"Shame" by Dick Gregory.

Subject  > Literature Research Papers  > North American

The short story "Shame" by Dick Gregory, clearly shows that poverty brings many hardships as well as a great deal of shame. However, there are still ways to gain pride and happiness. This story shows that by emulating somebody you respect, even a very poor person can derive pride from small actions, which the average person sees as insignificant. In "Shame" Richard is a poor boy without a father, living in the ghetto. However, there is a girl at school named Helene, that he is in love with. Unlike Richard, Helene is well off, wears clean clothes, and is very smart in school. Richard tries very hard to be like Helene. He melts the ice water from the grocery so ...

... money and he wanted to be able to match it. He would use the money that he worked hard for after school, when all the other kids were playing. However, when he pledged six times the amount of Helene, the teacher got very mad. First she said "We are collecting this money for you and your kind. . . . If your Daddy can give fifteen dollars you have no business being on relief." Then she said "And furthermore we know you don't have a daddy." Richard was just trying to be like everyone else, and use his hard earned money to get himself a little pride. However nobody understands this and they see it

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