Nickel and Dimed (Hard Work Doesn't Always Pay Off)
Hard working people gain many positive qualities in themselves but they also work for a motive. A good question would be does hard work ever pay off in the end? Barbara Ehrenreich would like to know the answer to this question so she suggests to a famous editor that she could live in the life a minimum wage worker for a couple weeks. Low class workers may work several jobs for up to a full day with little pay and still not be able to make ends meet and support themself or their family. They work hard, but still struggle to find their place in society because they are not receiving enough money. In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich makes it clear that no matter how hard you work, even some of the hardest working people in our country today cannot become successful because other factors weigh into their life.
In the 19th century, a man by the name of Horatio Alger wrote many books in order to explain his “rags to riches” idea that as long a person works hard at their craft, they will become successful and live a great life in America. But what does it mean to make it in our country today? When Ehrenreich discusses with an editor about stories regarding people who work low paying jobs, she points out what they are lacking which is why they are not successful. She points out the reasons why they have not made it in this country and what is considered making it. Minimum wage workers may work up to several jobs but most are unskilled in several areas, lack a college degree, cannot afford to live comfortably and purchase a good meal. Therefore, in order to be considered someone who has “made it”, they must not follow any of the attributes mentioned before. She clearly was “very different from the people who normally fill America’s least attractive jobs”1 because she worked for everything she has earned and was once close to poverty as she works for the famous New Yorker Magazine, holds a prestigious Ph.D., loves to eat out and travel, and does not find it
In the 19th century, a man by the name of Horatio Alger wrote many books in order to explain his “rags to riches” idea that as long a person works hard at their craft, they will become successful and live a great life in America. But what does it mean to make it in our country today? When Ehrenreich discusses with an editor about stories regarding people who work low paying jobs, she points out what they are lacking which is why they are not successful. She points out the reasons why they have not made it in this country and what is considered making it. Minimum wage workers may work up to several jobs but most are unskilled in several areas, lack a college degree, cannot afford to live comfortably and purchase a good meal. Therefore, in order to be considered someone who has “made it”, they must not follow any of the attributes mentioned before. She clearly was “very different from the people who normally fill America’s least attractive jobs”1 because she worked for everything she has earned and was once close to poverty as she works for the famous New Yorker Magazine, holds a prestigious Ph.D., loves to eat out and travel, and does not find it