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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Evicted, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Poverty, Exploitation, and Profit
Inequality, Injustice, and Discrimination
Housing as a Human Right
Community and Interconnection
Hopelessness and Lack of Choice
Summary
Analysis
Sherenna uses the insurance money from the fire at Kamala’s to buy two new duplexes. Kamala’s family have placed a memorial shrine on the site where the apartment building stood. More and more things in Doreen’s apartment are breaking, but she has given up hope on calling Sherenna. Sherenna still insists Patrice owes her $2400, which Patrice believes is impossible. The dilapidated state of the Hinkstons’ home has a negative impact on the family, who become increasingly depressed. Living in substandard housing teaches poor people that they are not valued by society.
The manner in which Sherenna literally profits from the death of Kamala’s baby is reprehensible. By this point, it is clear that Sherenna has little regard for the lives of her tenants. Her lack of sympathy for the Hinkstons, while disturbing, is hardly surprising at this point.
Themes
Doreen’s kids often hang out at the public library to escape their apartment. Patrice has noticed that all members of the family feel stuck in a rut, and “no one’s trying to get better.” During this period, Natasha goes into labor. Malik helps coach her through it using the techniques they learned in birthing class. Natasha gives birth to a baby boy, whom she names Malik Jr.
What should be an exciting time for the Hinkstons is significantly dampened by their ongoing housing troubles. The dejected mindset that the family has sunken into proves how housing problems negatively impact every aspect of a person’s life.
Themes
