nickel and dimed
Hayley Selvage
Mrs. Weiser
AP English Per. 1
September 10, 2014
Nickel and Dimed Passage B Analysis
In three short paragraphs of the novel, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich emphasizes that the middle, to upper class is oblivious to the misery of the working class.
The lack of disclosure between the working and upper-middle class makes the upper-middle class oblivious to the working class’s hard work effort. In the first paragraph of the passage, Ehrenreich conveys a tone of annoyance and sarcasm. When the maids arrive at the home, they are unable to get inside. Ehrenreich voices that her itchy pink rash, “Must be poison ivy picked up at [the] lockout”(86). This sentence immediately helps the reader feel Ehrenreich's pain, and carries out the irritated tone of the paragraph. Ehrenreich also expresses a mocking tone and her annoyance towards the mistreated working class through her word choice and diction. She explains that the owner of the cleaning service, Ted, “[blames the workers] for customers’ fecklessness”(86). She includes the word fecklessness to create a snobby image for the homeowners, acknowledging that they are oblivious to the maids agonizing work. Ehrenreich also compares the maid service to elementary school students. She illustrates how a day off from work for the maids was not “like a snow day for the grade schools crowd”, because Ted always finds a way to make the maids at fault. Ehrenreich also compares the maids to be, “like cat burglars” while they search for a point of entrance into the house (87). With the use of these similes, Ehrenreich shows her irritated and sarcastic tone. This paragraph reveals Ehrenreich's feeling of dissatisfaction with the gap between homeowner and worker, and how the working class is mistreated. Ehrenreich’s level of annoyance and irritation is risen, and shows the maid service to be looked down upon to a greater extent. Her tone, again, is sarcastic and disapproving, and she specifically points out
Mrs. Weiser
AP English Per. 1
September 10, 2014
Nickel and Dimed Passage B Analysis
In three short paragraphs of the novel, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich emphasizes that the middle, to upper class is oblivious to the misery of the working class.
The lack of disclosure between the working and upper-middle class makes the upper-middle class oblivious to the working class’s hard work effort. In the first paragraph of the passage, Ehrenreich conveys a tone of annoyance and sarcasm. When the maids arrive at the home, they are unable to get inside. Ehrenreich voices that her itchy pink rash, “Must be poison ivy picked up at [the] lockout”(86). This sentence immediately helps the reader feel Ehrenreich's pain, and carries out the irritated tone of the paragraph. Ehrenreich also expresses a mocking tone and her annoyance towards the mistreated working class through her word choice and diction. She explains that the owner of the cleaning service, Ted, “[blames the workers] for customers’ fecklessness”(86). She includes the word fecklessness to create a snobby image for the homeowners, acknowledging that they are oblivious to the maids agonizing work. Ehrenreich also compares the maid service to elementary school students. She illustrates how a day off from work for the maids was not “like a snow day for the grade schools crowd”, because Ted always finds a way to make the maids at fault. Ehrenreich also compares the maids to be, “like cat burglars” while they search for a point of entrance into the house (87). With the use of these similes, Ehrenreich shows her irritated and sarcastic tone. This paragraph reveals Ehrenreich's feeling of dissatisfaction with the gap between homeowner and worker, and how the working class is mistreated. Ehrenreich’s level of annoyance and irritation is risen, and shows the maid service to be looked down upon to a greater extent. Her tone, again, is sarcastic and disapproving, and she specifically points out