Lillian Ryan
Poverties affect
Poverty is a global issue affecting millions, limiting access to food, shelter, and education. It creates a cycle of hardship, making stable employment difficult. Addressing poverty requires collective efforts to create sustainable solutions and support those in need.
Projects
Poverty's effect and how to solve it.
Project one
Lillian Ryan
Professor Hammett
(ENG1213-07) English Composition II
September 10, 2024
The Epidemic of poverty
Imagine if you had to live off of $2.15 a day, and there is no hope of a raise or time to save money because you have to use those funds to survive! Poverty affects every ethnic group, but it’s estimated to be more difficult for children and those who have physical disabilities and ailments (Chak et ac, 2024). Out of 7.7 billion people on Earth, the World Bank “estimates that around 650 million people – roughly one in twelve – were living on less than $2.15 a day” (Hassell et ac, 2019). In 1681, the first written mention about aiding the poor was published by David (Hitchcock, 2022). In the pamphlet, he claims that throughout the “Middle Ages poverty was seen as a sacred condition. However, in the sixteenth century it was increasingly viewed as a social problem” (Hitchcock, 2022). During this century, authorities tried to solve it by initiating welfare. Today, many countries have continued to adopt the same system, but it has not successfully resolved the issue (p. 19). As poverty continues to be a recurring problem, the country of China has discovered and developed a system to end it by providing stable and equal education and opportunities in career fields.
Economic growth, increasing the amount of goods and services produced per head, can be a part of the solution. It directly affects the livelihood of those living in poverty; “The World gdp growth rate for 2022 was 3.09%, a 3.14% decline from 2021. World gdp growth rate for 2021 was 6.23%”(Growth rate, 2021-2024). In certain places the economic growth rate may be sufficient, but not in low income households. This means that in places where economic growth is low, they struggle to buy necessities like food and shelter; “The average economic growth rate for the decade is 2% and has dropped every decade since the 50’s-60’s”(Growth rate 2021-2024). Because of the constant changing of the economic growth rate, and uncontrollable variables like disease, many low income households fear for the loss of jobs. People in low income situations already had the fear of losing their jobs then they had to face Covid-19. The pandemic caused unemployment rates to skyrocket to 14.8% in April of 2020 (p.1).
Prior recessions typically developed with gradually increasing economic distress. The current recession was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was an abrupt and exogenous shock to the economy. The pandemic resulted in limiting contact among individuals and in many shutdown orders. Therefore, the trends in the unemployment rate in the current recession differ from those in prior recessions.(Falk & etc, 2021).
For this reason, economic growth is so important to protect, without it jobs and necessities become unavailable. With good economic growth families are able to get the support necessary to live, but economic growth needs to be combined with other National poverty reduction systems to end poverty. Therefore, the government should focus on reforming old systems to adapt to the economic growth needed today, if reforming old systems is not possible they should create new systems that are able to grow with the economy instead of against it. If they are able to do these things then poverty will be able to rapidly decrease, but even these advancements will not be enough to end poverty altogether.
Education can help eradicate poverty by providing advancements in careers, leading to higher paying jobs and new career opportunities. “Compared to those who have high education, those with low education often have trouble finding jobs, and the ones they do find are high risk with little benefits” (p. 1). Those who have access to education are able to learn critical thinking skills in order to get higher paying jobs. A good education can make it easier to advance in careers. “Decreasing risk factors in a child’s environment increases a child’s potential for development…Prevention…programs target health concerns associated with better health outcomes for low-income children” (Fergusen & etc, 2007). In order to help bring equal opportunities to low income children, prevention programs were put into place. Their purpose is to help children catch up in school, and to increase the classroom setting in hopes of preparing the students for the future. Those who did not gain an education found it hard to get a job until the People’s Republic of China implemented policies in 1978. This spurred rapid economic growth, improving agricultural productivity and expanding nonagricultural sectors, which created more and better-paying jobs for those who had little education” (Hassell et ac, 2019). China created jobs in agriculture that allowed anyone to work regardless of education. They were able to help bring some families out of poverty. The hopes of the prevention programs are to allow future generations to have an equal opportunity in the educational and career field. They were able to see that if students and future adults had a lack of education then they were more likely to have labor jobs with low wages. Giving children the education to prepare them for future careers they enjoy will encourage them to do the same for the next generation to come. Therefore, when education and jobs are accessible to all it allows for a higher chance of economic stability in the world. Stability, communication, and confidence are all skills that prepare workers and students for the future. When students are taught these skills from a young age they have a better chance of advancing in society and passing their knowledge along to future generations.
