A Critique to J. Kozol's Essay

Are the Homeless Crazy?
The essay “Are the Homeless crazy?” by Jonathan Kozol, was published in Harper’s in 1988. In this essay, Kozol argues an explicit causal thesis that explains and illustrates the plight of homeless in the United States. The author signifies the following factors: homeless were deinstitutionalized form the mental hospital in 1970s, they lost traditional industrial jobs, the shortage of low-income housing and poverty level pay rate. According to the essay, Kozol’s the most significant analysis or abstract is the homeless are not crazy cause is lack of affordable low-income housing.
Kozol argues that general public believes that the deinstitutionalized of mental hospital patients in the 1970s caused a lot of people to become homeless. The author’s argument is against this explanation people who work among the homeless say the cause of homelessness problem is not deinstitutionalized cause is economic rather than a clinical problem. The author proves his argument that the main cause of homeless are lack of low income housing, poverty level wage, and the lost the traditional industrial jobs. This essay indicates that during the decade of the 1970s the government officials in New York deinstitutionalized those who were classified as mentally disturbed. But the author pleads that the cause of homeless is not mental illness but the lack of affordable housing and jobs.
The homeless are displaced from traditional industrial jobs and low income housing. They receive poverty level wages. These wages are not sufficient for families and individuals to survive on. And families and children suffer even more because homeless impacts the children’s upbringing. Kozol backs up his claim by using statistics, which state since 1968 the number of impoverished children living in New York has grown by three million, and welfare benefits to families with children have declined by 35 percent. (18)
The author substantiates his claim that the reason for homelessness are not that people are mentally and emotionally unwell by showing that even for those persons who were ill and deinstitutionalized during the decade before 1980s; the primary cause of homelessness in 1987 is not illness but loss of housing.(20)
He criticizes explicitly the idea that the most of the homeless are former patients from mental hospitals. Sometimes people appear crazy who deinstitutionalized. Kozol presents an example of a homeless woman standing on a traffic island in Manhattan, who was evicted. Kozol mentions a quote from an NYT writer who says, “The paranoids of the street, he says, “are among the most difficult to help.” (21) Then, Kozol says, it is crazy to seek vengeance for being thrown into the street? The absence of anger, some psychiatric believe, might indicate much great illness. (21)
Kozol’s thesis is stated because he argues that the explicitly about the homeless are not mentally ill, and he clarifies and organizes his main idea by using statistics, facts, analysis, examples and explanations. As a short example of statistics, at the same time, federal support for the low-income housing dropped from $ 30 billion (1980) to $ 7.50 billion in (1988). (18)
Additionally, he tries to make his essay persuasive for the readers. He renders the complex cause of the homeless in the United States by trying to prove via informative argument and scientific evidence to counter argument and statements that have been put forward by politicians, journalists and others that the homeless are primary mentally ill. However, Kozol presents a realistic argument about the homeless in the United States. By presenting government policy, which states that deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill is who are deinstitutionalized during decades before 1980, the precipitating cause of homelessness in 1987 is not illness but loss of housing. (20) as opposed to Kozol’s argument that loss of affordable housing and jobs is the cause of homelessness.
This essay is developed in comparison-contrast, cause-effects that are supported by statistics, facts, example, analogies and descriptions. When I read and tried to infer the main idea of essay, I felt that the kind of language used was higher diction. In my personal viewpoint, it was difficult to understand the author language because I speak English as second language. He presents in the scientific technical and persuasive language. He uses figurative languages and various unfamiliar words. For example: deinstitutionalized, hallucination, hypertension, psychiatric and vengeance.
The purpose of this essay, Kozol succeeds to provide information about the homeless problem in the United States. The author conveys to the readers this essay in the causal, evaluative and interpretative methods. He explains and illustrates by his statistics and factual evidence, and disproves illogical argument about the homeless people. He attempts to convince the readers that the main cause of homelessness in the U. S. is not “craziness” but lack of low-cost housing. He is successful to confer his argument and opinion of the government. The government says the cause of the homeless is their use of alcohol and drugs, which makes them psychotic and mentally disturbed. Therefore, they are not able to maintain their regular responsibilities. As a result, they become the homeless, and mentally ill, alcoholic, drug addicts. But author argues that the cause of homeless is lost of traditional industrial jobs, and half of the employees laid off find new jobs that pay poverty level wages.
On this point, he is unsuccessful because he just explains, informs and criticizes the problem of homeless. But he doesn’t present a solution or ideas about how to reduce and solve the homeless problem in the United States. Also, the government needs to carry the responsibilities of the homeless because the homeless are human beings and citizen of this nation. They need humanitarian welfare; they expect the help of the government. The homeless’ last hope is the government, and it is essential that the government must help them. In this way, the author should have reasoned and present some his suitable way, that the government could develop policies do help the homeless.
Kozol’s thesis is clearly stated, and he supports his main idea by presenting factual and statistics evidence the homeless are not crazy but cause is low income housing. He presents his various supporting points and sub-supporting points in the essay that inform logically and clearly, and the essay makes persuasive. Kozol’s argument is that the homeless problem is psychotic or mental ill who were deinstitutionalized from mental hospitals cause is low income house those people cannot afford by poverty level wages. He provides the supporting argument that the homeless is cause of mental illness. As example, pregnant women do not get prenatal care they became mentally ill. Kozol uses academic language in sociological, economical and psychological terms. These languages contain on the rhetorical sense and appear numerous unfamiliar words.
Conclusion:
Kozol’s essay “Are the Homeless Crazy” emphasized that the journalist and politicians believe that a lot of homeless people are formal patients of mental hospitals, and people who were deinstitutionalized from the mental hospital they didn’t go directly on the street they were in low income housing called SROs which were diminished because of gentrification they could not occupy those kinds of house anymore. As a result, they became homeless. The author tries to attempt that other reason is since 1968 the number of the children growing of in poverty has risen and welfare benefit declined. Giving with unusual arguments, Kozol presents the essay very interestingly, and he establishes his intellectual personality and creativity. Kozol succeeds to provide information about the homeless problem in the United States. In addition, he explains and illustrates by hid statistics and factual evidence, and disproves illogical argument about the homeless people. Finally, he is successful to convince to the reader that the main cause of homelessness in the United States is not “craziness” but lack of low-cost housing.