The Mole People

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Recommended: Homeless from a Sociology standpoint

The Mole People The Mole People by Jennifer Toth was my book of choice when I first glimpsed at the title. My first thoughts about the title were homeless people living in poverty and trying to survive. Homeless people have always intrigued me when it comes to their lifestyle. How can someone live like that? When I visit New York, Philadelphia, or anywhere populated I always spot a few homeless people walking around or sitting down with a sign. When I stare at them all I feel is pity and gratitude that I have a home as I proceed to walk ignoring their presence. But as I look back I have muddled thoughts about the person I just walked past. Who are they? How did they become homeless? Do they need help? They are the forgotten ones of society, left to beg on the streets as we live comfortably in our homes. Home is where the heart is, but when that is taken from you, what do these people have? The Mole People is a book about the lives of the homeless and their struggle against society and themselves. Thousands of homeless people live in the subway, railroad, and sewage tunnels that form the bowels of New York City. Jennifer Toth visits these communities to learn their stories and lifestyle beneath the city. Many of these homeless people are drug addicts, mentally ill, runaways, or gang members. The tunnels that these people live in are filthy, rat infested, diseased, and dangerous for anyone to live in; however, the homeless find these tunnels to be a safe haven from the world above. Most of these communities are tight knit and even function as societies with established leaders. The homeless act as a kin; there is a mutual understanding between each person and the struggle to live. Drugs, rape, mental illness, or so... ... middle of paper ... ...than any man’s out there. That’s why it’s invisible to them. It’s beyond their simple understanding, their simple ways.” (J.C. 80) They have generated this new understanding of what it is to live rather than live the simple ways of society where you go to school, job, and family. They’re the ones who suffered the abuse, drug addictions, and all the negative aspects of society. As I reflect back on this book I see a difference between what I thought about the homeless before and after. My perspective of homeless people and society has changed after hearing the stories of the people who live in the tunnels. They aren’t just some people who don’t have money for food or lack the basic necessities to live. They are the people who lived through the pain and see the system’s flaws. Not everyone can live in our society; its one way views of how people should strive

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