Strangers In The Dumpster: A Fictional Narrative

careless. In a way, Eigher’s statement about college students is fair. Even though students are a

In Lars Eighner’s short essay “On Dumpster Diving”, he describes his experience of being homeless and the art of dumpster driving. Eighner prefers being referred to as a scavenger rather than a dumpster driver. Eighner stated “I like the frankness of the word scavenging. I live from refuse of others. I am a scavenger.” (383) He describes scavenging as a full time job, that requires a lot of effort. He believes that if one follows certain guidelines and rules, with doing so this could possibly help one to become efficient. One rule is knowing good place and time to look for food and other items, that could be useful. Another rule is knowing how to eat safely from a dumpster . Eighner said

In today’s society, there is an abundance of waste. This is clear in observing how people live, we often throw out items because we want something better. Lars Eighner, author of "On Dumpster Diving," writes about his experiences being homeless and how he survived on the waste of others. This provides insight on how the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure," is true. Jeremy Seifert, who directed the documentary Dive!, also talks about how he survives off of other people's waste, but this was a decision he made. As they tell of their experiences, Seifert and Eighner both come to the conclusion that society is wasteful. While both individuals provided good information, I believe Seifert presented the better argument. Both of

On Dumpster Diving 2a. Lars Eighner, the author of “On Dumpster Diving” describes his life of a homeless dumpster diver. He explains how it is a lot of work and certain principles to follow to be successful at the sport. One principle Eighner mentions in his personal memoir is knowing the right place and time to look for food and other things that would benefit the diver. “Students throw out canned goods and staples at the end of semesters and when they give up college at midterm” (Eighner 150).

What caught my attention while reading this profile is, not only did someone make the conscious decision to live in a dumpster but that someone is a dean and professor of a University. I found his dumpster living profile interesting for many reasons. This is a person who could afford an apartment or a house, yet they chose to live in a dumpster. Another interesting point that drew me in was that he didn’t immediately renovate the dumpster to make himself comfortable. He was “dumpster camping” as he called it, slept on cardboard, no heating or cooling unit, and without electricity or water running to the dumpster. He’s slowly customizing his space, he’s added an AC unit, installed a false floor, an air mattress and added some decorations.

Homelessness is increasing every year and effecting Americans of different age, ethnicity and religion. In Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” he explains what he went through while being homeless. He describes how and what foods someone should be looking for and to always be conscious of what one is eating because there is always a reason why something has been thrown out. He continues to go into detail about other items that can be found in the dumpster like sheets to sleep on and pieces of paper to write on. Things that can keep him busy through the day. Eighner carefully explains to his readers how being a dumpster diver has become a life style for the homeless and this is how they survive. It’s a way of living and they are comfortable

In the texts, “Serving in Florida”, by Barbara Ehrenreich, and “On Dumpster Diving”, by Lars Eighner, both authors have different and similar inputs about being below the poverty line. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Serving in Florida” the author talks about having to survive with little pay from jobs. Ehrenreich uses negative connotations throughout her text. While in Lars Eighner’s “On Dumpster Diving” uses positive connotations when putting emphasis on having no job and dumpster diving isn’t as bad as most people make it seem.

Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” originally published in The Threepenny review in fall 1990. Eighner’s arranges his essay into 3 main ideas to all tie into his overall theme. He ties it all into the idea that our society is wasteful by nature. Eighner uses his own experiences to show how wasteful people really are. Although he has not always been homeless, it has taught him a way of life he had never dreamed imaginable. If he doesn’t discover the hidden treasure of the dumpster’s then who will.

The car stopped abruptly, Tom jolted forward as the car had no seat belts. He felt his slightly damp back peel off the warm leather. He could see the other children playing rowdily in the mud, running, splashing, throwing the ring between them. Tom couldn’t wait to get out of the car, as it was trapping the heat from the above average day. Before Tom got the chance to jump out of the car, he felt his mothers boney hands grab his upper arm.

Many individuals are accustomed to waste at least a portion of what they buy, whether it is food, clothes, furniture, supplies, or materials worldwide. According to the article: “On Dumpster Diving” many valuable items were found by the homeless who searched the dumpster for food. Surprisingly, they found useful items that helped them survive throughout each day. In fact, the products were worth for the exchange of money. At certain times, I myself may be considered to be a wasteful person during certain times such as, not finishing my drink and throwing more than half of it away. While rushing at work during break, this is a usual situation for many people Although, it isn't necessarily on purpose it is considered wasteful, valuable and influence advertising.

A) A contemporary problem raised in “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner Is the amount of wealth spent by consumers, and the effect of that. Consumers spend too much money and waste even more when they throw food and clothing away. In the essay he explains the way of life as an scavenger and how to demonstrate how people are able to live by the minimal resources although most consumers continue to buy things they do not need and continue to waste resources that may be valuable to others. Aside from food, he additionally describes the emotional impact that living out of a dumpster can have on a person. He describes finding sad things such as "abandoned teddy bears, shredded wedding books, and pets lying in state." Seeing the pets makes him think about his dog Lizbeth and how she is likely to end up with a dumpster as her final resting place, as Eighner does not see himself having a place for her before she passes on. Rummaging causes Eighner to consider how much individuals underestimate, including the way that they can purchase something new to replace something old that they have discarded. He feels frustrated because of the individuals who don 't have that extravagance.

Robert Gilbert used to be not poor but not rich until he went to Las Vegas and gambled all of his money away. He went with his friends Josh and Jerry which were his only friends, but they did not spend all of there money there, like Robert did. Robert was not a well liked guy he was always in a bad mood and always telling everybody how good he was, He only had 2 people that liked him in his whole town. His mom and dad died about 6 years ago when they both got into a car accident coming home from going out for dinner that evening when a drunk driver hit them head on.

It wasn’t as if I had much of a choice. Actually there was, but this would settle things once and for all. Although, there were assurances, from the legal team of the best criminal attorney’s in the country, that there was nothing to worry about, a small chance is still a chance. I did discharged a firearm and my father did thrashed Gilbert something awful in front of witnesses, and my father did take over Tilley pharmaceutical in a wonderfully barbaric corporate takeover. What did work in my favor was me constantly speaking out at every opportunity the reason for my anger.

Once upon a time there was a wizard that disguised himself as a homeless man. After he disguised himself, he would beg from house to house, and lied to each house saying that he needed money or food. Inside every house he went to there was beautiful girls. He would capture every single one of the girls, and take them away somewhere that no one knew, even none of the girls ever returned. One day, he came to the door of the man who everyone knew had three gorgeous daughters. Before he went to knock on the door, he made sure he looked truly poor, weaker, and he also carried magical pack basket on his back as it looked like he wanted to collect some kindhearted offerings in it.

He opened the nearest file drawer to him and began going through it. The sound of paper swishing as it brushed against his skin often went its lifetime unnoticed. Yet now the sound could be compared to that of a child's scream.