Since it can provide healthcare, education, and necessities needed to survive in daily life, government systems are essential to ending poverty. “Two centuries ago the majority of the population lived in poverty and most believed that poverty was an invincible force (Hassell et ac, 2019). During this time, there were little to no solutions for aiding those dealing with poverty. Plus, even with today’s technological advancements, there are still many affected by poverty, but China found a way to actively decrease extreme poverty in their country. The world bank based their findings about the solutions to the end of poverty on data from the People’s Republic of China (p.1). The data that was collected by the World Bank suggests that “China’s rapid and sustained economic growth has been accompanied by a broad-based economic transformation”(Hassell et ac, 2019). Over the past four decades, China's governance emphasizes population growth without economic reforms that focus on evolving systems will lead to the rapid growth of poverty (p.2). They were able to eradicate poverty by implanting systems that brought about new jobs in agriculture, and taught those in poverty how to get out.
This system was able to work for China, but they faced backlash for destroying ancestral homes. “These arguments were primarily directed at authorities’ push to modernize the country’s cities by evacuating inhabitants from old, dilapidated areas so they could be razed in favor of modern housing”(Bertrand, 2022). In order to aid in the end of poverty they had to make many residents leave their homes, so they could create modern housing near cities. These small villages were converted into houses. Many were happy to have new homes, but some felt different about seeing their ancestral homes destroyed. Many began to wonder if the sacrifices made were worth the outcome, and argued that the citizens should be able to choose their own families outcomes instead of the government having full control (p.1). While many questions have arisen about the tactics China chooses, it is the only approach that has worked as of now.
It should be noted that each solution is intertwined within one another. Each solution is an alternative in case of the failure of one solution. The solution must provide those in poverty with adequate necessities, safe guards, and equal access to education and healthcare. Without implementing all of these strategies together there is little hope of solving the epidemic of poverty. The best approach is to aid those affected by poverty to break free from poverty, but only if the right systems are put into place by the government, or if the government allows for reforming of the old systems.
References
Bertrand, A. (2022, February 23). How China defeated poverty. American Affairs Journal. https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2022/02/how-china-defeated-poverty/#:~:text=In%20concrete%20terms%2C%20China%20lifted,feed%20him%20for%20a%20day.
Chak, T., Jianhua, L., & Zhang, L. (2024). Serve the people: The eradication of extreme poverty in China. Retrieved from https://thetricontinental.org/studies-1-socialist-construction/#:~:text=The%20Greatest%20Anti%2DPoverty%20Achievement,country%20of%201.4%20billion%20people.
Falk, G., Carter, J., Nyhof, E., Romero, P., & Nicchitta, I. (2021). New report details lessons from Massive pandemic unemployment fraud | american enterprise institute - aei. Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief. https://www.aei.org/center-on-opportunity-and-social-mobility/new-report-details-lessons-from-massive-pandemic-unemployment-fraud/
Ferguson, H., Bovaird, S., & Mueller, M. (2007, October). The impact of poverty on educational outcomes for children. Paediatrics & child health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528798/?scrlybrkr=3b7481e3#:~:text=Early%20intervention,for%20development%20and%20educational%20attainment.
Hasell, J., Roser, M., Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Arriagada, P. (2023). Poverty. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/poverty
Hitchcock, D., & McClure, J. (2022). The Routledge History of Poverty, c.1450-1800. London etc.: Routledge.
U.S Bureau of Economics. (2024). GDP Annual Growth Rate. United States GDP annual growth rate.https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth-annual#:~:text=If%20in%20the%2050’s%20and,reached%20the%205%20percent%20level.
Project Two
Lillian Ryan
Professor Hammett
(ENG1213-07) English Composition II
November 14, 2024
Poverty and Daphne Du Maurier
What would Daphne Du Maurier, who was an author, bibliographer, and playwright, have thought of the epidemic of poverty? She believed that we all “have a particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end”(Maurier Rebecca 1978, p.1). Daphne believed that everyone faces battles, and poverty is just one of many struggles that are faced in society. Maurier stated that she “hated the thought of this world that must be lived in—the sordid pitiful lives of men and women, who can’t get beyond their own bodies”( Maurier, Rebbeca, 1978 p.1). Daphne Du Maurier pitied the lives of those in poverty, and the simplest idea of the poor giving up on themselves.
