Nickel And Dimed Essay

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, unrealistic, and unfair program. This is shown by her immediate statement, “The humanitarian rationale for welfare reform-as opposed to the more punitive and stingy impulses that may have motivated it …”. She then continues by using just the statistics

My Quote: “What you don't necessarily realize when you start selling your time by the hour is that what you're actually selling is your life.”

In Barbara Ehrenreich's book "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by In America" we read about a middle aged journalist undertaking a social experiment of the greatest magnitude. The journalist is Ehrenreich herself and the experiment was to find out how a woman, recently removed from welfare, due to policy reform, would make it on a six or seven dollar an hour wage. The experiment itself started out as just a question in the middle of lunch with one of Ehrenreich's editors, it soon turned into a job assignment. Before starting the experiment, Ehrenreich laid out some ground rules for her to follow during the duration of the assignment. First she could never use

In Chapter three of “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich, one of the most significant scenarios I would say is when Barbara is talking with Caroline about her lifestyle. Caroline lives in a $825-a-month rental home with her husband and two children. They are considered middle-class because they make close to $40,000 a year, but scraping by to make ends meet. Caroline goes on to tell of her low-wage life; this includes a hotel room cleaning job in Florida, and now book keeping job in Minnesota. Also, Caroline tells Barbara of her struggles with balancing a job and children, and her own health when living in Florida.

“Nickel and Dimed: On (NOT) Getting By in America” is a book that describes the real problems the lower class has to face everyday in these low income jobs, such as stress and lack of benefits. The book also shows how the poor struggle with low- income jobs and how they manage to get by with the low- income checks from these jobs. In the beginning of the book Barbara Ehrenreich, who is journalist pitches an idea to Lewis Lapham, who is the editor of Harper’s magazine. She tells him “Someone ought to do the old-fashioned kind journalism-you know, go out there and try it for themselves” (Ehrenreich 1). Lapham encourages her to do this challenge. Which gives her the idea to go undercover to experience how it feels to work in low wage paying

Minimum wage has always been an everyday issue in the United States. People argue that what they’re earning isn’t enough to help them live on a day to day basis. In 2001, the minimum wage in Florida was $5.15 the hour. Barbara Ehrenreich saw how this was becoming a greater issue as time went by, so she decided to take it upon herself and do some investigating on the topic. She decided to go undercover and work a series of low paying jobs to see if it was possible to live on those salaries. Ehrenreich wrote a novel about her experiences and titles it “Nickel and Dimed.” In a specific chapter titles “Serving in Florida”, she focuses on working as a waitress in a restaurant. There she talks about what their expectations are working at

One new experience can bring a whole other dimension. Viewpoints on life change, knowledge is gained through mistakes, and one may find themselves trapped in a maze-like situation that they need to find a way out of. However, making the best out of one’s position through determination, perseverance, and courage can slowly reverse the difficulty of handling it. Eventually, as strength is regained from tough obstacles, the desire to obtain their dreams escalates even further, which aids in working harder and striving to reach their goals. Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of Nickel and Dimed, depicts the financial struggles of single mothers who raise their families through minimum-wage jobs after the welfare reform affected their lifestyles. In the novel, Ehrenreich tests the limits of living in poverty by accepting any scarce job that was offered, and provides insight that although it was exhausting to balance her needs and her hectic work schedule, by diligently laboring, constantly persisting in seeking the better, and voicing out the wrongs, it can eventually lead to the attainment of the American Dream.

In Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, the author Barbara Ehrenreich took on an experiment for better understanding of the working class. She left her comfortable life and took on lower paying jobs herself.

In Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Barbara Ehrenreich tells a powerful and gritty story of daily survival. Her tale transcends the gap that exists between rich and poor and relays a powerful accounting of the dark corners that lie somewhere beyond the popular portrayal of American prosperity. Throughout this book the reader will be intimately introduced to the world of the “working poor”, a place unfamiliar to the vast majority of affluent and middle-class Americans. What makes this world particularly real is the fact that we have all come across the hard-working hotel maid, store associate, or restaurant waitress but we hardly ever think of what their actual lives are like? We regularly dismiss these people as

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America written by Barbara Ehrenreich, is a book composed of Ehrenreich’s experiences working minimum wage in Florida, Maine, and Minnesota. Ehrenreich’s sheds light onto what it is like for most minimum wage workers and brings insight into what it truly is like trying to make it on $6-$7 hourly wage. Nickel and Dimed does a wonderful job of giving insight to the everyday lives of the working class and somewhat understanding their lives better. Before reading this book, I had my share of thoughts on the working class based on what I knew from growing up with family members and even my father being apart of the working class. This book reinforced a lot ideas that I had about the working class and opened my eyes into what it means to live above the poverty line.

Can someone really live and prosper in American receiving minimal income? Can someone create a good lifestyle for themselves on just six to seven dollars an hour? In Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich goes undercover to find out if it is indeed possible. Giving herself only $1,000 she leaves the lifestyle that she has come accustomed too and goes to join all the people living the low class way of life.

The main idea of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich demonstrates the complications and the way on how minimum wage workers survived during 1996 in Florida, Maine, and in Minnesota when the welfare reform had an impact on minimum wage. Her goal was to experience how to settle for rent, food, and bills while working in minimum salary. The idea of this project came in mind when she discussed with Lewis Lapham, the editor of Harper’s, about future articles in magazines and then asked “How does anyone live on the wages available to the unskilled? How, in particular, we wondered, were the roughly four million women about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform going to

Barbara Ehrenreich's intent in the book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America exhibited how minimum wage isn't enough for Americans to get by on and that there's no hope for the lower class. Her main objective was achieved by living out the life of the "working poor". During the three cases studies she worked many jobs that are worked by many that are simply striving to live day to day. The jobs she had didn't generate sufficient income to avoid or help her rise out of poverty, in fact the six to seven dollar jobs made survival considerably difficult. Enitially, she believe the jobs didn't require any skill but while on her journey she started to realize they were stressful and drained a lot of energy. In addition to that she

However, some people may never get the opportunities to achieve their dreams, like the woman in Nickel and dimed. Many of the women in the article were working a dead end, low paying jobs. They worked in terrible conditions and followed strict rules. However, these people may have been hard working, they did not make the opportunities for themselves, they did not risk anything. These woman stayed with their dead end jobs in fear of losing their money lifeline.(Ehrenrich 73)

This semester I learned a lot about writing in English 151. It has been a roller coaster ride with these essays for me this semester. I learned step by step how to write a good essay and how to have your readers be engaged in what you’re trying to tell them. Each essay I did has taught me something valuable I can take to the next level of English. I feel as if as the semester went by I did not take my writing that seriously and that reflected in my grades I received in each essay. It made me a better student and writer and it will reflect next semester. In this essay, I will reflect on what I learned throughout this semester that you should apply in your writing when you begin English 151.