In Evicted , written by Matthew Desmond, statistics play a powerful force. For that reason, I decided to create an infographic that provides the readers with a way to experience the effect of the novel without actually reading it. However, there are two parts to this novel. One, the facts that support the book, which I have decided to display here, and two, the stories behind them. In order to capture both parts of the novel, I created several different types of infographics. First, I created an infographic for Arleen and her family. This depicts how much she has to pay for rent, her welfare check, and many other statistics. In general, I have tried to capture how eviction has impacted her and her family’s’ lives, but also the cyclical nature of poverty. For example, if Arleen tried to move out of her apartment and into a better one, she wouldn’t have enough money for food, and would be forced to move again. Next, I created this in...
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Now that I’m almost halfway through the non-fiction book Evicted by Matthew Desmond, I’ve begun to think about why this novel got the recognition it did. There are dozens of books about poverty, so why did this one win the Pulitzer Prize? I think the answer lies in the question (granted, my own question). That’s because this book isn’t about poverty. It’s about a crisis, one that’s occurring in our own backyard, yet many of us aren’t aware of. This book isn’t solely about eviction either, but the actual people it affects on a daily basis. It’s about learning to see these people not based on their credit history, criminal background, or number of evictions in their file. More than anything, Desmond manages to write about human beings, and not just his “subjects”, and this distinction is actually very clear in the book. For example, Desmond states, “Arleen and Trisha began talking and sharing meals. Arleen could be quiet and cautio...
This week, I began reading Evicted , by Matthew Desmond. This non-fiction novel is a New York Times Bestseller and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and for good reason. Only a few pages into the book, I realized how impactful Desmond’s work was, and still is today. In the “Author’s Note”, Desmond states that most of the events took place between May 2008 and December 2009. Besides the fact that all of the events recorded took place in such a short time span, it surprised me how long ago the events occurred (almost 10 years have passed!). I wondered, have things really changed since then? In order to answer this question, I did some background research, and the results were truly heartbreaking. I learned from Forbes that as of 2015, more than 20 million renters—more than half of all renters in the U.S.—were cost burdened, meaning they spent at least at least 30% of their income on rent. That's up from almost 15 million in 2001. And while rent...
Instead of analyzing my one favorite passage from All the Light We Cannot See , I decided to choose and analyze 4 different quotes that truly exemplify the novel as a whole. Thanks for reading! The four different quotes I chose to analyze all represent unique aspects of the novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. These include examples of imagery, the devastation of war, and meaningful and heartfelt statements. When they combine with each other, they create this beautifully-written novel. The first quote states, “When Paris was like a vast kitchen, pyramids of cabbages and carrots everywhere; bakers’ stalls overflowing with pastries; fish stacked like cordwood in the fishmongers’ booths, the runnels awash in silver scales, alabaster gulls swooping down to carry off entrails” (Doerr 352). Many quotes in All the Light We Cannot See are extremely similar to this in their use of imagery and description, which is one of the reasons the pers...
As I finish All the Light We Cannot See , I’d like to revisit some of my favorite passages and most important moments in the text. First, Doerr says, “A shred of bird dances on Hauptmann’s cheek. Perhaps for the first time, Werner sees in his teacher’s thinning blond hair, in his black nostrils, in his small, almost elfin ears, something pitiless and inhuman, something determined only to survive” (Doerr 271). This scene occurs when a German professor working at the National Institute Werner is attending finishes eating. Hauptmann is confronted about the morality of the Nazi regime, and instead of simply answering Werner, he becomes defensive and forces him to go to war, even though he is two years too young and has not fully finished his training. This is also an important moment in Werner’s character development, as he finally recognizes his own personality and separates it from that of the German army. He no longer feels a commitment, and therefore ...
How does this shape meaning and influence understanding? “A thick red carpet sucks at the soles of Werner’s brogues; electric bulbs burn in a chandelier above the table; roses twine across the wallpaper. A fire smolders in the fireplace. On all four walls hang framed tintypes of glowering ancestors” (Doerr 81). While reading this passage in, All the Light We Cannot See, the use of the phrase, “sucks at the soles” initially captivated me. Not only was this an excellent use of personification, but it is also symbolic of what is morally happening to Werner while attending the German academy. The cruelty of his instructors has made him incredibly depressed, and is therefore “sucking his soul out”. Whether Doerr made this reference to the popular phrase on purpose or not, the following imagery in the rest of the passage instills the idea of an intimidating environment. The fire smoldering in the fireplace, the German ancestors hanging above him, ...