Poverty
Poverty limits success. In chapters one and two of “The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian” Junior talks about missing meals and being unable to afford health care. He said that he had ten extra teeth and when he went to Indian Health Services they told him they only fund major dental work once a year so he had to get them all pulled in one day. He also mentions that they had to put his dog, Oscar, down because they did not have enough money to take him to the vet. Junior is a cartoonist and he believes that this is the only way to become rich and famous as a Native American. When Junior talks about poverty he refers to his parents, and how they had dreams, but they never had an opportunity to fulfill those dreams because nobody had believed in them, because they were poor.
I believe poverty is the cause of other problems that arise in poverty stricken homes and communities. I believe poverty is the cause of depression, and the way people act while they are dealing with depression, is because of poverty. And depression is the cause of alcoholism, self medication, and domestic violence. People who do not have the misfortune of being poor, have more opportunities, they have more support and people who believe in their dreams. Without support and when you have your peers telling you cannot achieve your dreams you begin to believe you can’t and you give up on your dreams and settle for less. Therefore poverty limits success.
Thank you for the well written post! I like how you use Alexie to talk about larger issues and yet how well you are able to keep the focus on poverty throughout the piece.
ReplyDeleteOne point I want to add to your statement is that in the book, Alexie says that while in school his stomach is empty while trying to pay attention in school. I may not agree that poverty is the specific reason that causes these other problems but I agree that it's possible that it drives people to different outlets.
ReplyDeleteCassi, are you for real? Obviously, dominate culture privilege has provided you ample shelter from the violence of poverty and deprivation. Have you ever been forced to miss multiple nutritious meals? Perhaps a trip outside the limited confines of your wonder bread world might offer you new perspective.
ReplyDeleteHi Biteme,
ReplyDeleteI believe that it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, if you want to succeed in life you have to be persistent and stick to your goals. In my case I grew up with a foster family that were very poor, but that didn't prevent me to complete school because they always encouraged me to keep going. Junior was persistent and he was a strong kid who had strong beliefs. I do agree that people that have more resources have it easier that people who don't, but that doesn't mean it is impossible to succeed, I have been there.
Hey, “Bite Me”
ReplyDeleteI am glad to know someone truly understands native life. One will never truly know of struggle, unless they lived a life of struggle. So ignorance of facts demonstrates immaturity of some bloggers.