POVERTY IS A FELONY

                                                  “Poverty is a Felony”

Sherman Alexei has written a story entitled “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian.  This story is very emotional.   It grabbed every part of my nervous system.  And I will tell you why.  Junior in this story tells his experiences with this destructive animal, poverty; it’s a blood sucking animal that sucks the ambition away from you.  The writer expressed that it will cause distress. (Page 124), of the weak.   It feeds on your strength, it causes you to feel inferior among those who called themselves superiors, poverty takes away every given rights away from you.   Some people hate to see you becoming successful.  (Page 131), Poverty will block you from obtaining an education.  Because when you desire to go to school there is no bus fair.  Junior in this story had to lie to his friends at his school Reardan that he has money, just to feel belong.  He said, “I figured it would do me no good if they knew I was dirt poor.”  Being poor separates you from mingling with friend that you really wants to mingle with.  Because the first thing they are going to ask you if you have money. If you happen to say know they know you are poor.  And everyone will know about it.  (Page 127).I looked up the word poverty on the internet, Google.com:  The definition it gives me is this, “No possession, lacking of specific resource.”   You know, the only person that can relate to poverty is the person who feels it, and live with it.  When you hungry and run to the kitchen and there is nothing to eat, oh my God, it’s not a pleasant feeling, the write of this story shows junior’s attitude when he was hungry  went to the kitchen, and finds nothing to eat other than, some saltine crackers.   He said, “All I had for dinner were saltine crackers and water.  Like I was in jail.”    I was very, very poor when I was growing up as junior in this story.  That is why I chose to write about this theme, because it’s emotional when reading it.  And it allows me to see myself Coming from the pit to the palace, the absolute truth to poverty, I called it a felony. I love this story and the way Junior described poverty. copyright© by Catherine Gray- Taylor