Let me take your hand, and I will give you mine.
Let me take your hand, and I will give you mine.
For English 7
Think about and compare the poverty and extravagant life styles that are documented in the book. Why do you think the Republic of America compares to the current United States? Why do you think there government does not do more to help the poor? How does the disparity of wealth help to contribute to the issues that Day has to face daily.
- Document your findings in a creative way"
The Republic of America shows extreme disparity between the rich and poor. While the lives of the rich are filled with extravagance and luxury, the majority of the Republic’s citizens live desperate lives in the slums.
However, despite the apparent extravagance of the rich, in some ways their quality of life is still less than that of the average American today. They still have to deal with the electricity being cut off, and their access to information is extremely limited. Today’s average American has more access to information, lives a more stable life, and has more agency than even the rich of the Republic of America.
It is important to note that this comparison only holds true for the average American, and that many Americans still struggle with issues comparable to (if not as extreme or widespread) as those the poor of the Republic of America struggle with.
The Republic of America embodies a more stratified and extreme version of the current United States. The division between the rich and poor is absolute, and there is no middle class. While similarities can be found at the extreme ends of the economic spectrum of the current United States, the Republic of America is still more a dystopian potential future than an analogy for the present. Legend shows what could happen if economic inequality were to increase unchecked.
The government of the Republic of America is certainly quite powerful. They are powerful enough to control nearly every aspect of their citizens lives and are thus powerful enough to raise the quality of life for the poor if they so chose. So why don’t they?
The government of the Republic of America exploits the poor’s status in their society for their own benefit. The poor are not a group to be helped, they are instead a resource, a source of labor and lab experiments. The government portrays the poor as less than human, as an imperfect version of human life, and this portrayal is what allows the rich to turn a blind eye to their suffering.
The contribution of disparity to the daily issues Day faces can be seen most clearly through Day’s relationship with his family. Day is driven to protect and provide for his family throughout the book. It is the reason he steals the plague medicine and the reason he continuously puts himself in danger. However, Day would not be compelled to do these things if his family had a safe and comfortable life.
Day’s life is made more complicated and dangerous by the disparity ingrained in life in the Republic of America. While Day only experiences one side of life in the Republic, that of a poor person, the disparity between the rich and the poor is still the root cause of the majority of his daily issues.