Not My House, Please!
We are all familiar with the financial crisis that our economy is currently facing. Our stock market is unstable and unemployment is on the rise. These hard times have affected people from all walks of life; from the most affluent neighborhoods to the modest. The housing market has been steadily declining, as well, in record foreclosure numbers. There have been numerous scandals in the mortgage lending industry, with our government bailing some of them out. In The Day They Came for Addie Polk’s House, by Peter J. Boyer, we are given an effective insight into one woman’s act of desperation to save the only thing she has, her home, and how predatory loan companies target the elderly. This essay is centered on a profile of Addie Polk. Mr. Boyer uses a clever approach to entertain us in showing her significance. The sentimental audience is targeted by showing the effects of this crisis on the elderly. Throughout the story we are introduced to several people who play a role in shedding light on Addie’s story. By telling us about the town she lives in, readers are reminded that the housing crisis can happen anywhere, no matter how prosperous the city or town once was. Mr. Boyer strikes a chord with those who advocate for what’s right, and makes others wonder how much of our woes are self-inflicted.

The essay opens with the scene on the day of Addie Polk’s eviction from her foreclosed home. This is useful because it brings to reality the harshness of the process of eviction. We are introduced to the sheriff, Donald Fatheree, who is a long time resident of the town and who is overseeing this eviction. In The Day They Came for Addie Polk’s House, by Peter J. Boyer, the sheriff is described as, “a skilled salesman, who could negotiate, unofficially, between banks and evictees, possibly avoiding a forcible removal” (Boyer 946). In giving us this background on the sheriff, it is understood that this is the sheriff’s job and it is the one part of ...

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