Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich’s bestselling book, Nickel and Dimed, is not only an excellently portrayed book for the classroom, but also a studious book to advocate for a social issue. The advocacy related in the book blends well with the societal campaign for a living wage. Ehrenreich’s book has created a lot of momentum for the workforce and how difficult it is to live life with a low-wage. For Ehrenreich, she could not just simply explain the statistics of how gruesome life is this way, but to…

While writing my book review of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, I discovered that there are a few occasions where I can relate to what the author is trying to portray. A person working for minimum wage can also relate to this, because it’s about the people working low-wage jobs in America. I learned a lot while writing this paper. I learned about how we don’t pay attention to the people working minimum wage and how they try to survive with making that sort of wage. I mostly learned how…

Most people dread going to their jobs. They hate putting on their plain uniform, and dealing with crabby and ungrateful people, not to mention the drive to work for these people is almost as terrible as work itself. I am nothing like this. Every day before I work, I put on my athletic shorts, t-shirt, socks, and I am excited to start my job. I enjoy my drive to work, and when I get there I am greeted by a few co-workers. I then put my bags in the office, and make my way to the gym. The other…

non-fiction, ethnographic book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, Barbara Ehrenreich journeys to find out if single mothers who depend wholly on the income from their low-income jobs can survive financially. To answer this question, Ehrenreich adopts several anthropological tactics as she does her fieldwork in three cities: Key West, Florida, Portland, Maine, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Throughout the book, Ehrenreich can be seen as a participant observer because she works with…

Barbara Ehrenreich tells the reader how the idea for this book came about: when Ehrenreich begins writing, in comparatively sumptuous circumstances.” Then she described a $30 lunch at a French-style restaurant with the editor of Harper’s magazine discussing future articles “Lewis Lapham” who, when Ehrenreich casually mentions that someone ought to investigate the consequences of welfare reform by going out and trying the low-wage workplace “for themselves”, jumps on the idea and beckons…

Barbara Ehrenreich is someone worthy of credit. Ehrenreich conducted a live experiment in which she worked at minimum wage jobs, living as best as she could, in whatever circumstances those wages could afford. Although she could have sat snug in a comfy study, thinking away, she quite literally got her hands dirty and took on waitressing. Despite the fact that she was a single, white woman, Ehrenreich felt she was limited to certain jobs she could obtain. While, a common question remains, was…

the exploitation of employees and demonstrates the cause and effect of this exploitation. Ehrenreich provides an example of a young employee and her reactions to indoctrination in an early orientation. Schlosser describes the typical work day of an adolescent McDonald’s employee; He goes on to explain how she gets up extremely earlier for a job that will hardly fulfill any financial needs. (Barbara Ehrenreich selling in Minnesota) talks about the exploitation of the individual and how employees…

In an attempt to expose the poverty and limited opportunities of poorer class citizens in the American economy, Ehrenreich utilizes personalized anecdotes to demonstrate the workers’ struggles. By discussing her temporary experience in the workforce, Ehrenreich provides compelling examples of her social experiment to promote awareness of the lower class situation. Specifically, Ehrenreich attempts to convince the reader that it is more difficult for a person to exhume themselves from poverty…

Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed, Serving in Florida details the struggles of low wage work and the lack of social mobility. Barbara tries to find work and believes she can afford to live in the Key West area of Florida, a rather cheap part of the country. She eventually receives a job at Hearthside, and learns how to be a waitress from a nice lady named Gail. Barbara feels like the job is okay and that she can live on the low wages for a while. But, there are several problems, which…

Tamara: Good morning, this is Tamara Benson, host of Book Talk. On today’s show, I’m interviewing Alex Quentin, the author of the new book Unlucky Penny. Alex, could you tell us a little bit about the book? Alex: Thanks for having me on the show. To put it simply, Unlucky Penny is my attempt to convince the United States government to get rid of the penny. Tamara: That certainly seems like quite the undertaking! What inspired you to write this book? Alex: When I was young, I used to collect…