Jasmine Valdovinos

Humanities-M7
Medina
3/7/14
Struggle, Racism and Poverty

Struggle can be defined as having difficulty handling something or coping with.
Some may agree that struggle is positive while others think struggle is negative. A lot of
commentary has been discussed on this topic. This essay will argue that in spite of what
some people presume to be true, struggle is multidimensional and has implications that
can have an effect on us.
Struggles are multidimensional. We see this in Breaking Through. For example,
one of the struggles Panchito experiences is being undocumented. The outcomes of
Panchitos struggle are fear and being deported. Some examples from the text that
provide evidence of this situation are in page 2, it states, As I got older, my fear of being
deported grew. As Panchito began to live in the U.S, his fear of being sent back to
Mexico grew bigger and bigger. In page 3, it says that Panchito got scared when the man
with the green uniform came to his class because he knew that the man was from Border
Patrol and he didnt want to be sent back to Mexico. In page 4, Roberto said, Nos
agarraron hermanito, to Panchito because they got caught by Border Patrol. As you can
see, Panchito experiences many different levels of struggle.
Along the lines of struggle being multidimensional, we can also evaluate its
implications. Once again using Breaking Through Panchito struggles with poverty.
Poverty affects Panchitos education, health, family and home. There are examples from

the book that show the implications of poverty. One example is on page 2, it says, Every
year Roberto and I missed months of school to help Papa and Mama work in the fields.
This shows that poverty had a big affect on his education because he missed a lot of
school days. Another example is on page 2, it states, Things got worse when Papa began
to have back problems and had trouble picking crops. This shows that since Panchitos
family didnt have a lot of money so they couldnt pay someone to fix Papas back.
Another example is on page 15, it says, The thought of being apart from Papa, Mama
and my brothers and sister saddened me, but the idea of missing school and not being
with Roberto pained me even more. This shows that because of poverty, they couldnt
afford to pay someone to heal Papas back so they had to spilt up. The last example is on
page 1, it says, It all started in the late 1940s when Papa, Mama, my older brother,
Roberto, and I left El Rancho Blanco, a small village nestled on barren, dry hills several
miles north of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and headed to California, hoping to leave
our life of poverty behind. This shows that by being in poverty, Panchitos family had to
flee to California.
In addition, there are implications of poverty found in other sources. In Breaking
Through we see how poverty affects education, similarly according to The Effects of
Childhood & Education Poverty is a threat to a childs well-being and its ability to
learn. (Perry, Ann) Another example, according to Poorest U.S city, Reading also
struggling with high dropout rate(Brown, Jeffrey) What this is trying to say is that with
so many people in poverty, kids are dropping out of school. Another example, according
to Fairtest.org, The powerful impact of poverty on literacy development has been well
documented. Children of poverty, in addition to the obvious problems they face, have

very little access to reading material; they have fewer books in the home, inferior public
libraries, inferior school libraries, and inferior classroom libraries. This means, of course,
that they have fewer opportunities to read, and therefore make less progress in developing
literacy.

Poverty doesnt just affect education, but it also affects living conditions.
According to The Affects of Poverty on Children, it states, Kids who are poor are likely
to be less healthy, both emotionally and physically in poor living conditions. What this
is saying is that kids suffer more if they live in poverty. Another example, according to
the National Coalition for the Homeless, it states, The lack of affordable housing has
lead to high rent burdens (rents which absorb proportion of income), overcrowding, and
substandard housing. These phenomena, in turn, have not only forced many people to
become homeless; they have put a large and growing number of people at risk of
becoming homeless. What this is saying is that since many rents are high in money,
people are basically forced to live on the streets because its not affordable. Another
example, according to the American National Health Association, it says, While there
are many things that can influence the mental health of an individual, either through
genetics, events or social life, the environment in which people live in can have one of
the greatest, lasting effects on a person for the rest of their life. Adults and children alike
are affected by the living conditions in which they are living. Poor housing conditions
increase the risk of severe ill-health or disability. As you can see by these examples,
poverty can affect not only education, but also living conditions.
Living in poverty has many risks such as, affecting health. According to
Americans in Poverty at Greater Risk for Chronic Health, it says, The study also

