Christmas In Room 400

In his book Evicted, Matthew Dasmond exposes the pressing dilemma of eviction in America and the miserable consequences many families must cope with as a result of this issue. Desmond offers both sides of the eviction scenario by regarding the struggle of the tenants and the landlords. He shows the situations and backgrounds of each side involved and the consequences they experience during and after the eviction process. In the chapter Christmas in Room 400, Dasmond delves into the court process of eviction cases and the unfortunate statistics attributed the people dealing with these cases. Sherrena has eviction cases to deal with right before Christmas and Dasmond accounts her experience with various tenants while also including general
She offered her a car ride home and told her that she would never want her and her children to be evicted onto the streets with no home. They had both been overwhelmed with the tiring day and Sherrena was exhausted from the cases, while Arleen was hungry from not eating that day. Sherrena tells Arleen how some landlords are cruel and heartless, yet she hopes to be mostly caring towards her tenants because she knows “this system is screwed” (107). She ends the car ride conversation by warning Arleen to never be a landlord because they always “get the short end of the deal” (107). This story speaks to the existence of inequality in America as there are many issues facing these people in poverty. Many people must face the true hardship of surviving these circumstances and avoiding being evicted to the street, shelters, or worse neighborhoods. Even within this group of poor people, the statistics highlight how some based on gender or race are more likely to suffer from these eviction situations. The cycle unfortunately continues for all the parties involved in the eviction process, and this issue remains an urgent one in our