Poverty, which affects “712 million people, nearly 1 in 11 people globally, live on less than $2.15 a day”(Parrot, 2022 p.1), causes many to feel despair, a topic that Daphne Du Maurier addressed in her book Rebeca “I am aware of sadness, of a sense of loss. This has been ours, however brief the time” (Maurier, Rebecca 1978 p.1). Daphne takes a deep dive into the despair and sadness that affects everyone’s lives. This quote portrays Daphne’s ability to correspond her work with the daily lives of everyone and show that we all share a sense of loss throughout life. When people face poverty they often feel trapped and are persuaded into quick cash grabs. According to Northwest college “Poverty can result in severe psychological and health problems, such as heightened salvation sickness and substance abuse. These conditions tend to reduce judgment, lower impulse control, and increase the chances of committing a crime such as drug deals, smuggling, or exploiting themselves for money”( Parrot, 2022 pg 1). As a result of their crimes they often land in more trouble than they had to begin with. Daphne Du Maurier’s viewpoint on human’s acting out of desperation, such as when vomiting a crime to support their loved ones or themself, can be seen in her writings. For example in her book Rebecca Daphne writes “I was seized with a sudden desire to laugh, to cry, to do both, and I had a pain, too, at the pit of my stomach. I wished, for one wild moment, that none of this had happened” ( Maurier, Rebbeca, 1978 pg 42). The words of the author can be related to poverty because the actions that those in poverty take are often regretted. The actions they take are often drastic and they do not think of the consequences until it’s too late, and by doing this they risk putting themselves and their family into further trouble. Daphne would have agreed that taking risky chances while already facing poverty will just come back to bite you in the end and as she said “you will wish that none of this had happened” (Maurier, Rebecca 1978 pg 42)
Furthermore, Daphne Du Maurier would see how poverty is a drastic social epidemic because poverty is sickness, and it is a hard one to get rid of. Sickness, for the most part, has a cure and goes away over time, but poverty is a sickness that lingers with you even if you manage to escape it. The sickness may seem harmless at first, but after a while it starts to affect your mind and eventually weighs on both your mental and physical health, even spreading to those around you. Throughout Daphne Du Maurier’s absurd fiction works, she displays similar beliefs. For example, in Rebecca she wrote, “An uneasy sickness that could not be controlled. Gone was my glad excitement, and my happy pride. I was like a child brought to her first school”(Maurier, Rebecca 1978 pg 48). She means that once that feeling of sickness takes over it is easy to lose control or to feel as though everything around you is moving without choice. Her explanation of losing many of the happy feelings that she once had before her sickness is a good example of the effect that poverty has on many families and individuals. When comparing the metaphor of a child into her first school we can see the similarities to poverty, both her writing and poverty can make us feel a wave of emotions abandonment, fear, and many more that come with facing something we have never handled before.
In Addition, Daphne would have viewed this epidemic as something that was unavoidable due to humans lack of control on the situation. The sickness of poverty often causes many to become stuck and have little to no hope of escaping from the sickness. Lack of resources from the government and the choices of adults in the family can worsen poverty and be the cause of it. When those in higher power chase to turn a blind eye to the mistakes they have helped to cause then hope is truly lost. Turning away from mistakes is often the main cause of poverty. Instead of trying to eradicate the problem many hope it will disappear on its own. According to an article addressed by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities “Although many families know the stresses of struggling to meet basic needs, the widespread nature of this insecurity is not always well understood”( Parrot, 2022 pg 1). Coincidentally this aligns with Daphne's opinion that humans tend to try and remain ignorant even to the things that can harm them later on. Daphne writes in The Doll “Some inner sense warned them that in their ignorance dwelt security, a happiness that was never wild, never triumphant, but peaceful and silent” (Maurier, The Doll, 2011 pg 1). This quote can be translated to those who can help poverty and even those who face poverty often like to blame others before themselves, they do this by choosing to turn a blind eye to the problem that remains in front of them. If those in power and those facing the situation continue to be ignorant to poverty then there will never be a solution and the victims and those responsible will continue down their current path of fake hope, this could potentially cause the epidemic of poverty to worsen.
