“Now, in this new life, I am going to spend precious money to buy an outfit that I will only wear once … I felt bad, as a person who grew up in poverty, going to buy a piece of clothing that I’ll only use once. I worked in the factories as an unskilled laborer for many years. I don’t want to forget where I came from” (234-235).
In this scene, Kennedy’s morals and disdain for wastefulness stops him from purchasing a Halloween costume from Goodwill.
When I first read this segment, I wondered whether choosing not to be wasteful in this context makes you an inherently better person. What defines being wasteful? Is purchasing a Halloween costume that you only wear once being wasteful if you have the disposable income and resources to purchase it without consequence? Especially if the garment is already from a second-hand store? Or is the purchase wasteful anyway, either because of what it represents to those without the means to purchase it, or because of negative externalities? I thought of fast fashion next. I avoid shopping from very cheap online stores such as SheIn or Romwe knowing that the environmental and social impact of these companies is detrimental. At the same time, I make purchases from companies such as Amazon that do not employ sustainable techniques or treat their workers fairly either– they are just more covert about their practices. But if I cannot afford to consistently purchase from high-quality sustainable brands, am I being wasteful or resourceful by purchasing from the middle-ground companies? I suppose it would depend on your standpoint. Should I avoid making purchases in general unless absolutely necessary?
Something else I thought about was how Kennedy does not want to “forget” where he comes from. In many ways, I understood what he was feeling. Your upbringing can influence your habits for the rest of your life, especially monetary ones. But simultaneously, when I first read this scene, I thought about what I would do if I were in a parallel position. Specifically, if I was in a higher socioeconomic environment than I am now and had the means to purchase an item I previously thought was expensive and wasteful, would I also hold back to remind myself of where I came from? I realized that I might hold back on purchasing the item more out of habit than out of identity. I couldn’t quite understand where identity fit in this situation. But now when I reflect on Kennedy’s life, I see that unlike my socioeconomic status, his struggle with poverty was one of his most salient identities. So, to Kennedy, it would clearly impact his decision making and thought-process.
