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Kenny Caselnova

Mrs. Gruenberg

English Foundations II - Honors

6 January 2016

The Circle of Poverty

Within the American borders lies a society which has been constantly pushing the lower

class into a poverty ridden abyss. Within lower class America lies a group of citizens described

as the working poor. The working poor are people within society whose income usually falls

below the given poverty line. They work below the minimum wage; on average making less than

twenty three thousand dollars a year to support themselves or an entire family. Just as in Of Mice

and Men, a fiction novel written by John Steinbeck, George Milton works as a rancher in

California during the Great Depression. He worked for barely any money and was forced to do

painstaking labor. From the beginning of the book, he faced hardships pertaining to finances and

differing opportunities. Throughout Steinbeck is able to portray the uneventful life of George

Milton, while showing his relation to the current day working through economic inequality and

inequitable opportunity in education.

Economic inequality in America plays a very large role in the struggle of the working

poor in relation to the financial standpoints of George in the novel. According to The Equality

Trust economic inequality is the difference found in various measures of economic well-being

among individuals in a group, among groups in a population, or among countries. In layman's

terms, this form of inequality is basically how evenly or unevenly wealth is distributed amongst

citizens. For example, in the United States, the diversity of income amongst people is very high.

The one percent of Americans own up to forty percent of the nation's wealth, as the lower eighty
percent of citizens only own seven percent of wealth. This ideology of unequal income ties into

several other issues amongst lower class citizens, one being poverty. In a census conducted in

2012, the data showed that 7 percent of American workers fell below the federal poverty line,

making less than $11,170 for a single person and $15,130 for a couple (Wing). For many

making less than minimum wage, poverty is the only possible outcome due to their current

situation. Once this level of economic struggle is reached, it becomes almost impossible to

provide for yourself, let alone your family. Many people who are faced with poverty dont have

any means of employment. Economic inequality and its effects relate to George's life because he

was very poor himself, as he was a rancher during the Great Depression. George describes the

ranchers and himself as men who come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta

town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other

ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to" (Steinbeck 13). He traveled ranch to ranch with

nothing but the clothes on his back with his friend Lennie looking for work or whatever money

they could scrounge together just to survive without even the slightest chance to improve his

own life by getting a better job. George was a member of the working poor during this time, as

he made little to no money as he wandered through California. Many Americans as well as

George face the constant struggle of economic inequality and it heavily affects their daily

lifestyles.

Unequal opportunity within education in America also plays a large role in the constant

uphill battle fought by the lower working class, just as George faces in Of Mice and Men.

Unequal opportunity is the idea that all people are not treated similarly and are affected by

barriers such as race, education, or religion. This ideology also provides a reason as to why

groups of people tend to end up poor as well. Unequal opportunity within education largely
affects the working poor. Statistically, the working poor is made up of minimally educated

citizens. These people may not have had the money to pay for schooling, which rendered their

future by not being able to be employed with higher level jobs. On average, individuals from

higher social classes are more likely to have the means to attend more prestigious schools, and

are therefore more likely to receive higher educations (Boundless). due to fact that George lived

in the same situation as a person in our current day lower class. Both George and working

Americans dont have the option to seek advanced education due to their lack of income, and

based on his speech, one could infer that he wasnt a very well educated man as he uses broken

English phrases. Also, you can see the mental struggle that George faces as he gets accepted into

his new job. Regretting his newly made decision, as he states that him and Lennie have to keep

it till they get a stake. They would get out jus as soon as they can (Steinbeck 33). As a low

class worker, with minimal education, the options for employment are very narrow, and the labor

isnt ideal. In this instance, George and Lennie are starting to realize the pattern in their lifestyle.

They have been traveling between ranches, earning money, and then leaving only to end up

locked into another horrendous job. The devastating effects of unequal opportunity have only

pushed the working poor deeper into poverty and despair.

Within lower class America lies a group of citizens known as the working poor, who

constantly face economic inequalities and unequal opportunities. Similar to George in the novel

Of Mice and Men, there are many working poor citizens in our society today. The lack of

opportunities for the working class of citizens affects both themselves and their families; many

which either have no jobs, or work for less than the minimum wage just to survive. Lower class

America, riddled with citizens who classify as the working poor, have been smothered with

poverty due to economic inequality and unequal opportunity.


Works Cited

Amy, Douglas J. "Equal Opportunity Won't Reduce Poverty." The Huffington Post. 9 Feb. 2014.

J Web. 20 Dec. 2016.

"How Is Economic Inequality Defined?" The Equality Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2016.

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Group, 1993. Print.

Sutter, John D. "What Is Income Inequality, Anyway?" CNN. Cable News Network, 29 Oct. jjjj

j nj j2013. Web. 20 Dec. 2016.

The Economy Is Better than It Was in the Great Recession. "Why Doesn't America's 4.9%

Unemployment Rate Feel Great?" CNNMoney. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2016

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