Effects Of Poverty And Affluence Essay Sample

Poverty and affluence affect the character of a person. It is because one’s character heavily depends on the conditions he or she faced when growing up. For example, a child brought up in poverty will have problems at home and in school. The problems include hardship at home and lack of concentration in school. It leads to poor social and educational upbringing that also results in a troubled adult life. In contrast, a child born into riches will receive good care both at school and at home. The children are considered privileged since they are able to get all of their requirements. They grow up into adults that are different from the other poor ones because of the different lifestyles. The poor people view wealth as a means to cover their basic needs while rich people require wealth to enhance their social status. It is shown in the movie “Trading Places” where there are two people; one rich and the other poor. There are certain ways that they talk, conduct themselves socially, and also the values they bear. Poverty and affluence can affect physical and educational development negatively.
The movie “Trading Places” is about a poor person, Billy Ray Valentine, and a rich person, Louis Winthorpe. Their lives are switched where the poor person becomes rich and the rich person becomes poor. The poor person, Valentine, lives in poverty and he has to do odd jobs in order to get a living. He avoids the law since they can decide to arrest him for no reason. Valentine also lives a life where he pretends to be blind and legless so that he can raise enough money to eat. He is treated like a criminal simply because he comes from a poor background. On the other hand, Winthorpe was raised from a rich background and he despises the poor. He lives in a big house where he has a fiancée and a butler. In general, he lives a lavish life of affluence without caring about the poor people.
Nature and nurture play a role in the development of the movie. Valentine and Winthorpe change their behavior when their circumstances change. Winthorpe is not able to survive when his circumstances change and he becomes poor. He is used to getting everything he needs, and he finds it hard to survive in the streets with no money. The way he was nurtured makes it difficult for him to survive on his own with no money. Valentine’s nature makes him able to survive on his own in difficult circumstances. Valentine and Winthorpe all have friends before and after the incidence where they trade places. Valentines friends play the role of supporting him when he is poor and even when he finds the riches. Winthorpe’s friends abandon him the moment he gets poor. This is a normal occurrence and a possibility in the society today.
Poverty and affluence have negative effects on the environment and on a person’s physical and educational development. Rich people are most of the time more educated than poor people. It is because the rich people are raised in a way where they can access resources they require. These resources include good food, proper shelter, and educational materials. It is unlike the poor people who do not have access to the necessary resources. Physical development is also limited for the people living in poverty compared to the people living in affluence. Bridging the gap between poverty and affluence is necessary in order to protect the society and the environment. Poverty leads to vices such as crime and drug abuse that could be easily avoided by bridging the gap. People living in poverty are also a danger to the environment because they lack facilities such as bathrooms. On the other hand, affluent people consume a lot of things leading to degradation of the environment. Vices in the societal and environmental problems can easily be tackled by addressing the issue of poverty and class structure.