Top 7 Poorest Characters From Pop Culture

Whether they be lovable losers or just down on their luck, pop culture is full of characters we can’t help rooting for as they struggle with poverty. Here are the top seven poorest characters from pop culture.

7. The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin)

The immortal Charlie Chaplin set the standard for poor guys with love with his portrayal of the loveable tramp in the early days of motion pictures. The Tramp doesn’t want much out of the world and it breaks are heart when he gets it or loses it at the last moment.

6. Rocky Balboa (Rocky)

Rocky might have heart but he lives in a dive you wouldn’t wish or your worst enemy. Which is why we can’t help pulling for him when he gets a shot at the title. We know that, win or lose, he won’t be going back to that hovel and we couldn’t be happier for him.

5. Ralph Kramden (The Honeymooners)

The King of the loveable losers, Kramden, a bus driver, has dreams bigger than his ability – if not bigger than his waistline. Every episode features some hair-brained scheme he has to make life better for himself and his wife. His heart is in the right place even if his brains aren’t.

4. Willie Loman (Death of a Salesman)

Here’s a guy who has to commit suicide to make a buck and can’t even do that right. And yet, at heart, he is not a bad guy. The world has changed and he refused to change with it. Add to that the blind eye he turns to anyone who could help him and you’ve got the makings of a modern day tragedy to rival Shakespeare.

3. Peter Parker (Spider-Man)

Sure, he’s everyone’s favorite webslinger but as Peter Parker, this character is a bust. He never has any money, can’t pay his rent, bills or buy food. However he’s anything but irresponsible. That’s right, Peter is broke because he’s out day and night keeping the streets safe for you and me. What’s not to love about a guy like that?

2. Jim (The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn)

Poor Jim is a slave when we first meet him in this timeless novel by Mark Twain who has run away because his owner was about to sell him. Seeking his freedom he teams up with Huckleberry Finn and they work together to achieve their goals. Along the way, Jim’s simple wisdom and knowledge of right and wrong keep the pair on track no matter how much trouble they get into.

1. Oliver Twist (Oliver Twist)

The poster boy for poverty whose: “Please, sir, I want some more” summed up the needs of countless poor and destitute on the London streets of Charles Dickens’s time. When it comes to poor pop culture characters, look no further than Oliver Twist. Abandoned and victim to a system that chews up and spits out thousands just like him and you see a character with the deck stacked against him.

This article written by Andrew Salmon from the website Individual Voluntary Arrangement.