Pursuit of Happiness free essay sample

Poverty the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor. (According to Dictionary. com) Theories: †¢Structural Functionalism – Poverty is natural expected †¢Symbolic Interaction – The way we view the poor, blaming the victim oWe work to change the behavior, not the actual cause Poverty is unnatural and not the fault of the individual but rather the fault of society Definitions: †¢Persistent Poverty – you grow up poor and you stay poor †¢Temporary Poverty – usually results from illness, divorce, or unemployment (2 years or less) How Pursuit of Happyness relates to Poverty †¢Gardners grew up in poverty Only â€Å"blue-collared† jobs were available to the â€Å"colored† †¢They had poor housing, struggled to find food, limited funds to pay rent †¢Chris Gardner faced â€Å"persistent poverty† but managed to make it â€Å"temporary poverty† by never giving up on his dream to become wealthy, to own a â€Å"Ferrari† †¢Encountered inequality because even though he was able to get a job, all of his clients went to a â€Å"more-experienced† person – a white person †¢Chris falls into the category of a person who has the experience, but no formal education †¢Had a difficult time finding a home for him and his son †¢Faced jail time Political Views †¢Conservatives Not that many people are living in absolute poverty oPeople should take responsibility for themselves oWork hard = success oLimit government involvement to help those who NEED help †¢Liberals oPoverty is a societal problem and should work together to fix it oRecognize that poverty affects different groups rather than individuals oIncome is distributed unequally and is heavily impacted by discrimination oSupport government aide oFeel that many people don’t try for assistance because the culture of shame The Pursuit of Happyness Chapter 1 †¢Chris Gardner, along with his siblings lived in a foster home. We will write a custom essay sample on Pursuit of Happiness or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Lived with Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. Chris’ biological mother would visit at times to give candy them candy. At a young age, Chris’ sister Ophelia would steal cherries from a neighbor’s garden. While growing up, Chris always looked to Ophelia for explanations. The Gardners grew up in Depression-era 1928 in Little Rock, Arkansas. – Trials of Poverty and Racism. Mainly steel mills and foundries and carmakers employed blacks. Also known as â€Å"Blue-collar jobs†. Almost everyone had family members with the employees. The families always â€Å"stuck together†. Now Chris’ family live in Milwaukee. Chapter 2 †¢Chris’ goal was to get Freddie, his mom’s boyfriend to like him. Chris’ mother wanted to be a teacher in Wisconsin, but Chris’ mom was a domesticated worker – cleaned rich (white) people’s houses. Ophelia has a different dad, Sam Salter, who is a high school teacher. Sam would give Ophelia 2 dollars, Chris 1 dollar. Freddie is complete opposite from Sam. Freddie is violent. Chris promised he wouldn’t be like Freddie. Chris wants Sam to be his dad. Freddie attempted to kill Chris’ mom multiple times. Chris’ mom rented an apartment close by, but faces eviction. Chapter 3 †¢Chris’ Mother is missing. Chris living with Uncle Willie and Aunt Ella Mae. Strict household. Chris saw his mother at a funeral (uncle henry) with prison guard next to her, Ophelia was sent away living in a detention home. Uncle Henry was is idol. Uncle Henry said to him â€Å"Here it is, Chris, the world is your oyster. It’s up to you to find the pearls† â€Å"live large†. Taught him how to swim, happiness when with him. Chris’ mother is in prison because Freddie accused her of burning down the house with Freddie in it. Chris also saw his sisters again at funeral. At end of chapter, Chris is reunited with his mom Chapter 4 †¢1968 Great awakening. Chris and his schoolmates went to a different school. Chris aspired to be an actor. Chris got a part time job helping an old lady. Problems with Freddie arises, prompting Ophelia to move away Chapter 5 †¢Chris tries to hustle people, at the end of hustling; Chris ends up getting raped by a man. Chris attempted to kill Freddie by accidently slipping the refrigerator having it fall on Freddie. Freddie is back to his normal self, threatening them. Chris got a job as a dishwasher at Nino’ steakhouse. Waiters stiffed him with tips. Then Ophelia got him a job as an orderly at Heartside Nursing home. Then Chris’ Uncle Archie helped him get a job at Inland Steel. Later, Chris enlists into the Navy. Part 2 Chris got stationed in Orlando. Assigned to work in the General Surgical Ward with Lieutenant Commander Charlotte Gannon. Everyone respected him and asked for him in the navy when they were wounded. Finds out his father is Thomas Turner. He takes a job with Dr. Elllis in research lab at UC Medical Center and VA Hospital $7500 a year Chapter 7 †¢He is in SF. He began training interns on how to handle instruments. Still experiences racism. Chris keeps getting increases in salary, though sf is a costly place to live. Got married to Sherry his first love June 18, 1977. Cheats on Sherry, but doesn’t tell Sherry. Decides not to be a doctor because of what he was told by Dr. Ellis Chapter 8 †¢Chris had an affair with a girl named Jackie. Broke up with Sherry for Jackie. Christopher Jarrett the 2nd was born Jan 28 1981. His salary couldn’t support him, son, and Jackie. Jackie accused him of not being able to be a father because he never had a father. Jackie takes Chris Jr. from him but Chris fights for him. Chris is becoming a great father to Chris Jr. Chris gets a job earning 30,000 a year as a sales rep for CMS. Things were going well. He met his siblings that he didn’t know about in Louisiana. Chapter 9 Learning selling strategies to earn more money. Saw Bob Bridges, stockbroker, Chris asked him what he does and how he does it. Looked into stocks. Falsely led into thinking he could be a stockbroker – interviewed with companies, NO. Kept getting parking tickets. Came down to not having education even with him having experience. Interviewed at E. F. Hutton, went to training, didn’t get it. Has no money, no severance, because he quit his job at CMS. Turns out the guy who said he’d give Chris a job got fired. Therefore he left a job for a job that does exist. Started working odd jobs. Police are there to arrest him for domestic violence. Saying Jackie was beaten, He is in jail. When he sees the judge he says chris owes 1200 and chris says he can’t pay it. After he was out he can’t find his son, or Jackie Chapter 10 †¢Gets an opportunity to work for Dean Witter in a firm agency 1000/month in training program. Slept at work, alternates outfits. Starts to look for Chris Jr. Passed test at training. Encounters obstacles. Gets Chris Jr. back without Jackie in picture. Completely homeless now. Starts looking around for a place to stay. Talked to a reverend and asked for help. Found a way to make money by saying â€Å" he lost his money in a vending machine that sells cigarettes†. Slept in bathroom in Oakland. Finds a place to rent Chapter 11 †¢His friends started to help him out with anything he needs. The job that he is at, is starting to do well. Starts to earn a little bit more. Things are starting to look better Chapter 12 †¢Even though he was netting 200 calls a day, the business would end up going to a white guy â€Å"with more experience†. Left job at Dean Witter, Started working for Bear. Bear was a better job place for Chris, better opportunities. Chris was able to build a relationship with a client and ultimately solely on his accounts he made 200,000 a year. Client was J. R. Chris moved to New York, bought Michael Jordan’s Ferrari. He had a baby girl by Jackie; Jacintha is the baby girl’s name. J. R. , Chris’ biggest client passed away. Settled for 60000 in commission. Chris gets fired for only making 25000 in 2 months with a client. Chris opens up a shop in Chicago. Decided to manage money for Black people (black celebrities). Had the support of Ace Greenberg. W. J. Kennedy the third decided to help him out and invest in his dream. W. J. Kennedy the third is the Chairman of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Chris owns Gardner Rich Company, everyone trusts him, he is now living his dream.