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Burdens Of Poverty - College Essays

Burdens Of Poverty

In the short story �The Sky is Gray�, Ernest J. Gaines shows the struggles, inflicted by poverty, in an eight-year-old boys life. This poor, Negro boy, James, lives with his mother and five other relatives while his father is away. The fact that his father is gone to war, his mother is a very proud woman, and James� not wanting to be a financial burden on his mother, all take a toll in making James� life tougher.
James� father is drafted into the early part of World War 2. This leaves James� mother to raise the children and support the entire family. In effect the family has very little money. The family doesn�t own a car and barely has money to ride the bus to town.
At times it seems ...

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tried to purchase some salt meat from the old woman but makes the woman cut the offered chunk of meat in half because Octavia thinks the portion of meat that the woman offers is an act of charity on the old woman�s behalf.
Taking the portion of meat that the woman offered would have saved the family some money. Another example of how Octavia�s pride costs the family money occurs in the caf�. Octavia and James are walking in the cold waiting on James to go to the dentist. They step into the caf� to warm up. Octavia feels that she is obligated to make a purchase at the caf� because she is using their heat. This puts a dent in the family�s finances and makes life a little more rough for James.
The final toll, inflicted by poverty, in James� life is the fact that James does not want to be a financial burden upon his mother. James has a severe toothache, but he does not tell his mother because he does not want to trouble her. This causes James much suffering. Octavia tells James ...

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Burdens Of Poverty. (2007, March 8). Retrieved November 29, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Burdens-Of-Poverty/61458

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/8/2007 08:42:24 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 539
Pages: 2

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