How does the opening paragraph catch the reader’s attention and establish the relationship between

writer and reader?

The opening paragraph catches the reader’s attention by going into graphic detail about the struggles of
people affected by poverty. The author also establishes the relationship between writer and reader by
starting the story with “You ask me what is poverty?”. This establishes the relationship as the person
affected by poverty explaining their situation without the need for pity but rather for understanding
which the author believes will be the most beneficial. Furthermore, the author invites the readers to
empathize with her situation and put themselves in her shoes shown by the quote “Put yourself in my
dirty, worn out, ill-fitting shoes, and hear me”. This also means that we

How does the descriptive detail of this piece affect the reader’s perception of the writer and of her
ability to comment with authority on the subject? How do these descriptive details make the essay more
influential?

Firstly, the author's graphic descriptions of her struggles demonstrate that she is speaking from personal
experience. This contributes to the essay's influential effect.

Who is the projected “you” of the audience? How do you know?

In this essay's context, the projected "you" of the audience refers to individuals who have not
experienced poverty. Some evidence is in paragraph 10 where the author says “Your children won't play
with my boys. They will turn to other boys who steal to get what they want. I can already see them
behind the bars of their prison instead of behind the bars of my poverty”. This shows that the essay is
directed at those unaffected by poverty as she states that the readers' children will not be in a similar
poverty-influenced environment, which she states is prison. The author also says, “Put yourself in my
dirty, worn out, ill-fitting shoes, and hear me.” heavily implying that the reader has not struggled with
poverty as she asks them to put themselves in her shoes.” /

Consider the diction and sentence structure of the piece. What do they suggest about the writer? How
are they appropriate to the topic?

The writer communicates on a first-person basis, writing in a relaxed tone by using words and phrases
that create an element of familiarity with the audience. The introductory phrases such as “Listen to me,”
“Here I am,” and “Let me explain” establish a personal connection between the narrative and the
reader.

Why after all the emphatic repetition of the term “poverty” in earlier paragraphs, does the writer use
the word only once in the last two paragraphs? What alternative word or words are repeated for
emphasis in the concluding paragraph? Why?
Some possible reasons that the writer uses the word only once in the last two paragraphs are that the
author shifts from giving examples of the negative effects of poverty to fantasizing about the time of her
life which was unaffected by poverty.