On Dumpster Diving Summary

In the esteemed collection 50 Essays, the editors recognize Lars Eighner’s On Dumpster Diving through his capability of heightening the degree and compelling concept of dumpster diving etiquette. Eighner redefines words such as “Dumpster,” by making it its own proper noun, which brings a sense of formality. He cajoles the reader’s perspective towards Dumpster diving in a positive outlook by referring it as an art and that it’s not anomalous for “respectable employed people...find something tempting sticking out of a dumpster” and “brag that they found this or that piece of trash” (108). Eighner exposes the audience the truth behind homelessness; however he also depicts that not all homeless people are winos causing trouble in the neighborhood,

careless. In a way, Eigher’s statement about college students is fair. Even though students are a

Lars Eighner begins by recalling a time from before he began to dumpster dive as an attempt to reveal to his readers that his fondness for garbage cans was not something forced upon him. He quickly transitions to the time when he began to dumpster dive and describes the overall experience of it. Once he has completed his general description, the essay takes a detailed turn into what dumpster diving through the years has taught him: everything from determining good food from the bad, how wasteful students in college can be, making sure drinks are safe, the stages a beginning dumpster diver goes through (self-disgust, curiosity, realization, and possibly the dangerous hoarding), and how dumpster diving has a hand in gained weight. Further

In Lars Eighner’s short essay “On Dumpster Diving”, he describes his experience of being homeless and the art of dumpster driving. Eighner prefers being referred to as a scavenger rather than a dumpster driver. Eighner stated “I like the frankness of the word scavenging. I live from refuse of others. I am a scavenger.” (383) He describes scavenging as a full time job, that requires a lot of effort. He believes that if one follows certain guidelines and rules, with doing so this could possibly help one to become efficient. One rule is knowing good place and time to look for food and other items, that could be useful. Another rule is knowing how to eat safely from a dumpster . Eighner said

In the essay “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner, Eighner talks about materialism and wealth. He explains his process of dumpster diving and the best places to go to dumpster dive. Eighner incorporates tone, detail, irony, observation, and ethos throughout his essay.

Homelessness is increasing every year and effecting Americans of different age, ethnicity and religion. In Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” he explains what he went through while being homeless. He describes how and what foods someone should be looking for and to always be conscious of what one is eating because there is always a reason why something has been thrown out. He continues to go into detail about other items that can be found in the dumpster like sheets to sleep on and pieces of paper to write on. Things that can keep him busy through the day. Eighner carefully explains to his readers how being a dumpster diver has become a life style for the homeless and this is how they survive. It’s a way of living and they are comfortable

In the essay “Dumpster Diving,” by Lars Eighner tells the story of a homeless man who speaks of his survival on the streets. Eighner was not your everyday, typical type of guy. He has an interested in Dumpsters, the year he became homeless he took pleasure in ‘dumpster diving’. Eighner gives information about what it takes to be a professional scavenger. Eighner talks about his success scavenging “Except for jeans, all my clothes come from the dumpster” (192). He talks about how he is a consumer but a ‘less wasteful’ one. Throughout the essay Eighner shows the importance of one man's trash is another man's treasure. Diving has made Eighner realize things that people got rid of by throwing away, still have good use in it. He gained a lot of

When we are little we never see ourselves being homeless, we only have dreams of having a good life that has family, love, lots of money, nice cars, and big houses; we never think maybe we might end up homeless with nothing but the clothes on your back. Being American and in “the land of opportunity” we see and hear of endless possibilities, but everyone does not get to enjoy the possibilities because the possibilities are not really endless. Homelessness in America is a persistent, complex, and widely-occurring problem that incorporates many economic, social, and psychological dimensions. After years of war and economic decline, the ranks of the homelessness have grown to include

Furthermore, when I witness a homeless person just standing with a sign or just laying down on the floor I always wonder how do they sustain to live out in the streets with little to no resources at all to support them. For instance , “There is nothing nice about being homeless. It is as difficult, as challenging, as mind-numbing, and as humbling as anything I can imagine. It is survival, in the most basic sense”. (Walther, Theodore). In this article it talks about how a veteran spent his life on the streets and describing most to every detail of how a homeless is living. This is important to know because after I read this article it is hard to realize how hard is it to be living on the streets and trying to fit in society at the same time

The United States is a country where people’s dreams come true. Many people come to the United States for a better life and because anything is possible. If people who live in other countries hear that the United States of America has poverty, they would not believe it even for a second. When people from other countries hear the name “United States,” they think of freedom, where they can be anything they want in life; however, it’s not always the case. In the article “Camping for Their Lives” by Scott Bransford, the author explains how people in the United States are homeless because they cannot find jobs or their jobs’ wages are too low, making them unable to afford a home. Some of the readers might

As we go about our daily life, we tend to assume that our perceptions, of the world, our world view, sights, sounds, textures, tastes are an accurate portrayal of the real world. We think nothing of the struggle of our fellow men. When we stop and think about it or when we find ourselves fooled by a perceptual illusion we realize with a jolt that what we perceive is never the real world, but rather our best guess at what that world is like, a kind of internal simulation of an external reality. From time to time, we should look inward and tried to understand the harshness and the cruelty of homelessness. What that does to one state of mind and remember that no one set out to be homeless. It’s the circumstances of life that sometimes lead one

This part of the novel is where Barbara evaluates her work and experiment. She says that she was proud of herself because she was able to complete the heavy workload without quitting and awards herself with a B+ grade. Barbara says that the poor people struggle in order for the rich people to live lavishly. She thinks that one day the poor people will rebel and stand up for a better pay.

Unfortunately, the issue of homeless has such a vast extent of causes, which is why it is becoming a legitimate issue. In New York City, the spike in homelessness has started since the Great Depression. Many Americans during this time period who have invested everything have lost everything. Many families faced financial crisis and could do nothing to pay for housing. Even after economic prosperity was regained in the 1940s, the damage had already been done. Ralph da Costa Nunez, the president of the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness has said “While the nation's economy entered a period of prosperity, New York's homeless problem showed no signs of ebbing” (David R). Ever since this conflict, homelessness has been taken to new heights and today, the number of homeless people are increasing. One of the most common reasons for homelessness is the financial pressure put upon families because of overwhelming prices. The issue is caused because “rising rents have put many ‘affordable’ apartments beyond the financial reach of low-income

Chapter Summary: Barbara Jennings is a single black mother with three children, two girls Nanette, or Neddy and Leslie, and then she has one boy Cedric, each child from a different man. Barbara"'"s family moved from Plumbranch, South Carolina to Washington when Barbara was three. Barbara is the third oldest out of seven siblings; She took on the responsibilities of taking care of the younger children when she was nine. She worked trying to win her parents affection that never came and she was neglected attention and abused by her family. They didn"'"t call it child abuse back then. Her parents were very poor and struggled to take care of seven children. Her father Maurice was a construction worker by day and a janitor by night. Her mother Janey Bell worked an evening shift as a cook. Her parents favored the children and all the boys got off easy.

The basic human necessities in life are food, water, and shelter. Let’s emphasize the word shelter. There are thousands of people in America alone who have fallen victims to homelessness for numerous reasons. This social problem is primarily the effect of structural inequalities and the lack of available resources. Those who deal with the life struggles of returning to the states from the military, mental illness, addiction, and abuse are all known to be more likely subjected to winding up without support and on the streets.