March 20 Blog

In the articles entitled "The Logic of Stupid Poor People" by Tressie McMillan Cottom and "The Money" by Junot Diaz, the authors explain personal anecdotes about their own life and about growing up poor. However, their views on material goods differ. Coming from a Dominican neighborhood in New Jersey, author Junot Diaz explains that his family living in America was very poor, but they always sent money to their family in the Dominican Republic. The author's family needed their American revenue to scrape by a decent living with food and electricity. Consequently, the author never has any nice food, snacks, soda or any material goods growing up, and he too survives on just enough to let him live. When Diaz's friends break into his family's apartment and steal cash and the author's Dungeons and Dragons hardcovers, the author recovers the stolen items and is met with little compensation from his mother. The author understands he did the right thing, as his foreign relatives rely heavily on his family's money to survive. This puts poverty in perspective for the author: even though Diaz was poor in America, he understands that he has it better than many other individuals. In Tressie McMillan Cottom's article, the author explains how material goods, or flashy and expensive items that are not necessary, in fact, can help poor people at least appear to be wealthy. Cottom explains that poor people buy stupid, expensive things for the same reason rich people do- to belong and "fit in" (EAA 1013). She also elaborates by stating presentability is only a small factor in something like a job interview, The author believes that poor people want to buy expensive clothes or objects to make them more confident in life situations, just like wealthy people Poverty is something that has affected my life as well. When I was born, my family living in a small trailer and stayed there until I reached grade school. Luckily my parents got better jobs, and we lived a more comfortable life. We, like Junot Diaz's family, also send money to my father's family in Guatemala. But we still struggled with money and I could not afford to have the nice things my wealthier friends could afford. I agree with both authors points; sometimes life is difficult and we should not have unnecessary items. However, "faking it till you make it" and purchasing items to make someone feel better about oneself can be a motivating factor in moving up the world.