Gordon Parks Flavio's Home

In his essay, “Flavio’s Home”, Gordon Parks describes the horrific conditions of poverty in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro by focusing on the lives of the Da Silva family, specifically the life of a twelve year old boy named Flavio. Parks uses his words to paint a somber picture of life in the favelas, creating a juxtaposition between the rich and poor, both in Brazil and abroad by using moving metaphors and description. We saw into the everyday lives of the Da Silva family; seeing their hardships, relationships, and fears. Life in the favela is grueling and unforgiving. Parks seeks to stamp out poverty through his essay, and I believe he succeeds in his goal by crafting a fascinating and poignant piece that allowed me to empathize with those …show more content…
Perhaps what Parks does that is the most important task in this essay is to make the reader either relate or empathize with the subjects of the piece. Personally, I have never been to, nor have I read much about the conditions in the favelas in Brazil. My experience with poverty in The United States is quite different than the description of poverty in Park’s essay. Poverty in the United States can be terrible, but more often than not, the poor here are much better off than the poor in other, less developed countries. The poor here have federal aid than can help them to survive and they have financially-based housing to keep them safe. Health care in the United States is much more advanced, and though not free for all, will be free to those that have no means to pay for it. Poor in the United States would likely be considered to be rich in the favelas of Brazil. Parks describes the conditions in Flavio’s home in such a way that the reader may see the discrepancy in their usual experience and the reality of true poverty. He uses vivid descriptions to paint a gruesome and affecting picture that is Flavio’s reality. For example, Parks says of Flavio, “He was miserably thin,