Analysis Of Evicted By Matthew

In Evicted, the author Matthew describes the lives of eight poor families in the poorest parts of Milwaukee, America. The common problems that these eight families are facing are the inability to afford stable housing. Matthew argues that poverty in American cities are not only traumatic for individual life, but also harmful to the country. The side effect of America's booming market is that locals reap huge profits according to the housing problems of the poorest families. Matthew argues that these problems are mainly caused by poor public service management, unequal legal representation and predatory profit motivation. The biggest problem poor families are facing is eviction. This paper reviews this book from three aspects. The first part …show more content…
All of the people described in the book are facing various problems, such as drug addiction, lack of education, mental illness, disability and unemployment. Housing is a fundamental problem. Furthermore, the exacerbated problem is eviction. Eviction is extremely destructive, for those who are deported facing with property losses, declining housing quality and rising poverty. Also, evictions can also lead to unemployment, depression and even addiction to drugs. The housing problem not only leads to the poverty of the family, but also the failure of these families to survive, and they had been striving at the bottom of the society. Lamar, for example, dragged his crippled body to the ground to brush the walls of the night to avoid the eviction, in exchange for satisfying Sherrena, which was lamentable, but Lamar was helpless on that. An impressed quote is from Sherrena, “but love don’t pay the bills” (Matthew, 2016, p. 11). Sherrena is kind sometimes, but like most business people, making profits is the most important. Rent from the poor is their main income, and they cannot show sympathy to all the poor. This is the reality, and it is the reason why the increasing number of people have made great profits from the poor, and have driven more people out of the …show more content…
The urban poor are an indispensable part of the city. In an unregulated and informal market, more people are engaged in this simple and profitable work. To buy a lot of real estate and rent to the poor, but the house has no guarantee, the accommodation is extremely poor. These people invest very little money in real estate, and take away a large amount of family income, and the landlord makes fat profits from it. The main reason for poverty is that the poor have to pay more with less salaries. They have to pay more for housing, groceries and food. It is unfair that what they get from mortgage, education, and work is less than what they have to pay. The Matthew 's argument is convincing, if America really build based on inalienable life, the pursuit for happiness and freedom, a stable home is necessary, then the housing should be a basic right. However, the government did not provide all with safe and affordable housing rights, 90% of rights and interests protection are provided for landlord legally, instead of providing any guarantee for the poor, the landlord has right to expel (Matthew, 2016, p.303). Except for the lack of legal aid, the poor do not understand or afford legal representatives to deal with their affairs. This is not only unfair but also a direct exploitation. The injustice of the law reflected in the great rights of the landlord, as well as the imperfection of the laws for the poor. It is hard to