Homelessness In America Chapter Summaries

A Distance Ourselves from Homelessness We see them almost everywhere! We can hear them around the corner, and we see their shadow from far away. We try to avoid looking directly into their eyes, and we pretend we did not hear them when they talk to us. We walk around the block to avoid them, and walk faster to leave them behind. These people that we consider to be invisible are actually homeless human beings. Homelessness in America remains an issue of deep concern in the 21st century. Without a permanent roof over their head, these people seek refuge in various places such as homeless shelters and tent cities. If they are fortunate they will find a safe place to stay the night. The less fortunate ones are forced to spend their night in public
He brings us into the lives of these homeless story by story case by case sharing his personal interviews with these unfortunate people. What Kozol describes deeply in the book throughout true incredible stories goes beyond our expectation. Especially in chapter 5,” Distancing ourselves from pain and tears” which is one of the center of the book, the author raises more concern about our attitudes toward poor homeless people. What Kozol means by “distancing” in the chapter is that people do really care about homelessness. They do understand and feel guilty about what homeless people are suffering day by day. Because of the guiltiness, they try to create a “distance” by themselves to ignore the responsibility for these homeless people. Instead of blaming the reckless negligence of the government’s welfare system, people end up blaming homelessness for creating their own destitution. In some ways, it is surely that most Americans would have a certain enhanced sympathy toward homeless people. However, not many of us do truly care about them, want to know what the story is behind them becoming homeless, and try to help them get out of their dark side. We do have compassion, but our compassion is not big enough