The Issue of Homelessness in Suitcase Lady by Christine McLaren - Essay Example

Oftentimes, homeless people share one face in the eyes of those who have a home, a job, and a family. McLaren has told the story of a woman who had a family, who had a job but after a few rounds of bad luck, she is now on the street and essentially stuck. The woman wears a tiara, talks of castles, and writes music without bar lines; it’s the fairytale world she lives in to escape the harsh reality of her circumstance on the street. McLaren offers the waitresses as secondary characters in the essay to represent the guilt that the public has for the homeless on the street.

This essay explores not only the face of homelessness but answers the question as to how people unknowingly end up in such a situation without rhyme or reason. In addition, at the end of the essay, the broader picture is presented as the main character states that she tries to support her community and country but she depends only and solely on god because it is implied that the country, or government, has failed her. The comfort she gets from her so-called music writing and tiara-wearing also comforts the reader.

Her misery is cared for in essence. Her simple acceptance of her condition is sobering because, in the end, she voices her support of the people in the community and her country. Ironically enough, her country has left her alone as another faceless homeless lady in a doughnut shop. It is god on whom she depends instead on her country because apart from the few belongings she totes around in a suitcase, god is the only viable option that remains.