Class in Nickel And Dimed Essay

In this book, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich makes many complex comparisons about living and surviving on a day to day basis. Her involvement of the characters adds validity of how hard it is for people living the low-life. Her main idea that she seems reiterate over and over seemed to be the economic conditions that underscore the working class of America today, and how she would like to prove traditionalist ideas of a job will defeat poverty wrong.

Towards the end of the book, Ehrenreich evaluates her abilities and learning experiences in the lower class workforce. There is a time when she confronts economists and asks why the wages are so low. They answer by saying they are rising, but also agreed that they werent rising very briskly. This is the underlying problem in America. This defeats the statement given by so many people that anything can be attained through work. A person may be working two of the hardest jobs and make next to nothing because of the low wages, especially in big cities, with expensive housing, transportation, and food. How can a person even dream of raising a family? There must be a problem when a person is working two jobs and cant even support themselves (one person) let alone any dependants.

Ehrenreich introduces a character in her experience, and her name is Holly. In the event of cleaning a house, Holly trips over a small hole and in the process, breaks her ankle. Any normal person would rush to the emergency room to get it fixed. However, Holly was more concerned about missing any work because she thought it could mean no mercy and no wages for the day. To us, her menial earnings in a day might be small (in the middle class) but to her that could mean inability to pay utilities or possibly skipping out on meals. In Hollys case, she didnt have anyone other than herself and her come and go boyfriend to provide for. Her boyfriend even had a job. Yet, she would rather grin and bare it, instead of catering to her own well being. Yes, there are a few exceptions and miraculous stories. But, how can people like Holly improve their situation. Need I say take on a third job?

In my own life, Ive never had to completely support myself. But, my parents have experienced the lowest of low. Barely getting by, living day by day on one meal, with 3 kids. Thankfully they had outlets for a small amount of support and good education to rely on. But not everyone has the religious sources or good education to back them up. Through this experience m parents have taught me to never look down on people for anything. They realize they were blessed and fortunate to get out of the rut. But it took some time. Although yes, we were very fortunate, this does not mean everyone is blessed in the same situation. There arent ample amounts of opportunities. Just because someone has a job and may be working hard does not mean they are guaranteed out of poverty. It can help, but is not always fully sufficient enough. What if my dad hadnt been offered a job? What if my mom did not have an education in teaching? What if we didnt have a gracious religion? These are scenarios for many people. For them, a new job is just many hours of hard labor with little pay. Thats not exactly what I call a gift of god.

In conclusion, I really felt that this book can speak to many people. Its proven to me and changed my outlook on the fact that I always used to judge people if they were poor and that they should try to work harder. In reality just because someone has a job does not in any case a quick fix and a one way ticket to success. People like Barbara Ehrenreich who have actually stepped down into their shoes would know that. But, to judge from a higher class is an unfair assessment.