Nickel and Dimed In the book of Nickel and Dimed‚ the author Barbara Ehrenreich‚ decided to go undercover as a low wage worker. She wanted to find out how non-skilled workers made ends meet. Barbara’s goal was to find if she would be able to live off the money she earned‚ and by also having enough money to pay the monthly rent. This was not going to be an easy task for her; she was used to having a home‚ a companion‚ reputation‚ and of course an ATM card. In June 1998‚ Barbara left behind everything
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Nickel and Dimed In reading the excerpt from Barbara Ehrenriech’s book‚ Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) getting by in America‚ I can certainly agree with the observations that she made regarding the treatment of people with lower paying jobs by society. Through personal experiences that I have seen first hand‚ the poor truly have a difficult time with trying to make a better life for themselves because of how society stacks the deck against them. My earliest experience with inequality happened in the
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Research Essay: Nickel and Dimed Looking at the state of low wage workers in America today‚ many are struggling to make ends meet and provide basic needs to themselves and their families. Is this a new situation or just a necessary part of the overall American economic structure? In her book‚ “Nickel and Dimed” (2001)‚ Barbara Ehrenreich steps out of her comfortable‚ middle class existence to find out how the people working in the lowest rung of America’s economy are getting by. Using her sarcasm
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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
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endless opportunities? People from all over the world come to the US in high hopes of becoming rich with minimal efforts. Sadly‚ this is not the case. After reading Nickel and Dimed‚ by Barbara Ehrenreich‚ I have a new outlook on individuals struggling to get by on low wage paying jobs in America. Barbara travels to Florida‚ Maine‚ and Minnesota to "investigate" life as low wage worker. She plays a different role in each of these three states to experience the true life of these workers. She works at four
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Introduction: Getting Ready Page 1: What is the significance of Lewis Lapham‚ other than the fact that he is the editor of Harper’s? Why was Barbara Ehrenreich so inspired by him and the lunch they shared together? Page 2: Is Ehrenreich wealthy‚ middle-class‚ or poor? If I was in Ehreneich’s shoes and was wealthy‚ I would be very curious to see how other people live. Page 3: The introduction to this book seems kind of ironic to me-while eating at an over-priced restaurant‚ Ehrenreich considers
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doubt though‚ I was not about to put my life on the line if it were to become a serious condition. On the contrary‚ true low-wage workers would most likely struggle with this decision and in the end would agree not to spend the extra money. 3In Minnesota‚ I encountered the worst hotel imaginable. The allurement to spend more for better housing was too much for me to bear (150-151). Good housing‚ although an indulgence‚ was something I desired as a human being. 4Working at Wal-Mart‚ an employee tried
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2. Were your perceptions of the blue collar Americans transformed or reinforced by nickel and dimmed? Have your notions of poverty and prosperity changed since reading the book? What about your own treatments of waiters‚ maids‚ salespeople? My perception of the blue collar Americans was transformed as a result of the book. Previously I had always felt that is someone wanted to find a job‚ they could. If a hard working American went out into the work force looking for a job that could support them
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Rhetorical Strategies Chapter 1 She appeals the the reader’s emotions when she describes her plight and that of others of her position on page 26 and several other places. She uses logos when she does the number-crunching that shows that financially she won’t be able to just have one job on page 28. She Uses ethos in the beginning (mostly the introduction) when she tells about her success as a writer (this also makes it more dramatic when she fails at unskilled labor later.
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In her bestselling book‚ “Nickel and Dimed‚” author Barbara Ehrenreich aims to give the reader a firsthand account of life as a worker on the poverty level. For her story‚ Ehrenreich‚ a writer from an upper-class family‚ decided to live the existence of a minimum wage worker‚ taking five low-level jobs at various locations around the United States‚ including positions as a waitress‚ health care aide‚ and Wal-Mart associate. To fulfill her objective‚ the author tried to obtain food‚ shelter and miscellaneous
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