Analysis of Wealth and Poverty, Essay Example

In Learning to Read and Write, Frederick Douglass discusses his thirst for knowledge and his goal of seeking help from the white children he met on the street to teach him how to read. Although achieving literacy was a slow process, he treated this opportunity as one of the greatest things that could happen to him. He eventually began to hold himself higher than the poor white children who lived nearby because to him, knowledge was power. Despite the help that Frederick Douglass received from the boys living nearby, he knew that it was important to keep his success a secret because it is a criminal offense to help slaves learn how to read. However, Douglass kept holding on to the dreams and stories he learned from books, hoping that he would be a free man once he reached the age of twenty-one.

The gap between wealth and poverty is clearly defined in some cases and vaguer in others. In the literal sense, someone who is wealthy has a lot of money and experiences a good quality of life while someone who is impoverished has little money and doesn’t know where his or her next meal will come from. In a symbolic sense, those who are wealthy have what they want, even if it may not be money. Frederick Douglass believes he is wealthy and more fortunate than the other children due to his aspirations to learn to read and love for knowledge. This demonstrates that money is not important for happiness, but the ability to learn a skill to better one’s financial situation is.

The gap between the rich and poor is ultimately caused by a difference in fortune; many people are born with parents who are in a good financial situation and this is passed down to their children. The same is true for those who are born poor; their children are likely to be poor as well. For example, many of the individuals who are wealthy in the United States were brought up in a supportive environment. Although former President George W. Bush claims to be a self-made success, the fact that his father was former President George H.W. Bush certainly helped his situation. Therefore, fortunate situations are born out of other fortunate situations. On the other hand, it is difficult for the impoverished to improve their situation. For example, no news stories have ever highlighted a success story centered around a homeless man living on the streets. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for downtrodden individuals to climb to the top in a majority of situations.

It is difficult for people to get out of poverty because they don’t have the skills necessary to become successful. Many individuals who are successful have advanced degrees in medicine, law, and business. As a consequence, they are given high paying jobs and a greater opportunity to achieve greatness. For example, medical students, who achieve a wealth of knowledge during their training, go on to work one of the highest paying jobs available. Thus, we can see that education is related directly to success. On occasion, when impoverished individuals are able to obtain necessary knowledge, they are able to succeed. For example, Fredrick Douglass’ became a world famous reformer because he was able to find a way to learn how to read as a youth.

To help people living in poverty achieve a better life, it is essential to provide them with resources that will enhance their ability to gain a proper education. Many colleges and universities offer tuition assistance to individuals from less fortunate backgrounds and this program is successful in many situations. For example, Colin Powell, who is a retired four-star general and the first African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, grew up in New York City and was a straight C student at the City College of New York. However, because he was given an additional opportunity to succeed despite his poor grades in college, he was able to obtain a MBA degree from George Washington University and become the success that he is today. Thus, it is important that we provide all people with an opportunity to learn because of the greatness that they can achieve. On the other hand, not all people are like Colin Powell, but it is important for us to consider that everyone has potential and we should not hinder what could be.

The gap between wealth and poverty is defined by how we were raised and there is not much that we can do individually to change our financial standing. This is further defined by the inability for the impoverished to gain the skills that are necessary to go on to working high paying jobs. However, to help people achieve a better life, it is necessary that we give them the opportunity to learn the skills that are needed to accomplish great things. Wealth can therefore be defined as the opportunity to learn skills that will contribute to success. Therefore, someone could either be born wealthy or achieve this opportunity later on in life due to the goodness of others. Frederick Douglass received the opportunity to be wealthy thanks to the help from his white neighbors and admirable drive to learn. Therefore, it is important that we provide all students an equal opportunity to pursue an education. Money should not be an issue because even people without money have great potential.

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Learning to Read and Write. Taken?from: The Brief McGraw-Hill Reader.           Issues across the Disciplines by Gilbert H. Muller. Page 166-170