Aleister Crowley's "A Birthday" - The Times of Poverty and the Promise of Riches
Aleister Crowley's poem "A Birthday" claims that destitution was common in early America. (A Birthday by Aleister Crowley n.p). He draws attention to the times of poverty in the poem and how they would be replaced by a profusion of riches. Although it is meant to be a holiday greeting, the author laments the good old times he shared with a loved one. Making desires is all that is required, but he must do so after the loved one has passed away.
Rising Above Hardship - The Strength of Early Americans
The poem opens with an account of the joys they would experience following a string of setbacks. Arguably, the losses could be symbolic of poverty. Therefore, it means that despite the hardships, early Americans would always find a way to rise to the top as demonstrated by the narrator in this poem. They seemed to have devised a way to deal with poverty.
Religion and Holiness - A Path to Good Fortune
Firstly, it is essential to recognize the fact that this group of people was religious. According to the poem, they believed in the existence of a superior power, God. Holiness was something they embraced in their lives. They also thought that God was responsible for all the things they could not control. These were inclusive of poverty and diseases. To make their good fortunes, they prayed to God by living holy lives as the poem points out.
Working Together - Combating Poverty Through Cooperation
The narrator of the poem also refers to working with the loved one; this is a sure way of dealing with poverty as it helps in its eradication. The part where he says he went to Paris could mean that he went there to work. Working was an essential part of life; a fact demonstrated clearly in the poem.
Finding Happiness Amidst Poverty - The Power of Human Relations
Perhaps weird, the poem seems to say that, having a loved even in poverty brought happiness. The narrator says that in times of worry, starvation, and illnesses, he was still happy. Human relations like that of the author brought people together. Facing a problem on a standard front helps reduce or end it. It is with his loved one that they worked hard in alleviating poverty.
Emphasizing Perseverance - Fighting On Despite Bleak Times
The poem finally emphasizes on perseverance. The quote '... we must fight on, win through, succeed' indicates that the early Americans would not give up even if times seemed bleak. The people worked as hard as they possibly could to make their lives and the world a better place to live in. Only God would judge whether they were right in their actions of 'courage and surrender.'
The Two Men - Poverty and Wealth in Early America
In the 'Two Men,' using the lives of two young men in the early days of America, the author points out to the ills of poverty. While one chose to lead a life of purity and truth, devoid of the pursuit of material wealth, his friend decided to pursue wealth and property. In the story, both men fail in their pursuits. Poverty cannot be addressed by living in virtues and doing nothing about wealth creation and work. The first one died from his poverty caused by ignorance. He expected to live from being assisted by others (The Two Men by Thomas Hardy n.p). The early Americans shunned such people as they oozed poverty.
Hard Work and Borrowing - Lessons from Early Americans
The second character, although choosing to look for wealth, is lazy. Thus, he began borrowing and begging from those who had what he lacked. However, to promote hard-work and reduce poverty, the early Americans of his time would only lend him when they were sure of being repaid. Thus, it can be understood in two-fold; on the first point; borrowing was discouraged thus encouraging people to make their own wealth rather than burdening others. Secondly, hesitance to lend to lazy man is crucial as it helps preserve one's wealth. They believed that borrowers must demonstrate the ability to repay. The action is real even in today's world; a chance of becoming poor and broke is not something one should risk.
The Perils of Poverty - A Lesson for Early Americans
From the deaths of the two schoolmates, it is clear that the people learned the perils of poverty; as it was a senseless agonizing death. Mourners likened the two men, despite being well-educated and having taken different paths in life, they died. Recall that they were progenies of lucky parents. A lesson that one would never lead their parents' life, however, became taught among the early Americans who valued hard-work in avoiding poverty.
Business Activities in Early America - Market Wars and Accumulation
Also, it is clear from the poem that business activities were done in the early American days. For instance, the market wars and accumulation of the precious metals are indicative of this. The two young men brace the world of money and markets differently. Therefore, it is evident that although it was only in the past, there were already traders as well as miners of gold and other precious metals. When sold they brought a fortune; ultimately ending poverty if any.
Reference
to education in the poem also points to the fact that the early American people believed in literacy as a tool to end poverty. The two young men were expected to make good use of their education to accumulate wealth and property. In the 21st century, just like the early days of American civil, education remains a vital economic pillar. Literate people are less likely to resign to poverty. How with all the knowledge learned?
