Using Ehrenreich S Nickel and Dimed and Shepard S Scratch Beginnings

Using Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed and Weisberg’s documentary Waging a Living, write an argumentative essay in which you decide what personal qualities and characteristics are necessary to “make it in America”. Then use examples from both to support your thesis.

Barbara Ehrenreich argues that government and business in America fail to address the problems of the poor. Using what you have learned from Nickel and Dimed and Waging a living, explain how a person in America might also be responsible, at least partially, for his own individual failure.

In a well-developed essay, discuss three pertinent, vivid representative examples of the difficulties Barbara Ehrenreich encountered as a waitress in Chapter 1.

In a well-developed essay, analyze what makes working in the ladies wear department at Wal-Mart a good example of Barbara Ehrenreich’s quote from chapter 3 of Nickel and Dimed: “…no job is as easy as it looks to the uninitiated.”

Though Ehrenreich doesn't specifically mention "the feminization of poverty" in Nickel and Dimed, the book offers compelling evidence that women are more likely than men to be poor in America. Agree or disagree with this claim, using evidence from her book.

Moving to a new place can be exciting, but it's also often stressful. How does Barbara manage her many moves in the book? What lessons could you learn from her--either positive or negative--about making a successful move?

Nickel and Dimed describes several scenes in which Barbara undergoes an orientation. What's involved in orientation? Argue something about these orientation sessions.

1. pp. 15 ff. (starting at the bottom of the page with the interview): orientation to work at the Hearthside Restaurant; p. 16 ff. Gail.

p. 53 the Motel 6

pp. 69-70 the Blue Haven

pp. 73 ff: Barbara learns how to be a Maid.

pp. 76-77 ff. Liza, the team leader, helps Barbara

pp. 61 ff. The Woodcrest Residential Facility…I am a dietary aide

pp. 124 applying at Wal-Mart

pp. 136 ff. orientation at the weird “customer service” place (Mountain Air)

pp. 143-147: Walmart’s corporate orientation

pp. 150-153 “the worst motel in the country”? The Clearview Inn. See also 158 sewage backup; and 160-1 as she begins to acclimate

Nickel and Dimed reads at times like a satire, and there are many instances of material played for laughs: the absurd personality tests, the mind-numbing Maids training videos, the Wal-Mart orientation session, the misleadingly rosy advertisements for barely inhabitable motel rooms. Of course, Ehrenreich's comedy is always tinged with sadness; the jokes take aim at the folly of a society that can so neglect its least well-off citizens.

The subtitle of Ehrenreich's book is: "On (Not) Getting By in America". Can one get by or not? One might choose to focus on the ways in which Ehrenreich examines only a sliver of the low-wage workplace; or one might argue that the reality is even darker than what Ehrenreich depicts. Support or refute this statement with evidence from the novel and movie: The conception of poverty is far removed from the reality.

Support or refute this quote from the book: "And that is how we should see the poverty of so many millions of low-wage Americans--as a state of emergency." This is Ehrenreich's call to arms. "Wake up!" she is crying. An essay on the passage would first identify it as a summation of Ehrenreich's position and a culmination of her investigation, then perhaps analyze the use of the word "emergency". It is a significant word-choice, in that Ehrenreich is describing a long-standing problem, not a momentary crisis; the implication is that we've been living with (and people have been dying because of) this emergency for generations.

Why does Ehrenreich describe her Maids uniform in such detail? What does the uniform do to her? Just as Ehrenreich must act as a low-wage worker, so must all Maids employees fulfill pre-scripted roles. Everything is theater, with costumes and lots of direction. The Maids uniform sets Ehrenreich apart, makes her feel like an outcast. It's a latter-day scarlet letter, and Ehrenreich marvels at how a mere arrangement of clothes can create such a wall between one world and another.

This book brings to light general problems such as stress in the work place, lack of proper benefits, and how what was merely an experiment for Ehrenreich, is a real detriment for many others.

This book is both wonderful and flawed. Consider for instance the references to "WalMartians" and to obesity. What might readers find offensive in this book?

How do booming national and international chains -- restaurants, hotels, retail outlets, cleaning services, and elder-care facilities -- affect the treatment and aspirations of low-wage workers? Consider how market competition and the push for profits drive the nickel-and-diming of America's lowest-paid.

Ehrenreich experienced remarkable goodwill, generosity, and solidarity among her colleagues.

The most disturbing component of “Nickel and Dimed” is the realization that unlike Ehrenreich, many, if not all, of her co-workers have little chance of escaping this ever-increasing poverty cycle. Many pool their resources with friends and family just to keep a roof over their heads. And, more often than not, these full-time-plus working Americans have no money left over at the end of the month for “extras” such as nutritious food or shoes or health care. The frequency and futility of these dire situations gives the reader pause as he or she wonders, “Could this happen to me?”