The New York Times series, "Invisible Child: Girl in Shadows", written by Andrea Elliott, clearly shows the severe impact that poverty has on a child's lifestyle. The whole article discusses many different aspects of Dasani's life (the 11 year-old girl who lives in a shelter with her many other siblings and her parents), all of which show the negative impact of a low income living condition and life style on a young girl. For example, the article describes Dasani's school as a "poor kids' version of Laguardia Arts", where budget cuts and lack of after school enrichment only contribute to its not so great education program. The passage also describes Dasani's behavioral issues, and her anger management as she encounters other kids at school who push her buttons to a point where she can't help but let her temper land her in the principal's office. She is clearly affected by the stressful money problems within her household, causing her to lash out even at the small taunts. Lastly, the article uses shocking pictures to vividly display how horrible the living conditions are. The pictures show holes in the walls and cracks in the floors. It shows the ripped mattresses that the children are expected to sleep on. And one image shows a baby being bathed in what appears to be the kind of sink you will find in dirty park bathroom. All these examples are described in detail in the article, further proving that poverty is unfathomable, and in no way shape or form is okay for any child to have to deal with and deal with the aftermath of.
The author, Andrea Elliott, uses a lot of vivid imagery to show just how horrible the effects of poverty are on a person's daily lifestyle. By using these images, Elliott wants readers to feel the pain, and harsh stab of reality that these people living in poverty feel every day. Elliott wants us to sympathize, and put ourselves in their shoes, hopefully empowering us to try to help make those unfortunate people's lives better. For example, the article describes a picture saying, "To the left of the door, beneath a decrepit sink where Baby Lele is bathed, the wall has rotted through, leaving a long, dark gap where mice congregate." Reading that makes me feel sick, and I can't even begin to imagine living every day with those conditions. Seeing an image with this description makes me think about my own life, and it makes me compare my living to theirs. I feel guilty, that I take so much for granted when these people would just love access to a house without a mouse infestation. The author does an excellent job of putting images into readers’ minds, and using visuals to make them feel for the subjects of the article, and sympathize with them.
After reading this article, I feel a lot more exposed to the reality of poverty. I now feel empowered to make change, and not let any other child suffer from the horrible aftermath of not having a substantial income as a parent. My views on poverty used to be similar, but nowhere near as intense and passionate. The article really showed me how change needs to take place, because my heart was breaking as I read how this little 11 year-old goes about her life. However, the article leaves me with many questions, the main one being, what can we as a country do to fix this growing problem of poverty? How can we prevent children and families from suffering from lack of income? Reading about Dasani really has left an impact on me, and I'm sure will do so to many others. Dasani teaches us that she manages, but not necessarily happily. We need to help her go through life happy, and help her and all other children in her situation be able to get themselves on the right track to overcome their family's money issues, and become successful in their lives.
In
the book, "The Tenth Circle" by Jodi Picoult, Trixie Stone is a 14
year old girl who is head over heels for her newly ex-boyfriend, Jason
Underhill. Her father, Daniel Stone, who has a past in Alaska of being a
stealing, drinking, robbing, and cheating man, is now a well-mannered,
collected father who has trouble accepting the fact that his daughter is
growing up and exploring "more advanced activities" while falling in
love with a boy. Trixie has a great life as a popular, pretty freshman, until
at one party Trixie gets drunk and irresponsible, and leaves the party in a
complete state of shock, accusing Jason of having raped her. From then on,
everything changes, and Trixie spirals into a deep depression, having to deal
with the aftermath of being raped. At one point she gets so troubled that she
tries to kill herself, making her parents even more riled up at Jason for
causing their daughter so much distress. Throughout the story, the idea of
justice and injustice is very present. Trixie’s parents react to the situation
differently, each with different intentions of bringing justice to their
daughter.
Trixie's
dad comes across with the most the most intense reaction to hearing his
daughter got raped. As soon as he hears, he wants nothing more than to rip
Jason's head off, and cause him as much, if not more, pain than Jason had
caused his daughter. When Trixie shows up at her house, shaking in fear and
shock after the trauma happened, Daniel suddenly goes back to the mindset of
his past self-- the one that committed crimes and beat up his peers. In the
story it says, "In a tornado of pure fury, Daniel had grabbed the first
thing he could lay hold of-a soap dish- and hurled it into the bathroom mirror."
This behavior is far more aggressive than anything Trixie had ever seen her
father do, causing her to freak out and be completely startled. Those actions
show how riled-up Daniel can get, and how he still has his former self buried
deep within him. His actions also show how much he yearns to bring justice to
the situation for his daughter's sake. He is out to get Jason Underhill, and
he's willing to go to extreme measures to make him suffer just as his daughter did.
He desperately wants to find a way to bring justice and closure along with it.
Trixie's
mom Laura has a very different, very motherly reaction to hearing her daughter
was raped. She goes straight into the hospital room to comfort Trixie, and hold
her close as though if she lets go, she will no longer be able to protect her
daughter- her baby. The author describes her mother with "her arms around
Trixie so tight that there was no room for doubt between them." Trixie's
mom is not focused on getting "revenge" on Jason, but instead more
focused on never letting go of her daughter again. She's focused on never
letting harm get near her daughter anymore, which is such a strong motherly
feeling and instinct towards a child.
Trixie's
parents' reaction made me think about the whole situation and idea of rape
itself. The issue within itself is unjust- the fact that somebody feels the
right to invade you in such an intrusive way. Clearly, justice was not being
served in the scenario. It's not fair
that a girl has to be forced to go through the trauma, and
horrendous pain that must come with such an unimaginable situation. And nobody,
as hard as they may try, can bring justice to it. Nobody can make up for
someone being raped. No one can find a way to make someone completely recover.
Because being raped is something you can't brush off- it's something that you
have to hold on to-unwillingly- for the rest of your life.
This
led me to think more about whose fault it is that justice can't be served. In
the Tenth Circle, it is of course Jason's fault. No one is really
"blocking" justice from being served, but by creating the problem,
Jason has already prevented Trixie from ever being the same person she was
before the incident. But going more in depth, I thought about whether it was
only Jason's fault. The truth is, the readers are left to decide whether they
truly believe it was all on him, or if Trixie was partially asking for it. The
book sets up the scene as a party with drugs and alcohol, where Trixie is most
definitely taking part in "having some fun". She is also dancing
around and flirting with Moss, Jason's best friend, in front of Jason, trying
to make him jealous. Yes, Trixie did not tell Jason to rape her, and yes, he
didn't listen when she said stop. But still, I can't help but wonder if through
the drugs and alcohol made her memories became clouded, and she might have
invited Jason to do more than she remembered.
Of
course, it is not okay that Trixie was raped. It is horrible and disgusting
that Jason did that to her. In life, just because someone may not be in their
right mind doesn't mean it's okay to take advantage of them. It's still wrong
what you're doing. Because taking advantage of someone is worse than just flat
out hurting them. Taking advantage of someone is so unfair, and so against what
is right. It is unjust, and many people deal with unjust situations in their
life on a day to day basis. This book shows that it is so important to have
family and friends around you, just like Trixie has her parents, who will go to
great measures to keep you safe and make sure that if something terrible
happens, justice is brought to you.
