Nickel And Dimed By Barbara Ehrenreich Analysis

Barbara Ehrenreich undertook an extreme social experiment from the spring of 1998 to the summer of 2000. She paused her work as a journalist and author, moved, and lived as a member of the working poor. She job searched, house or hotel searched, food searched, and friend searched. She worked multiple jobs in 3 different states, and in 2001, she published her book Nickel and Dimed, documenting her experiment and its results. Barbara hoped to show people what it is like to work in the low-wage workforce, honestly revealing the injustices, trials, and hardships. While Barbara did reveal these issues, she also started her adventure out with advantages that real low wage workers don’t have, making some of her experience unauthentic. Personally,
The first positive male character she came in contact with was George. Barbara described him as her “saving human connection” (26). He was a “nineteen-year-old Czech dishwasher” and had been in the country for one week. He was a hard worker who longed for eye contact and any chance to practice his English. George was not paid by the restaurant where he and Barbara worked, but his “agent”, who sent him into America, paid him five dollars an hour; keeping the dollar and change an hour that was left over from George’s net salary. Another challenge for George was his English illiteracy. George was accused of stealing from the back room of the restaurant. Since he couldn’t speak English, he didn’t know what was happening, nor did he have the ability to defend himself. Barbara wondered what he would have taken since it seemed that there wasn’t anything worth taking in the back room. She guessed that “he had taken-if he had taken anything at all- some Saltines…and that the motive for taking it was hunger” (28). As time goes on, George begins to look “like the ghost we all know him to be…” (31). He lived in an apartment with many other Czech dishwashers, all taking turns sleeping on one bed. At work, he continues to be treated unfairly, and the managers don’t even remember his name, saying, “there are so many of them”, referring to immigrants (26). Nickle and Dimed gives an honest glimpse of
Melissa was a waitress before working at Wal-Mart, where the two met. There had “been some disorganized patches in her life…but that (was) all over now that she has given her life to Christ” (86). Melissa was married to a construction worker, and her children were all grown. The two ladies began to talk more at work, and Melissa even brings Barb sandwiches for lunch occasionally, showing her hospitality and pity for Barb’s “poor” condition, even though Melissa herself is poor. “She calculates in very small units of currency…” (90). Despite her poverty, Melissa continues to show Barb kindness by bringing her food. Melissa is a reflection of many other low-wage workers- she is hospitable and considerate despite being poor. But although she doesn’t have much money to spare, Melissa does have an advantage over other low-wage workers- she has a working husband. This adds a second income to a person’s life as well as a built-in roommate to share rent with. “I either need to find a husband, like Melissa, or a second job, like some of my coworkers,” Barb thinks, inferring that having a working husband makes the same impact on a person’s survival as having a second job (94). This advantage allows her to afford to work at Wal-Mart for only seven dollars an hour. In addition to being able to be hospitable despite her low salary, Melissa is very dedicated to the low-wage system. At Wal-Mart, the employees are almost constantly