Even in the ancient times of the early Americans, trade was a significant economic activity. In alleviating poverty, some shopkeepers sold Christmas trees during the festival season. The mention of a departmental store is further proof of commercial activities even in those days. These events were income-generating to the operators (The Christmas Tree by Robert William Service n.p).
By The Christmas tree's narrator's admission, there was poverty. He talked of a small girl who had lived in poverty and knew utterly no joy. By picking the Christmas tree, the girl would at least have something to smile about, something that does not remind her of the abject poverty she has. When brought the tree, the little girl awakens from sorrow and becomes joyful. Picking of unwanted things and making them better can be seen as a way the early Americans used to deal with poverty.
From the three poems, the issue of capitalism seems to have been borne a long time ago. America became a society with individualistic inhabitants. One may even construe this as selfishness. Whichever the view, it is clear that for one to escape the poverty quagmire, they had to work hard on their own. Families would work together, but that was as far as it went.
In A Birthday, the narrator works with the lover in making fortunes. When poverty struck, only him and those dependent on him suffered. In the Two Men, the two young men die from poverty despite their neighbors and members of the society being well-off. A Christmas tree tells a story about a poor young girl. Even though the Christmas tree is not sold, the shopkeeper threw it away. Instead, he could have given it to the young girl to liven her moods. It is ironical of him to expect such a young girl to pay for the tree.
However, individualism, or instead capitalism served to balance the society. By forcing individuals to work hard on their own, it meant that poverty would only strike the lazy ones. If it did, one would be left to his sufferings and at times, death. The importance of individual productivity could not be emphasized any further. The society did not have to shelter anybody's laziness. In essence, one would say it was a man-eat-man society, something that America has benefitted from
To further understand the approaches exploited by the early American culture in addressing poverty, one must understand the concepts of human development (Boer 777-779). Poverty, the lack of necessary requirements and reduced living standards, is distinguished from human misery; a lack of opportunities to lead comfortable lives. Education and training of people in different fields of expertise have been known to be an indicator of human development. The early Americans' choice of taking their children to schools as well as offering apprentice training was empowering. An empowered human is capable of exploiting available opportunities and leading comfortable lives, devoid of poverty.
In the early days of African-American settlement, there was a social exclusion of the black people. These were the poorest of all, lacking the ability to participate in the political, economic and social way of the American society. Thus, the group of people, as it is widely known, was treated as lesser Americans. They were alienated from the central social system. Economically, they were not doing any better. Their lives were characteristic of poverty in its ugly demeaning manner (Mabughi and Selim 181-204).
As has discussed above, people dealt with poverty to achieve sustenance, that is, they sought to make ends meet. The activities of work such as farming and commerce were all done to achieve this purpose. For livelihood maintenance, they ensured that they could quickly adapt to changes in fortunes and climate. When poverty struck, they had plans in place as provided for their livelihood. The preparedness of this group of people is that people so organized would become a superpower in the 21st century is no surprise. They already carved a path for their success, no matter what struck.
The governments of the day having recognized the cons of poverty and its strong negative influence on the economy enacted policies meant to address this issue. Poverty and prosperity are closely intertwined. It is clear that a lack of income and empowerment reduces the Gross Domestic Product of a country. In a bid to make America one of the greatest nations in future, fiscal policies, as well as issues of unemployment, were dealt with. Through industrialization, the government sought to create more jobs thereby generating income for the young generation and increase government revenues at the same time (Gundersen and Ziliak 61-86).
Towards this end, it is only fair to reiterate that early America's emphasis on hard work and religion. Themes such as love, education, and compassion are featured in addressing the issue of poverty.
Works Cited
"A Birthday by Aleister Crowley." n.d. poetrysoup. 11 December 2017 .
Boer, Leen. "Review: Human Development to Eradicate PovertyReviewed Work(s): Human Development Report 1997 by United Nations DevelopmentProgramme." Third World Quarterly,18. 4 (1997): 777-779.
Gundersen, Craig and James P. Ziliak. "Poverty and Macroeconomic Performance across Space, Race, and Family Structure." Demography, 41.1 (2004): 61-86.
Mabughi, Nyiwul and Tarek Selim. "Poverty as Social Deprivation: A Survey." Review of Social Economy, 64.2 (2006): 181-204.
"The Christmas Tree by Robert William Service." n.d. poetrysoup. 11 December 2017 .
"The Two Men by Thomas Hardy." n.d. poetrysoup. 11 December 2017 .
