Rich and Poor in Ancient Rome Book

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By: Kristen Mitri

The Rich and Poor In Ancient Rome is a historical novel written by Richard Dargie. This novel is about Ancient Rome and how life was different depending on the class one was in, based on your wealthiness. The richest citizen was the emperor of Rome, who was relied on by plebeians, who were poor fully Roman citizens for money and food. The next class was the equestrians who were knights or senators that sat in the senate and had a government position. They were able to pass laws and were rich because of trading and banking. Plebeians were the second lowest class who ate regular food and were allowed to wear togas, a privilege in Ancient Rome. The lowest class in Ancient Rome was slaves who didn't have many rights, were poorly treated and were servants to the wealthy. Togas, which was a sheet of fine cloth were also based on what class the citizen was if the citizen was a senator then they would wear a white toga with tinges of purple. Even female Romans wore a pleated gown (stola). The women in Ancient Rome didn't have many rights. They were being ordered around by their husband, sat at the back of the gladiatorial games and weren't allowed to vote. Some were housewives, but some were famous singers and musicians. Many owned small shops to earn money, but the females who earned a very small amount of money were sold into slavery because they didn't have anything better to do. The gladiatorial games were the most amusing event in Rome to watch. The wealthiest citizens, like the emperor, had the front seat and the poorest citizens had the back seat like females and slaves. The gladiatorial games were free because the emperor wanted all the citizens to be happy. In conclusion, many things (events, clothing, e.t.c) were based on a class like makeup, gladiatorial seats, clothing, footwear, and food which seems unfair now, but back then it was normal for the citizens to be classed.

The author wrote this book to inform people how hard Ancient Times were and how mistreated woman was. The author wrote this because he wanted people to realize how lucky we are to be able to be treated equally and fairly. I know this because the author talks about how hard times back then were to be a slave and in a low class. The most interesting part of the book to me is when in Ancient Rome since a lot of people wanted to live there poor people had to pay $80,000 a year to live in an insulae (apartment building). There was no water and people had to bring water from the nearest fountain and because there wasn't a bathroom in insulaes, citizens had to use public bathrooms. It intrigued me because it seems like a lot of effort to constantly go to water fountains and bathrooms to get water and go to the bathroom. I do think my friends would be interested in reading this book because it has a lot of interesting historical events and it's fascinating learning about how life back in Ancient Rome was when slavery was still around. In conclusion, life in Ancient Rome was difficult but it is very interesting to read about and learn how hard the citizens' life were.

The most exciting episode in the story is when the emperor made the gladiatorial games free to make everyone happy because it meant that slaves could watch it too, even though saves didn't have many rights. It was the one event where all the citizens could attend without paying a fee, which everyone enjoyed. However, the most disappointing moment in this story happened when children were being abandoned by their parents because the parents already had a completed family and it meant more mouths to feed. This was disappointing because that meant that abandoned children were walking around streets practically starving to death without any shelter. I would recommend this story to grades 5-8 because it has a lot of facts in it and it can teach everyone who reads it something. I think that these students would enjoy a historical nonfiction novel.