showed that diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart attacks were slightly more likely to
afflict those in poverty than those who are not. (Kurtzleben, Danielle) Another example,
according to Poverty Threatens Health of U.S Children, it states, Poor children have
increased infant mortality; more frequent and severe chronic diseases such as asthma;
poorer nutrition and growth; less access to quality health care; lower immunization rates;
and increased obesity and its complications. What this is saying is that children that live
and are born in poverty suffer a lot throughout life. Another example, according to
Childreninpoverty.org, it says, Many infants born into poverty have a low birth weight,
which is associated with many preventable mental and physical disabilities. As you can
see, poverty affects health in many different ways.
Poverty doesnt just affect education, health and living conditions. It also affects
treatment. For example, We work and we work hard, day in and day that will hopefully
pay the rent. What this is saying is that people in poverty have to work very hard to
make enough money to pay all the stuff they need. (Chaoticpen) Another example,
according to UnderConstruction, it states, Money is power and the rich are in charge.
What this is saying is that since the poor dont have money they arent important.
Another example, according to Wikianswers.com, Poor people were treated bad and in
some cases killed or harshly beaten. This shows that poor people are treated very
harshly just because they are poor.
Last of all, this essay has shown that in spite of what some people presume to be
true, struggle is multidimensional and has implications that can have an effect on us.
Some may argue that poverty is good for you. It does have good benefits, such as

building your character and striving to achieve goals. This may be true but I believe that
is it bad because of its affects on health, treatment, education and living conditions.
Poverty is not the only struggle that has negative implications; racism is just as
damaging. Racism is poor treatment or violence against people of their race, in other
words being mistreated because of your race.

Racism is found in Breaking through a lot throughout the book. For example, on
page 106, it says, Susans parents dont want her to go out with me anymore, he said
teary-eyed. Why? I asked putting my arm around him. Because Im Mexican. What
this is saying is that because Roberto is Mexican, Susan is not allowed to go out with him
anymore. This is racism. Another example, on page 103, it says, I asked Mama not to
make me taquitos for lunch, because a few guys made fun of me when they saw me eat
them. Panchito got made fun of for bringing Mexican food for lunch so he stopped
bringing it. Another example, on page 75, it says, I see you graduated from El Camino
Junior High School. Have you thought of what you want to do after high school? Before
I had the chance to answer, he added, We have excellent vocational programs in car
mechanics, electronics and woodshop. We also have a program for future farmers. What
this shows is that Panchitos counselor judged Panchito on maybe how he looked like or
talked like. So he assumed Panchito would be interested in the classes he mentioned.

The movie, 42, about the Jackie Robinson story shows examples of racism and its
implications. Struggle specifically, poverty and racism has implications that negatively
affects us. An example on how racism affected Jackie Robinson in the movie 42 is that

the people on other teams called him mean names that were very racial. This caused him
to feel sad and angry because he couldnt do anything about it. Another example in 42 is
some of the beliefs of racist people. They believed that black people werent as equal as
white people. This is what created the segregation.

Some other examples that show up in 42 are that white people were very strict
when it came to signs where it said White Only. Which included bathrooms,
restaurants, and even hotels. So they would NEVER let black people in. This made Jackie
upset and angry. Another example is that before Jackie joined the Dodgers, not one black
person had been on a white team of baseball players. So Jackie got a lot of hate because
of this. This made him feel angry and depressed.

Racism is all around me. Kids today get bullied just because of their skin color.
How do you think they feel? They didnt choose what color they were going to be born
with. Its not their fault. These kids are getting called horrible racial names, just like
Jackie Robinson. Its not fair at all.

In contrast to all I have shared, Kelly Mcfonial provides an opposing perspective.
She is saying that stress is good for you and that you shouldnt believe that stress is bad
for you. By believing stress is bad for you, your death can increase by 66%. To avoid
this, you need to believe that stress is a good for you. By believing this, your death does
not increase at all. Stress can make you crave physical contact and be more helpful and
caring towards others. Its really good to view your stress as good stress because it gives

you courage to keep moving forward. It also makes you be more social with people.
Although stress can be a positive thing, I see it as a negative thing because stress is
ONLY good when you view it that way.

In spite what some people believe is true, struggle; racism and poverty is
multidimensional and has implications that can hurt us. For example, poverty affects
education, treatment, living conditions and health. If you dont have enough money
youll probably end up in debt, maybe even without a house or without an education.
Another example is that racism affected Jackie Robinson. He got so much hatred just
because of his skin color. This made him angry and upset, because the names that he got
called were extremely racial and mean and that he couldnt do anything about it. Another
example, Panchito and his family struggled a lot with poverty. He had to work for hours
and hours and hours, along with Roberto, to provide his family with money so they could
get food. As you can see by these examples, struggle is everywhere. It can range from
struggling to get good grades to not even having a house to live in. Wherever you go
there will be struggle, along with stress.