Nickel and Dimed

Plato’s definition of rhetoric is, “the art of ruling the minds of men. ” (Atlantic Monthly) All authors aim for this goal; to control how the mind perceives ones writing and to lead the audience to believe in what they have written is true. Skilled writers utilize this rhetoric to fulfill just that; yet the…

In the book, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich conducted an experiment to relate to those who work minimum wage jobs to support themselves. She held three different positions throughout this process, each for one month in duration, over the course of three months. Barbara took a hiatus from her professional career to conduct an experiment….

Looking at whether or not individuals living in poverty are considered to be a minority group by our contemporary culture is an interesting scenario. I’m a social work major so of course I want to think, yes, individuals living poverty are most definitely an oppressed group in society. Minimum wage is nowhere near to what…

The book Nickel and Dimed is written by a journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, who wanted to see if she could live off of minimum wage jobs. She started the research project because of the welfare reform legislation. When she was speaking to her boss about the issue she was not aware that he would tell her…

Barbara Ehrenreich was a middle aged, single, liberal, white woman without young children during her investigation which led to Nickel and Dimed. In what ways did these characteristics help to shape her experiences? Using your knowledge of US history and culture; how would specific instances in Nickel and Dimed have been altered if someone with…

Barbara Ehrenreich used her book Nickel and Dimed to illustrate her job assignment to live in the shoes of and, write about her experiences as a minimum wage worker in America. Ehrenreich goes to live in Key West, Maine, and Minnesota and works low wage jobs, sometimes more than one at a time. The point…

This week’s literature comes from Barbara Ehrenreich in Nickel and Dimed. The essay writer goes undercover as a low income non-skilled worker to learn how to, financially, survive. This experiment took place during travels from Florida, Maine and Minnesota (Ehrenreich, 2017). The writer found a place to live and a job in each state. The…

Barbara Ehrenreich sought to prove wages for low class workers are too low for them to provide for themselves or families. She also tried to prove low wage jobs require a lot of effort that was not worth the amount of money they received per hour. In my opinion, Barbara Ehrenreich proved her two points…

Barbara Ehrenreich uses vivid imagery and sarcasm to denote the somber existence of low-wage workers.  Her sarcasm and humor seen in the book in times of reflection, help the reader to understand just how fully immersed she is in her role.  As a woman of higher status, she must not appear to be overly happy…

In her work Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich writes about a very interesting experiment she conducted. Welfare reform was a hot topic at the time, and Ehrenreich wondered if single mothers would be able to take care of themselves and their children while working low-wage jobs. Thus, Ehrenreich herself decides to see if she can…