On Dumpster Diving By Barbara Ehighner

The situation Ehrenreich is describing is the reality of millions of Americans; they work multiple minimum wage jobs, and are paid “so meagerly that workers can’t save enough to move on.” In addition, Ehrenreich recalls the actions of the U.S. government in regards to assisting these Americans. The article opens with the contribution of President Lyndon B. Johnson on the “War on Poverty”, then the “attack on welfare” in the 90s, concluding with The Great Recession. While writing Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, Ehrenreich abandoned her comfortable life to live the life of a low-income American; she worked multiple entry level jobs including Wal-Mart, a maid service, and as a nursing home aide. Through these actions, Ehrenreich establishes her ethos. Because she’s lived the lifestyle she’s describing, she has the authority to speak on the topic. Ehrenreich concludes with her proposal to help the

A quote often used is, "One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” This describes Eighner’s feelings perfectly. At one point he stated, "People throw away perfectly good stuff, a lot of perfectly good stuff."(384) This proves the point that once someone throws something away, it doesn't mean it is trash, just ready for a change of ownership. Eighner few dumpster diving as an art because of all the cool stuff he finds on a regular. Things such as: clothes, type writer, love letters, ragdolls et cetera. He mentioned that he hardly ever pick up things without envisioning the

In today’s society, there is an abundance of waste. This is clear in observing how people live, we often throw out items because we want something better. Lars Eighner, author of "On Dumpster Diving," writes about his experiences being homeless and how he survived on the waste of others. This provides insight on how the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure," is true. Jeremy Seifert, who directed the documentary Dive!, also talks about how he survives off of other people's waste, but this was a decision he made. As they tell of their experiences, Seifert and Eighner both come to the conclusion that society is wasteful. While both individuals provided good information, I believe Seifert presented the better argument. Both of

In Barbara Ehrenreich's bold and honest book she tackles the issue of poverty in America head on, by becoming a low wage worker herself. Ehrenreich delves into the often unheard of issues relating to poverty and low wage work, providing her readers with a new perspective on America's working poor and manages to give her audience a stark emotional, yet logical and factual, look into the working class' poverty epidemic. She uses her own anecdotal evidence and supports it with statistics and facts, appeals to ethos by challenging the ethics of corporate America and it costs, finally she hits an emotional chord with readers by reminding them of what low wage workers must endure so that we can live in our America.

Yesterday I threw out an old jar of peanut butter with only about an inch left. It no longer served a purpose, as I had purchased a new and improved jar. As I began to toss the jar towards the garbage, I was reminded of an essay I had just read. In his essay Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner suggests that when we throw away items, homeless people can find a way to make use out of whatever it is. Therefore, if we don't want there to be bums on the street, it is inferred that we shouldn't throw anything extra out. I myself was not supporting the homeless community, or being wasteful, I was just trying to make room in the cabinet. If I would have kept that inch of peanut butter, it wouldn't have made the world's population of homeless people try

The tone of “On Dumpster Diving” is straightforward. In the beginning of Eighner’s essay, he goes straight into talking about dumpster diving, and he does not beat around the bush. For example, in the beginning of his essay, Eighner says, “Long before I began Dumpster diving I was impressed with Dumpsters, enough so that I wrote the Merriam-Webster research service to discover what I could about the word “Dumpster,”’’ (p 1). Eighner describes dumpster diving as his profession. Eighner says, “Eating safely from the Dumpsters involves three principles: using the senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the found materials, knowing the Dumpsters of a given area and checking them regularly, and seeking always the question “Why was this discarded?”” (p 10).

In the passages of “ Serving In Florida” by Barbara Ehrenreich and “ On Dumpster Diving” by Lara Eighner, they both address the life of living under the poverty line. These two are both relating to each other because they talk about two individuals who are living in the United States but also living below the poverty line. However, Ehrenreich’s story has more of a negative connotation towards it because she complains about the life she is living day by day by the jobs that provide low-wage income. Ehrenreich’s life, working low income jobs give her many struggles and responsibilities she has to take to be able to have a roof over her head. On the other hand, Eighner’s story has more of a positive connotation to it because Eighner is so positive all the time and explains what being a Dumpster diver is like and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Moreover, Eighner explains the life of a Dumpster diver in more of a positive direction throughout the story.

