2. In the book, Pearl and May experience a transformation from living relatively carefree lives to struggling in poverty and having to fight for their lives.  How do they cope with these changes brought upon by their father's debt and the war?  Have you had to overcome any obstacles in your own life?  Compare the way in which you coped with these experiences to the manner in which Pearl and May cope with their challenges.

Living in poverty is something that cannot be ignored. Poverty may bring to an individual or family sadness, discomfort, and stress; however, it also invokes strength and willingness to make decisions that will change the lives of those close to them and themselves. Pearl and May are living through a war in which poverty is seen in almost every corner. When they both travel to see Z.G, poverty is seen by the way people dress, seeing dead people and babies on the ground as though it was something casual, the unlike probability to see a dead body on the ground shows that there is no care for a clean city meanwhile there is a war. Stepping over the dead bodies is something that Pearl and May have learned to do by observing others do the same. Ignoring that there is a war and that it is affecting everyone is a way that Pearl and May are coping with poverty. Pearl and May grew up wealthy with servants that would cook and take care of their family and home. Their father’s debt, overtime became more noticeable to the girls as their father slowly dismissed their servants. Pearl and May then realized that their earnings as models have helped their parents financially. The girls understood that their father's debt was higher than they thought when their father decided to have an arranged marriage for them. Both sisters realized that their objection to their father's decision would make no difference. Pearl and May learned to be strong, stay together and support each other to cope with something that was done against their will to save themselves and their parents from poverty. An obstacle in my life I had to overcome dealt with the deportation of my father to Mexico. During my second year of college my father’s deportation became a burden to my family. As the eldest of eight siblings, I needed to look for a job to help my mother support our family, this would also be the first job I ever had. I learned to stay strong in the toughest moments for my mother and most importantly for my younger siblings. After weeks of my father’s deportation my mother’s depression led her to making choices that would jeopardize my education including my siblings. My mother had decided to take all of us to Mexico to be with our father but I was so glad to had convinced my mother to stay by talking to her about all the resources we had available to us in this country. I understood what my mother was going through but what she needed the most was a support system or someone that would be there to show her that she was not alone. The trust my mother gave me so that I could help our family gave her confidence that the best choice she could do for us was to continue giving us an education so that we wouldn’t have to struggle in the future. My mother and I stayed strong, and took advantage of the resources available to us. I also continued our education while I also worked part time.