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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Analysis of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America In “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America”‚ Barbara Ehrenreich‚ a well-off white woman with a Ph.D. in Biology questions how low-income workers‚ especially females‚ make a living. Due to the welfare reform‚ 4 million women were about to have to enter into the workforce‚ usually for less than minimum wage. Ehrenreich decides to make an experiment out of her ideas. She decided she would travel to three different cities: Key West
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Nickel and Dimed 1) According to Ehrenreich‚ people who work jobs that are subsidized almost entirely by tips should be either paid more to begin with or offered more services such as housing and food like European countries do. For example‚ the typical 10% tip is considered borderline excessive at table service restaurants because waiters and waitresses are already paid substantially. Also‚ it is common especially in Mediterranean countries for the 10-15% service charge to already be included in
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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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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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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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Daniel Manoni Lisa Aurello Composition ENG H101 11 November 2009 Nickel and Dimed Essay In Nickel and Dimed‚ Barbara Ehrenreich delves into the `third world’ of America while attempting to make a living. She undertakes many noble trades‚ working in low wage and underappreciated jobs while trying to figure out how the people of this country do it every day. She works at Hearthside and Jerry’s in Florida waitressing‚ with The Maids in Maine cleaning houses‚ and with Wal-Mart in Minnesota‚ serving
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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America | March 29 2009 A riveting tale about the world of low class workers‚ Ehrenreich puts into words what most are don’t acknowledge or are afraid to acknowledge. Through first-hand experience‚ Ehrenreich successfully navigates her way through the low wage work by working such common low wage jobs as waitressing‚ housecleaning‚ and sales. While along the way discovering that each job encompasses their own organizational structure‚ culture‚ and
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Ed Fleming Rhetorical Analysis Paper English 102 Thurs Hybrid 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
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NICKEL AND DIMED BOOK REPORT Barbara Ehrenreich is a journalist who wrote the book Nickel and Dimed. She goes undercover to see how it feels to work for $6 to $7 an hour. She leaves her regular life to explore the experiences of a minimum wage worker. Ehrenreich travels to Florida‚ Maine‚ and Minnesota‚ looking for jobs and places to live on a minimum wage salary. At one point in time‚ she had to work two jobs to makes ends meet. As she worked all these jobs‚ she discovered many problems in the
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