The Real Slumdogs Essay

Austin is a large, yet still expanding metropolis from the great state of Texas; as many statistics show, with big cities come a considerable following of the homeless population. One of the first things that many people from tourists to new residents notice when entering Austin from I-35 is the homeless camp under the bridge. It’s certainly an eye catching scene, yet almost everyone forgets about it once it’s out of their peripheral vision. I, for one, felt dejected seeing such a somber scenery, yet when upon driving to a new vicinity, I’d forgotten all about it. Maybe it was my own way of coping with the fact that there were people who were and still are in need of help and I couldn’t offer anything substantial to them. Either way, as I’ve learned we can’t help those who doesn’t want to be helped. In this research I’m delving into the causes of homelessness, the reason why it’s so pervasive in large cities such as Austin, and how the gentrification happening in the city isn’t helping.

Those who cannot afford the high prices of housing are often forced out into the streets where they face a very uncertain future due to the number of abuses they encounter daily from all walks of life, with the most damning being the vagrancy laws that come into vogue in areas that are getting gentrified, which many cities have passed to “protect” their newfound assets and tax base from the “lowering” of property values. Furthermore, when cities such as Los Angeles demand that property developers set aside affordable housing for lower income people, they get sued in court, such as in 2009, when real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer successfully sued in order to overturned an ordnance which required that. This was also the same man who also proposed building a footbridge connecting two of his buildings to minimize contact with people he deemed undesirable (Davis).

Homelessness is a serious problem in our society. Every night in our nation thousands of people are on the streets. This type of behavior is considered deviant because it does not reflect the norms and values of our society. In many cases the homeless people in our country are treated as total outcasts. Many of these people have severe mental disorders. Some are victims of an economy that has failed them. One may ask how such harsh situations exist in such an advanced society. With all the money and programs created to help people it seems ridiculous that this behavior exists. In a society where people have so much how is it possible that there are still people that have so little. The homeless are humans, no different than anyone else.

The book The Classic Slum: Salford Life in the First Quarter of the Century by Robert Roberts gives an honest account of a village in Manchester in the first 25 years of the 20th century. The title is a reference to a description used by Friedrich Engels to describe the area in his book Conditions of the Working Class. The University of Manchester Press first published Roberts' book in the year 1971. The more recent publication by Penguin Books contains 254 pages, including the appendices. The author gives a firsthand description of the extreme poverty that gripped the area in which he grew up. His unique perspective allows him to accurately describe the self-imposed caste system, the causes and effects of widespread poverty, and the

As we know there a lot of homeless people in Los Angeles. Each year the population of homelessness grows each day. Homelessness is an issue because it affects the community. The cause of people might be because the made a bad choice and at the end they regret it. After being homeless, they can imagine having a great job or career, owing a house and their own property they want to have wealthy lives again like they had before being homeless. Homeless people wanted to bring back their lives as one piece. People who have become homeless might have lost their jobs causing them to be homeless. Los Angeles County last April, her benefits of three hundred and fifty five was suspended on October after EDD did not respond to her requests to

Jewish ghettos: The basic history of the formation of the Jewish ghettos, including the everyday life and economic hardships faced by the communities.

        Donald Goines's lived the majority of his life either on the streets of the ghetto or in jail-because he was supporting himself and his heroin addiction by taking part in many illegal activities. During the last of his many prison terms, Goines finally found his way out of having to rely on crime for his way of living. He did this by writing about his life on the streets. His first two books, Whoreson and Dopefiend, were actually written during his last prison term. One critic of Goines, his biographer Eddie Stone, says the following about these books: "Whoreson, like most of Donald Goines's books, is autobiographical . . . . Donald wrote Dopefiend from personal

The word “Ghettos” was used in the middle ages and meant a segregated area away from a city where some were forced to live. The word and idea was revived by Hitler and his men. The Ghettos had many uses and each different from the other. One thing that remained the same was the injustices towards the Jews. Some Ghettos were used as holding grounds, for those who were soon headed to concentration camps.

Homelessness is about more than ruthlessness. A home is not just a physical space; it also has a legal and a social dimension. A home provides roots, identity, and a sense of belonging and a place of emotional wellbeing. Homelessness is about the loss of all of these. It is an isolating and destructive experience and homeless people are some of the most vulnerable and socially excluded in our society.

Classism is one of the most prominent issues portrayed within Slumdog Millionaire. According to Merriam Webster, a simple definition of classism is “prejudice or discrimination based on class”. Classism is very prominent and extreme in India, and it

Throughout the United States, homelessness and poverty have become an overwhelming issue. From people losing their jobs to others having to give up their homes, nearly 14.5 percent of Americans experience some type of poverty. This could look like a small percentage to some but in reality, it's more than 45 million people. While this number may be decreasing, the stereotype of those who are in poverty still remains. It is often thought that those in poverty are non-educated addicts and are generally criminal people. This, however, fails to be proven true. In my personal experiences, it was believed that the homeless and impoverished were of a lower social level and it was easy to assume the poor were in their walk of life for more reasons than simply not having money. Drugs, crime, and poverty all seemed to have the same definition.

Those who rent from private landlords do not only tend to, on average, pay almost double the rent of a person living within social housing but also are twice as likely to live in a residence the Government would class as a “non-decent home”, a residence in disrepair and one that does not meet health and safety standards (Jonathan Owen, 2014). The undisputable growth of private renting sector is not limited to England but is also noticeable in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In wales the private rental sector represents 14% of total housing, the private rental sector in Scotland has doubled over the last ten years as more than three hundred thousand properties have been sold and in Northern Ireland private landlords own more properties than councils and housing associations combined according to national figures provided in 214 (Jonathan Owen, 2014).

American factories can comprise of about up to 1000 workers. If American factories are shut down and moved to other countries, this takes many American people out of work. Companies are now also importing jobs. This is where employers hire people such as immigrants to work less than minimum wage. For that reason, many Americans are stuck with the other minimum wage, and low-paying jobs that barely get them through life. Because of this, many Americans are working full time jobs that are below the Federal poverty line. These types of people are often called the “working poor”. Due to this the working poor have to run to welfare. This affects all Americans because taxpayers are the ones paying for welfare. The more jobs that are taken

India is a country in central Asia with a population of over 1.22 billion people making it the second most populous country in the world. Its high population is one of the factors that results in India having such a high poverty rate. In India today over 37% of the population live below the poverty line. The reality of such a statistic means that these people live in conditions unimaginable to people of the western world. In the film Slumdog Millionaire by director Danny Boyle deeper ideas associated with this poverty are developed including destiny, loyalty and how poverty frees us. These deeper ideas are developed through visual techniques

     Homelessness as an issue in today's society is largely ignored. To many, the problem of homelessness is invisible or barely noticed. When these people do see the homeless it is found in the form of beggars who need to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” or mentally ill people who “just can't help themselves”. In either case the central point remains; the homeless must be people who are incapable or unwilling to help themselves. After all, wouldn't they stop being homeless if they just tried? These sorts of rationalizations cover a more disturbing truth; that for many in today's society, the spectre of homelessness is more pressing of a problem than helping those who are already on the