Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids

Tashae Dantzler

Professor Ringuette

Rhetorical Analysis

September 7,2016  

Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids

“A study done in San Diego in 1998 found that a third of homeless families had recently had benefits terminated or reduced, and that most said that was how they had wound up on the street” (333). This relates to today’s society because people have nowhere to go. Because of this, they are forced out on the streets with their kids. Considering how wealthy the United States is, no family should be forced to live in poverty. Quindlen uses pathos, ethos, logos and kairos to appeal to her audience, and to ultimately draw attention to poverty in our country.

        Quindlen starts off by saying, “Six people live here, in a room the size of the master bedroom in a modest suburban house. Quindlen says, “trundles, bunk beds, dressers side by side stacked with toys, clothes, boxes, in tidy claustrophobic clutter” (332). There are hundreds of thousands of children that are likely to repeat a grade, hospitalized or likely to go hungry than kids with a roof over their heads. This family living was not stable at all. These are not the average people that you would see on the streets, but are the ones in need of a lot of help and guidance. A single mother with four kids would wake up at 6 a.m. to go searching for an apartment. This shouldn’t be the way anyone should have to live without any help.  

        Welfare and section 8 helps those who are in need find somewhere to stay, who is unable to provide for themselves. Families end up homeless for different reasons such as job loss, divorce, depression, drugs and welfare. While there is no real reason as to why this happened, Quindlen gives options of different organizations and housing units. This would help families who are in need of help and need that guidance to get them back up. Quindlen says “by the time they leave, they have a subsidized apartment, day care and, hopefully, some life skills they didn’t have before” (333). Once you leave the job training that they give to you, then you will be on your own to do better for yourself. It helps people who are in need of help the chance to get themselves together.

In her article, Quindlen starts off by saying people living in poverty were homeless and didn’t have a place to stay that was comfortable. Quindlen says, “But in the world of these displaced families, problems ignored or fumbled or unforeseen during this great period of prosperity have dovetailed into an enormous subculture of children who think that only rich people have their own bedrooms” (332). They are trying to make a stereotype on if you're rich you get to live better than poor. Which it shouldn’t be that way at all if your upper classman or lower the way you live shouldn’t affect that. Quindlen is understanding through all of this and is trying to put forth the effort to change it. Throughout the argument you see that her feelings are changing and she is more concern about them which makes the argument stronger.

Poverty will continue to rise unless change is made in welfare. Quindlen states, “There are hundreds of thousands of little nomads in America, sleeping in the back of cars, on floors in welfare offices or in shelters five to a room” (333). Nothing will be done to stop it unless someone takes charge. More Americans need to put forth the effort more to find jobs to better themselves and their family. Quindlen announces that there are programs to help the homeless living in poverty, but no one really looks into it maybe because they don’t want to depend on benefits all their lives.  Quindlen states that “Not since the Great Depression have this many babies, toddlers and kids had no place like home” (330).  So many families and kids are left unhappy wondering what they are going to eat every day, where they are going to be sleeping at night. This shouldn’t be the case poor or rich you should be given the opportunity to live comfortably wherever you go.

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