Likewise Daphne would view the epidemic of poverty as something that would never end. In other words, when problems are ignored they don’t disappear. As such poverty only has time to get worse in the world instead of being solved or lessened. In Daphne’s book, The Glass Blowers, she states “The system might one day change, but human nature remained the same, and there were always people who profited at the expense of others”(Maureir, The Glass Blowers 1963, p.1) Daphne’s writings show that it is not only that human nature stays the same, but that it is the selfish choice that many in power make, simply because they wish to remain above others. As a result of their unwillingness to change for the greater good, people in the near future will have to face the sickness of poverty, an epidemic that is allowed to spread.
Throughout Daphne’s work, she often symbolized her opinions through human nature. In saying that, her symbolism aligns with the argument that poverty is a social epidemic. An example of this would be in her book Portrait of a friendship, “I am becoming more and more interested in the factor of Greed in human nature, which of course is basic Hunger unsatisfied, that wants to be filled, but somehow just misses the point” (Mauier, Malet, A Portrait of Friendship,1994 pg 1). This relates to poverty because her writing explains how humans will use weakness to their own advantage, much like those in power use over those in poverty. Most people in poverty fail to see those in power as selfish, that is why many of them fail to escape it because they believe that those in power are helping them, the reality is most are out to export them for their own selfish ways.
Overall, Daphne Du Maurier would have agreed that poverty is a social epidemic that is an issue in today’s society. Through absurd fiction writings, from her essays or books, Daphne revalied her views on human nature that would pin her against the epidemic of poverty. Based on Daphne’s beliefs, humans are selfish, and ignorant. This selfishness and ignorance can and will continue to be the root of social epidemics, such as poverty, it can and will ultimately lead to destruction within our own society.
References.
Maurier, D., & Malet, O. (1994a). Daphne du Maurier--letters from Menabilly: Portrait of a friendship. M. Evans.
Maurier, D. (1978). Rebecca. Guild Publ
Maurier, D. (2011). The doll: The lost short stories. Harper.
Maurier, D. (1963a). The glass- blowers: A novel about the French Revolution. Reprint Society.
Parrott, S. (2022a). The Nation Has Made Progress Against Poverty But Policy Advances Are Needed to Reduce Still-High Hardship. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/the-nation-has-made-progress-against-poverty-but-policy-advances
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Reflection Essay
Lillian Ryan
ENGL1302
Professor Hammet
Reflection Essay
Nov 18, 2024
Reflection Essay
During this semester I have been asked to write many essays. I won’t say it was easy, in fact I’ll say that English 1301 with professor Hammet was 10 times easier. I took Comp one over the summer and was able to keep my professor. This helped me know what to prepare for, but I didn’t realize how much writing Comp two would contain. I say I’ve written many essay’s because I had to redo one four times because of how bad I did. Lets just say that at the beginning of the semester I had little idea of what to expect and I had only written a two page essay at most.
I realized that if I wanted to have a good day I was going to have to just keep trying and to reach out to Professor Hammet especially regarding my introductions on both essays.
I chose to write about poverty, but I just couldn’t seem to get an order to my writing. I ended up rewriting it and was able to get some tips from our professor. My biggest mistake is that I tend to overshare on my essays especially in the introduction. I have a problem that when I write I can just keep going and that tends to throw me a little off topic sometimes. With some help from Professor Hammer and a lesson on choosing important details that will keep the reader intrigued but not give away too much information, I was able to get a decent grade on both Introductions.
Another issue that I faced was proving my claims, I struggled to find evidence to support my claims because I would just voice how I thought. Professor Hammet sent me a video explaining exactly what to do on the Birds analysis and how to find direct quotes that support your evidence. With her advice I was able to bring my grade up two letter grades and figure out the difference between an analysis and a summary.
While I still made many mistakes throughout this class I feel like I have learned a lot. Since taking this class I have furthered my ACT score in reading and english. I was also able to improve my psychology papers by using the PEE format and get A’s on all of my papers in psych. Overall I have come to appreciate absurd authors and have an understanding of the importance proper writing skill can have.