Born Bright, written by C. Nicole Mason, is about the what it really means to be poor. Poverty isn’t just about the lack of money, but the lack of opportunity to thrive, to progress. Mason begins the book recalling a time when she was giving a speech in front of a group of “do-gooders, social workers, politicians, and policy advocates.” She was comfortable with standing before them and telling them about how the impoverished were the problem, how they needed to help themselves. However, having a background of poverty, she knew better. At this particular speaking event, she voiced her true opinion, saying that maybe “it was the systems that were broken rather than the people.” Mason’s anecdotal statement sets up one of the main themes of the entire novel. The poor are systematically oppressed; they are not given the proper chances to help themselves. Mason recounts many times in her childhood when social services did not aid her and her family. She incorporates stories of her childhood very early in the book, to reinforce her ethos. She must do this because she claims that she will be enlightening the audience to something that is not well known: why many poor people do not make it out of poverty. With many stories and remembered dialogues Mason is able to begin to achieve her purpose in the first half of the book. Her anecdotes provide an emotional appeal while she makes the logical argument of why people do not get out of poverty. She does this because if her audience is able to understand the pain in the situation then they will be able to see things from the poor people’s point of view, therefore allowing them to understand what change must happen to make things better. So far I am “enjoying” and finding Born Bright very insightful. I am very eager to find out how Mason completes her argument.
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