Interesting fact about the essay and its writer:
An anonymous person named Jo
Goodwin Parker from West Virginia, in the southern United States, wrote this
personal essay titled “What is Poverty?” With a note from Jo Goodwin Parker,
she mailed her essay to George Henderson, a professor at the University of
Oklahoma. This essay was later published without any additional information
about the author or source.
Summary:
In the essay, Jo Goodwin Parker presents her personal experience of living in poverty. She explains her story from childhood to adulthood. Her struggles are overwhelming. Presenting examples from her personal experience, she explains the meaning of poverty. In the essay, she creates a uniquely real and complete account of poverty and addresses directly to the readers about living in poverty.
According to her experience, poverty is more than a picture in a newspaper. Being poor, she has to get up early in the morning from dirty mattress. She has to live in the smell of urine, sour milk, rotten food, garbage and so on. She suffers from chronic anaemia but cannot do operation because her children are hungry and naked. She has a job, but when she goes to her work leaving them with their grandmother, they are covered with flies and their diapers are not changed So, she quits her job. She gives her children only girt without oil and washes the dishes without soap in cold water. She has no money to buy fuels, soap, vaseline, diapers, etc. She washes her babies' clothes at night hoping that they will be dry by tomorrow morning. In winter, she stays whole night awake to save her children from fire and in summer she has to save them from the biting of the flies and gnats. She has no money to buy screens. So, she says that poverty means insects in food, on the nose, on the eyes and crawling over body while sleeping. In rainy season, the clothes don't dry, so she has to face many difficulties. She can't have clothes even to wipe the running noses of her children. She can't use paper handkerchiefs because they cost money, and if allergy appears, antihistamines are even more costly. So, she says that poverty is cooking without food and cleaning without soap.
Furthermore, she adds that poverty is asking for help, which is in fact a vain sadness of returning empty handed. For her, poverty is remembrance. It is the compulsion of a dirty teacher to quit the job in front of nice children. She again says that it is destroying marriage after having three children without saying goodbye. She remembers that her husband left her because he could not take his family burden by his salary and they could not afford for the contraceptives. Besides, poverty is looking into a black future. In the lack of proper books and materials, she has no hope about the future of her children. She is afraid that her sons will be thieves or drug-addicts or drunkards and her daughter’s life will be like her life. Finally, she says that poverty is an acid that dissolves the pride. It is a chisel that chips on honour until honour is worn away. Certainly, the poor have dreams, but their dreams are vain without money like for the right kinds of food, medicine, iron pills, toothbrushes, hand cream, a hammer, a shovel, a bit of paint, some sheeting, needles, thread, hot water, soap, etc. Thus, the poor are always silent suppressing their shame, humiliation and outrage.
Some Word Meanings in Nepali from the Summary:
- Humiliation- अपमान
- Shame- लाज
- Outrage- आक्रोस
- Vain- ब्यर्थ
- Chisel- छेस्को/छिनो
- Urine- पिसाब
- Rotten- कुहीएको
- Contraceptives- परिवार नियोजनको साधनहरु
- Antihistamines- एलर्जीमा लगाउने औषधि
- Pride- गर्ब
- Afford- किन्नु
- Dissolves- बर्बाद पार्नु
- Crawling- घस्रनु
- Compulsion- बाध्यता
- Sheeting- तन्ना
- Gnats- भुसुना
- Screens- पर्दा
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