Impact of Society on Children in Poverty
John Steinbeck’s “Junius Maltby” and William Saroyan’s “The Oranges” are both short stories. “Junius Maltby” is about a new father, and his peculiar take on raising his son. “The Oranges” centers on a young boy who is struggling with living in a stressful situation. A key similarity in the two stories is the impact of society on children living in poverty. This can be seen in “Junius Maltby” when Robbie realizes he is underprivileged for the first time, leading him to seeing himself different than the other children. Similarly, Luke from “The Oranges” only started feeling like life was in a sense pointless when he saw the townspeople stare at him, and not give him the time of day. Society’s view on those in poverty has a profound impact on the children living in that lifestyle, making their situation hard for them to be productive members, as well as feeling comfortable in their own skin.
When we think about the lifestyle of someone in poverty, we tend to disregard all of the positive events that may be going on we might not be able to see. Living in poverty can, and will most likely be difficult. Likewise, it may be damaging to a child in the sense that kids have no filter, and more or less they do not identify the difference between prosperity, and poverty. Children are born with the mindset that all persons are equal, yet that is not always the case. In “Junius Maltby” this can be seen on Robbie’s first day of class and the only thing he is concerned about is playing games, not what the other children look like. The other boys had initially decided to torment Robbie, but after meeting him and getting to know him they could not go through with it (Steinbeck, 105). An change of perspective proves a point that children truly don’t understand what prejudice is; no matter what Robbie looked like, having no effect on his ability to play, and to spread knowledge. Just because someone does not live in wealth prosperity,...