The book, “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America,” by Barbara Ehrenreich talks about the real-life experiences of a well-known American writer and journalist who is Barbara herself. To get the real-life conditions of an unskilled worker in the America, Barbara disguises herself as one of them in the form of a “divorced homemaker reentering the workforce after many years” (Ehrenreich 10). Her interest is on the issue of poverty being triggered by various questions as for how the unskilled survive on such wages, and particularly, if “the roughly four million women about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform going to make it on $6 or $7 an hour?” (Ehrenreich 8). Barbara went on to works as unskilled labor various cities; …show more content…
The most important aspect is the lengthy, involving and exhaustive procedure followed during interviews of the applicants. Barbara describes, in one of her interviews, how the environment was intimidating, especially with the kinds of questions that are asked; such as if one had childcare problems if the management was responsible for their safety if they are honest people, and if they could turn in stealing employees. The most worrying of all questions was “How many dollars' worth of stolen goods have I purchased in the last year?” (Ehrenreich 14). These there followed drug tests that were sometimes humiliating because one’s privacy did not matter in front a health worker; one had to feel the cup with urine in front of the health worker (Ehrenreich 14). Indeed, this case shows how difficult it is to get a job because these recruitment procedures may kick out some …show more content…
The first weakness is that Barbara seems to uphold that class is one of the major contributors to the conditions of the working poor, but she contradicts this stand in some part of the book. For instance, she says, “I still think we could have done something, she and me, if I could have afforded to work at Walmart a little longer” (Ehrenreich 105). One may argue that this is because she wanted to get out the poor working conditions and never planned to come back and help the lady, an idea that the middle and upper class highly uphold. Another weakness is that Barbara, despite knowing the importance of unions, even to some point criticizing Walmart for lack of it and the fact that her father belonged to one, she does not want to be involved in union creations; “you don't want to come across as someone who might initiate something like a union organizing drive” (Ehrenreich 72). Indeed, this is a contradictory statement made the author appear as not living up to what she
John Doe Mr. Teacher Nickel and Dimed Summary Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, is an award winning columnist and author of twenty-one books. Although she has her doctorate in science, she is well known as a journalist and muckraker. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications. Ehrenreich pondered how unskilled, uneducated, and untrained workers can survive and thrive in the American workforce with minimum wage incomes. She was
“Nickel and Dimed” by journalist Barbara Ehrenreich is the recollection of Ehrenreich's experiment to examine the economic conditions that the working poor in America had to endure after a major welfare reform, which made welfare less of a “safety net” and encouraged recipients of welfare to be reliant on a job and a job alone. With just a car, a couple thousand dollars, and a PhD in biology, Ehrenreich went undercover in a few states in America to take on the minimum wage life herself, and prove
In Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, I am still a little puzzled as to what the author’s purpose was with her experiment to briefly “live like the working poor in America.” She states she was concerned about the Welfare to Work program enacted 3 years prior and her “objective” experiment will allow her to make a conclusion on the effectiveness of the program. It appeared to me that she went into the experiment with a bias that the program will not work and it is an unreasonable,
Plot summary “Nickel and Dimed” is a story about journalist Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join the number of Americans who had work full time for poverty-level wages. She was inspired by her curiosity about how people living on low poverty wages survived in this country and also by the welfare reform act, which promised that having a job could help lead to a better life. But Ehrenreich wondered about how anyone could truly survive, let alone prosper, on $6 or $7 an hour. In order to find out, Ehrenreich
In chapter one of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, there was a footnote that surprised me. On page 37 she explained that up until 1998, employers were not required to give their employees restroom breaks. “A factory worker, not allowed a break for six-hour stretches, voided into pads work inside her uniform.” (37) I thought that seemed wrong and even inhumane, especially when bathroom breaks were only required by law since 1998, which wasn’t that long ago. How extensive were places where
