The Hoosier Schoolmaster · Question
How does The Hoosier Schoolmaster develop the theme of Poverty and Charity?
Answer
The Hoosier Schoolmaster by Edward Eggleston develops Poverty and Charity across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book depicts the harsh realities of poverty, including the poorhouse and bound servitude, while also showing acts of charity and kindness that offer hope and redemption to the downtrodden.
Shocky's family is broken by poverty: his father dead, mother in the poorhouse, and sister bound out to work. He wonders if God has forgotten the poor.
Miss Hawkins's visits to the Pearsons and Pearson's taking in Shocky illustrate acts of charity, though Pearson argues selfish motives.
Shocky's vulnerability as a pauper and the community's efforts to protect him highlight the intersection of poverty and charitable acts.
Evidence in the book
- IX: Has God Forgotten Shocky?
Shocky's family is broken by poverty: his father dead, mother in the poorhouse, and sister bound out to work. He wonders if God has forgotten the poor.
- XI: Miss Martha Hawkins
Miss Hawkins's visits to the Pearsons and Pearson's taking in Shocky illustrate acts of charity, though Pearson argues selfish motives.
- Odds and Ends
Shocky's vulnerability as a pauper and the community's efforts to protect him highlight the intersection of poverty and charitable acts.
- XX: God Remembers Shocky
The chapter highlights the poverty of Shocky's family, with his mother in the poorhouse, and the charitable acts of Ralph, Bud, and Miss Martha to help Shocky escape.
- XXI: Miss Nancy Sawyer
Miss Nancy's selfless care for Shocky exemplifies charity and the overflow of motherly love.
- Pancakes
Ralph's plea to bring Shocky's mother from the poorhouse contrasts with Aunt Matilda's refusal, highlighting societal attitudes toward the poor.
- A Charitable Institution
The chapter starkly contrasts the superficial charity of the Dorcas Society with the real, urgent needs of the local poorhouse, highlighting the hypocrisy of charitable institutions.
- XXIV: The Good Samaritan
The chapter centers on the community's charitable act to rescue Mrs. Thomson and Shocky from the poorhouse, demonstrating the impact of generosity and the struggles of the poor.
