is not having a job and living one day at a time.