Increasing rent problems In the book, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich mentions the problem of rents is the market. When the market fails to provide necessary goods, such as affordable housing, we expect the government to step in and help. We decide to believe this, because, in the case of health care, the government offers Medicare to the elderly, Medicare to the poor, and many state programs to poor children. But, with housing, radical increases of the rental market has been followed
“Nickel and Dimed” is a story about a journalist and author, Barbara Ehrenreich, who is an American journalist and bestselling author of sixteen previous books (Barbara Ehrenreich American Journalist). In “Nickel and Dimed” she wonders if mothers, who depend solely on low-wage jobs due to recent Welfare reforms, will be able to survive financially. To answer her question, she decides to leave her life of comfort and trade it in for a life where she must survive on low wages. The plot of “Nickel and
and upper class Americans, the low income life may be difficult to imagine. Before being able to make assumptions about the life of a low-wage American, it is important to fully comprehend poverty in its entirety. In the investigative journal, Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich discusses her bias attempt of a journey through the world of a low income American worker. Throughout her detailed experiment,Ehrenreich often cheats; allowing herself a safety net to fall back on when money seems necessary
Nickel and Dimed by Barbra Ehrenreich, as well as Plato’s famous Apology, spotlight injustice in society. Ehrenreich’s research purpose, was to determine if a person can ‘get by’ in America, working low-wage jobs. Thus, the novel contemplated issues of social justice in America. As for Plato, he addressed injustice through Socrates’ trial and verdict. Although these works of writing were published in dramatically different time periods, one pertinent aspect of society in 399 B.C.E still holds relevance
Harsh realities and low wages, which are terrible things to have in your life, are discussed in Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed. In the chapter Serving in Florida, Ehrenreich shares her experiences trying to live on a number of low wage jobs and the people she knew who worked one low wage job. She uses anecdotes to argue about what it is like to work low wage jobs. One anecdote Barbara Ehrenreich uses was to show the relationship between managers and employees. She provides
simple or low-income jobs, I asked myself two questions. Do all these people really love what they are doing? Or are they working these kinds of jobs just to survive? Barbara Ehrenreich, an American author answers these questions in her book, Nickel and Dimed by showing her “experiment” as she called as a worker with low income and explains how the laborers’ lives look like. That can be explained by Hannah Arendt ideas “Labor, Work, Action” from her book “The Human Condition”. Although Ehrenreich
Nickel and Dimed, a memoir by Barbara Ehrenreich, is about the millions of Americans working full time on a low wage budget trying support themselves. Ehrenreich soon discovers that even a low paying job requires mental and physical effort. and one paying job is not enough, you need at least two. The Quote “ The American Dream has run out of gas. The car has stopped. It no longer supplies the world with its images its dreams, its fantasies. No more. It’s over.” by J.G Ballard can relate to the
in different locations with different living situations in the world. Everyone is different. Some people are rich and some are poor, but that’s how society works. The rich are getting richer and the poor seem to be getting poorer. In the book Nickel and Dimed; On (Not) Getting By in America published in 2001 by Barbara Ehrenreich, an author with a Ph.D. in biology, the topic of poverty is explored. Ehrenreich wrote this book based on her curiosity of how uneducated people with low wage jobs survive
In the book Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, who is a famous journalist and writer. She explores how low-wage workers survive in America by going undercover. Ehrenreich notes that her experiment will take place in three different states: Florida, Maine, and Minnesota. In these three sates she works as a maid, waitress, and in retail. Ehrenreich’s goal at the end of each month was to have enough money for the next months’ rent. She gives accurate statistic to justify her claim on certain situations
In ‘Nickel and Dimed’ by Barbara Ehrenreich, is about a journalist with a PhD in biology, who went to Florida, Maine and Minnesota to do research on how low-income families survive (Ehrenreich, 9). Dr. Ehrenreich, put herself into the daily life of a low-income worker, which over millions of Americans are working jobs for lower wage (Ehrenreich, 10). Chapter 1, consists of an introduction of the author and how she believes she has advantages like being white, native English speaker and being so well-educated