Nickel and Dimed

In Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, Barbara goes out from her normal life of being a writer, and attempts a project of starting over and living as a low-wage worker. She finds herself in times of trouble here and there, and trying to get used to a different lifestyle. Her main priority of doing this whole deal was to know, "How does anyone live on the wages available to the unskilled?" and " How, in particular, were the roughly four million women about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform going to make it on $6 or $7 an hour?" Those were a few of her main goals/wonderings that she took in to consideration when she began. In her attempt into this, Barbara goes to 3 different cities and applies for different jobs as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart associate. In all of this, she also had to find a place to stay, and how it will fit in with her job; and the price she could spend for living, depending on the amount of pay she recieves for her job in possession. As she goes on in her jobs, she meets some incredible people, and gets their intake on the economy and the job market. In the end she thinks that she did pretty well, but their is always room for improvement. She discovered that " no job, no matter how lowly, is truly "unskilled." And that "every one of the jobs that she entered into in the course of this project required concentration, and most demanded that she master new terms, new tools, and new skills." In this whole experience, Barbara learned alot about the world, and also about herself as a person.

Questions for discussion #16
Yes I believe that Ehrenreich's experience would be different in today's economy because alot of things have changed since the time period of 1998-2000. Such as gas prices, gas has shot up out of this world, and is insane. In fact alot of things have gone up in price since then. Just the cost of living now-a-days in the 21st century is very high. The people, and number of jobs available have also changed.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front, written by Erich remarque jumps from scenario to scenario to show how war is very speratic and that what is to come is almost always uncertain. Remarque does this by having Paul Baumer in an intense front line fight or bombardment, and the next Baumer and his fellow fighters are feasting and relaxing in a supply depot. Remarque also does this within chapters. In chapter nine Baumer is out on a patrol. It is his first since returning to the front line. He is struck with fear but his fighting instincts kick in and he regains composure and is safely on his way back to his trentch. Then, suddenly he is struck with fear and becomes lost in no mans land. This novel does a great job in showing how war affects the people fighting it. They lose what makes them human. The fear goes away and fighting becomes second nature. The gruesome and shocking scenes they witnessed while fighting doesn't faze them, but before the war they could have never imagined seeing what they saw.

All Quiet on the Western Front

In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque tells his story by jumping from one point to another to make war more realistic to the reader. The men could be safe from danger and enjoying each others company by playing cards and smoking cigarettes one day, and then the next they are sent back to the front not knowing who would make it back. In chapter 10, for example, Paul and his friends are in an abandoned village when he and Kat find two baby pigs and have a great feast out of them. After a few days they must leave for another village and while travelling they are attacked and Paul and Albert are wounded, Paul in the leg and Albert just above his knee. Albert has his leg aputated, and does not return to the front with Paul. Remarque also uses imagery in nature to compare the liveliness of it to the dying of the soldiers. For example, when Paul is talking about the summer of 1918 on page 285, he talks of the red poppies, beetles, grass, and flowing waters that are all living peacefully all around them, while the soldiers are in despair and dying. Remarque also makes an interesting point through Paul that all the men, whether friends or enemies, are all human and comrades, just pitted against each other.

Great job so far, folks!

Great job so far, folks!  Keep on reading, thinking, and posting your ideas.  Remember to respond to these books with your ideas and analysis of what the author's intent was.  Thanks for sharing so far!   -Mrs. Koch

All Quiet On The Western Front

In the novel, All Quiet On the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque jumps from one idea to another in order to more fully enhance the telling of the story. In this way, he can not only tell of fighting in the front line, but also how Paul Baumer got along with his companions, what lead him to enlist, not to mention how people treated him while on leave. It was interesting to note that often Paul Baumer reflected on the idea of not reflecting at all. According to him, what saved a man’s life was not thinking about what was happening, but merely acting on instinct. Therefore, it makes sense that Remarque uses this technique because it helps the reader attempt to picture what the soldiers were feeling. At times jumping from one numbing emotion to another. Like Detering in chapter 11; one day he saw a cherry tree and lost it for a bit because it reminded him of home. Remarque also uses a lot of imagery to describe nature in order to add to the story. For example, in chapter 4 pg 55 second paragraph, you can see how much emphasis is put on the idea of a “mother nature.” Finally, it was interesting that the soldiers discussed how the decision of a few people could lead such a number of the population to war.

Nickel and Dimed

In Nickel and Dimed, written by Barbara Ehrenreich, Ehrenreich is thrown into the world of minimum wage working. Going in as in undercover journalist, Ehrenreich sets out to discover if the welfare reform is successful or if it leaves people stuck in poverty. In each of the three places Ehrenreich visits, she runs into many of the same problems. One of the main problems for her is housing. She discovers that much of the low income housing is actually out of reach for minimum wage workers. To find the most affordable housing Ehrenreich must sacrifice comfort and general cleanliness. But even just finding housing can prove to be a problem. Ehrenreich must spend the first few days or even weeks in a hotel, which can lead to being extremely costly. While Ehrenreich searches for a place to live, she also applies to as many minimum wage jobs as possible. This, too, proves to be a problem, as some employers say they are hiring even if they aren’t because many people quit and leave without notice. Once she settles with a job, it surprises her how difficult the jobs can actually be. Each job requires it’s own special skill set, and can be extremely hard if you do not have those skills. Most of the jobs Ehrenreich acquires also put her in physical pain, but they don’t offer any sort of health benefits, or even enough money to buy her own pain medication. While working at these jobs, Ehrenreich is made to feel inferior to the bosses, and can’t stand up for herself for fear of losing the job. If she loses her job, she can’t afford rent and is forced to live in her car. Many of her fellow employees lived with family of friends so that the cost of rent could be lowered. Ehrenreich finds that to actually live with a house and food, you must have two jobs. She also finds that working two jobs is nearly impossible, especially for people who are older or have any medical conditions. All of Ehrenreich’s experiences have opened her eyes to the world of poverty. She has seen that poverty is not a result of laziness or a person being bad; it is a result of hardworking people not being paid enough to support themselves, much less their families. In the “Evaluation” chapter, Ehrenreich argues that the welfare reform does not work, and until employers raise their employee’s pay and landlord’s lower the cost of housing, the people stuck in poverty will never get out.

Question #17: I do think that having any job is better then no job at all, just as having any sort of income is better then none. This book made me a little more understanding, but I feel that Ehrenreich failed to touch on one huge point. None of the people she worked with were educated beyond college. I understand that money and time are needed for college, but it seems that no effort was made to find a better job. They worked the jobs they were qualified for. Ehrenreich went to college and was qualified for a higher paying job.

Nickel and Dimed

In the book Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich is faced with many struggles as she lives a life of poverty. In all three of her scenarios she is faced with like struggles. Three of her main struggles are surviving on a low income job, working with unfair management, and living and working in harsh conditions. After spending the time in these jobs and scenarios, she has become more informed and understanding of living a life of poverty because she was forced to live it. She noticed that people living with an inadequate wage have a hard time finding work and a secure and clean place to live. They also struggle with the mental and physical challenges that come with each job. Many minimum wage workers have long hours and the stress of figuring out how to get by.

Questions for Discussion #16:
Yes I believe that Barbara's experience would be different in today's economy, but it would still be as difficult if not more difficult to find a job because of the 2008 economic downfall. There are little to no job opportunities out there, but upon finding a job it would be more likely to have better working conditions and pay because of workers standing up for their rights and new laws being put in place.