Class 11 English Lesson 16: What is Poverty? : Reference to the context

 

Reference to the context

a.      Explain the following: Poverty is looking into a black future.

The line “Poverty is looking into a black future” has been stated by the writer Jo Goodwin Parker in her essay. She has put forward this line for her readers to present her experience of poverty. She thinks that the poor can’t provide proper food and education to their children. Neither can they maintain cleanliness and sound health because they don’t have money. Such conditions ultimately invite disease, helplessness, hunger, unemployment, crimes, etc. So, poverty leads people towards a black future. Poor people have to live a miserable life daily. They have no hope of any betterment. They keep on spending their lives in disparity, looking into a black future. Poverty breaks expectations and dreams of the future.

 

 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9N7QaIOkG8

 

b.     What does Parker mean by “The poor are always silent”?

“The poor are always silent” means the helplessness of poor people who cannot spend money on healthcare and medicine. When the question of money arises, they are silent, because they can’t even dream of having expensive medical operations, eating in a restaurant, wearing fashionable dresses, going to quality schools, etc. They have no words in response because they are completely helpless. Where money speaks, they are voiceless. They have a very pathetic situation.

c.      What writing strategy does the author use at the beginning of most of the paragraphs? Do you notice a recurring pattern? What is it?

In this essay, the author uses her repetition strategy at the beginning of most of the paragraphs. She repeats the phrase “Poverty is”. The essay is well organized, where she repeats the word – poverty many times. That means her main concern is poverty, and she is showing her bitter feelings and frustrations about her miserable conditions. The whole essay sounds like a casual conversation. She is talking to an imaginary reader who does not understand what poverty is. She uses satire and humour in the middle.

d.     How does Parker develop each paragraph? What details make each paragraph memorable?

Parker develops each paragraph starting with her repetition strategy. She begins most of her paragraphs with a repetition statement as “Poverty is”. She then provides her personal experiences about her topic sentences.
The images of poverty that she mentioned in each paragraph are memorable. She says poverty is a chisel that chips on honour is worn away. The really poor people have an inferiority complex due to the economic factor. Their honour is scattered. Even if the man is wise and intellectual, he can do nothing in front of the property. The details related to her personal painful experiences and the bitter reality of poverty make each paragraph memorable.

e.      In the final paragraph, how does the author use questions to involve the reader in the issue of poverty?

In the final paragraph, the author uses questions in her informal style of direct conversation to involve the readers in the issue of poverty. In the final paragraph, she uses the question “Can you be silent too?” where she wants to describe her silence due to the poverty that she faced in her life. She asked us if the poor are silent and should be silenced too. Parker is capable of causing the reader to feel many emotions and forces the reader to question her stereotypes of poor Parker is capable of making the reader feel guilty for the possessions that she has. She wanted to make attention to the reader to solve the problems of poor people. They must not think about themselves, only she said not to be silent, and help others for their better future. She asked the reader if his/her, in that situation, can be silent too. Poor people are always active in raising their voices. So, Parker wanted the reader to give their attention to the poor, too.

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