What do you think is poverty? Do you have a definitive explanation for it or do you consider it an abstract circumstance? In the article “What is poverty?” », Jo Goodwin Parker gives her ideas on what poverty is. First given as a speech, this article is written as an attack on human emotion. His use of connotative language creates many harsh images of his experiences in a life of poverty. By using these images, Parker is able to make the reader feel many emotions and force them to question their own stereotypes about the poor. Through the use of connotative language and his ability to evoke emotion, Parker succeeds in forcing the reader to examine their thoughts and beliefs about the identity of the poor. Parker's use of connotative language makes the reader feel many emotions. Among these emotions, guilt is the most important. Parker is able to make the reader feel guilty for the possessions he owns. For example, she uses the phrase "You say in your clean clothes coming from your clean house,..." (Parker 237). This makes the reader feel guilty for having the ability to be clean when we all know she doesn't have the same. She calls hot water a “luxury” (Parker 237). For those living in poverty, hot water is a luxury. The poor take it for granted and have never before considered it as anything other than a basic good. When the reader hears that someone else considers this a luxury they can't afford, they can't help but feel guilty for having it as a basic possession. Parker also addresses the reader's guilt through her children's stories. She knows that some readers may not feel guilty about things that happen to her, but when children are confronted with this situation, they feel even more guilty. She says, “My children have no extra books, no magazines, no extra pencils, crayons, or paper…” (Parker 238). The reader can't help but feel guilty for having these basic things while their children, who need them, don't. Another thing Parker makes the public feel guilty about is health. She says, speaking of her children, "...the most important thing is that they are not healthy." (Parker238). She goes on to describe what is wrong with them. Parker says, “They have worms, they have infections, they have pink eyes all summer” (238). These descriptions of his child...... middle of paper ...... rse, like a "chisel it shakes honor until honor is worn out (Parker 239). " Parker begins almost every paragraph with a new definition of what poverty is. Some examples are: “poverty is being tired” (Parker 236), “poverty is dirt” (237), “poverty is asking for help” (237), and “poverty is looking to a dark future” (238). All of these sentences create a different image of poverty and each succeeds in arousing the reader's sympathy. All force the reader to imagine poverty in a new way. We all knew it was bad, but Parker makes us understand how dark poverty is. It shows us that there is no hope for the poor without understanding. Parker succeeds in getting his point across through his use of connotative language and his ability to create imagery. She did a good job of attacking the reader and getting them to listen to what she has to say. Even though she attacks the audience, she does so appropriately without appearing offensive. Overall, Parker was successful in creating imagery and using readers' emotion to bring..