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Summary Of Evicted: Poverty And Profit In The American City

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Matthew Desmond’s book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, reveals the dire reality of renting leading to evictions and poverty by telling the stories of multiple people. There are multiple issues within this topic that Desmond focuses on such as discrimination. Desmond tells the stories of people from different backgrounds, of different genders, and of different races. The book is all about poverty, human nature, human relationships, and human hopes. Due to the nature of this book, it is crucial that the events are examined through a socio-cultural lens. Regarding human hopes, the American Dream is also an important concept that can be recognized in this book despite not being mentioned outright. Matthew Desmond's Evicted: Poverty …show more content…

This is made evident by the examples he showcases and the landlord whose story he includes. Sherrena is the landlord that Desmond primarily focuses on by introducing her personal background and story as well as her thoughts, opinions, and actions. Sherrena owns multiple properties in mostly impoverished areas and therefore refers to herself as a “slumlord”. Sherrena is aware of her position of power, however, she chooses to focus on her own greed and ambition rather than caring for the well-being of her tenants. At first, readers believe Sherrena to be a charitable landlord because she gives Arleen groceries and helps pay for funeral expenses. “She knew the ghetto's value and how money could be made from a property that looked worthless to people who didn't know any better” (Desmond 10). Sherrena understands the severity of her actions as well as their consequences. She rents out dilapidated and squalid properties to low-income families with high rental prices. Despite knowing that these families live in poverty, she does not change the rental prices or give them any aid. This hierarchical relationship between landlords and tenants has the landlord come out on top because they are intentionally deceiving and taking advantage of their tenants whether that be by having unreasonably high rent prices, renting out houses in poor condition, or both. Writer Thrasymachus’ words about power and hierarchy describe the core cause of zoning, “Justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger” (qtd. in LaGreca). Sherrena ignores any requests for help or repairs in

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