Barbara Ehrenreich 's showed that she didn't have the mind set or worries of a working class person by reminding us as readers the fine line between the kind of performance she is doing and the kind her fellow coworkers do every day on the job. Time and again she lets us sink into her new world of a low-wage worker, only to pull us back with a reminder of the act. 1 She does this experiment to determine whether or not she could both live off the money earned and have enough money at the end of the month to pay the next month's rent. Working class people depend on the money they make on these jobs to survive and provide for their families. She could drop all these jobs she experimented with and go back to her real life without a worry in the

Ehrenreich developed the objectives of this book in a very interesting way. Ironically she developed the idea for this project over a very elegant expensive lunch at a French country-style restaurant. Ehrenreich and her editor Lewis Laphan from Harpers had gone out to lunch to discuss future articles. Throughout lunch the topic of poverty came up. Questions like, “How does anyone live on the wages available to the unskilled?” (Ehrenreich, 2001 pg. 1) and how do unskilled workers survive on such low incomes, started to surface. She then thought “Someone ought to do the old-fashioned kind of journalism – you know, go out there and try

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 Barbara Ehrenreich’s essay “Serving in Florida,” derived from Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, the author conveys through a undercover experiences of working low wage jobs in Florida, that minimum wage jobs are harsh working conditions and lead to uncomfortable and a unpleasant way of living. Her essay also helps to reveal that the conditions that minimum wage jobs create, is the thin line between bearly having somewhere to live and being completely homeless. This will be proven by not only her experience, but also supported by primary/secondary sources.

In the essay “On Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner, as a homeless person, used his own life experience as a dumpster diver to reflect on the wastefulness of American society. Eighner states, “...although if I could I would naturally prefer to live the comfortable consumer life, perhaps - and only perhaps - as a slightly less wasteful consumer owing to what I have learned as a scavenger”(88). He pointed out how Americans are not a consumer, but a waster from a scavenger’s perspective. The comfortableness of the consumer life makes Americans think that their wasteful action is appropriate. Eighner also points out how American, specifically adolescents does not appreciate the things that they possess.

She started a participant observation -style study, as she explored the life of an individual living off a low-income job. Ehrenreich notes, “This was barely above the national minimum wage at the time and provided just enough income to pay the rent on her tiny apartment, buy food, and cover other basic living expenses.” (Ehrenreich) She explains how she struggled in society, and barely earned enough to support herself. She mentions fearing of not being able to pay for her doctor’s bills, and like my friend, she is dependent on her tips or limited pay. This shows how our world is careless towards these people because they do not make access to needs like healthcare or groceries simple to everyone. If you are not fortunate enough to be in the majority, you have to work your way for your necessities. We are judging people for the job they have, rather than the hard work or quality of job they do. Garbagemen, janitors, waitresses, baristas, maids, and even manicurists all have a negative stereotype surrounding them, even though they work just as hard or harder than those in higher respected jobs. The author sides with the minority, showing that her experience proves that the lower class work hard for their pay, and have the possibility to succeed even though it is laborious to do

The biggest problem minimum wage workers encounter, however, is not the physical demands of the job, but the inability to support themselves financially. In America, according to the welfare reform, it is assumed that "[...] a job was the ticket out of poverty [...]" (196). However, as Ehrenreich experiences the life of a low-wage worker, she claims that her low wages are simply not enough to survive. The major factor that destroyed the workers financial status was the soaring prices of rent.

Poverty-stricken communities are often associated with crime, unemployment and debt. Political activist, Barbara Ehrenreich, emphasizes how the poor population is being targeted by the government. With an increasing number of laws and through ridiculous fines, already-penniless residents become a part of counterproductive and incriminating process. Although the existence of support programs provides hope for the struggling families, financial demands greatly outweigh the amount of available aid—this lowest social class is the least respected and cared for by the government. Consequently, as the community is forced to find alternative measure of survival, unemployed and financially unstable become prone to committing crimes. Such an example