Post by rollinsgrubbs on Aug 1, 2011 17:36:02 GMT -5
Most journalists would be perfectly content with doing minor field work or research and recounting observations at their desks in a boring office. Not Barbara Ehrenreich. Ms. Ehrenreich believed the contrary of textbook journalism and proceeded to endure good old fashioned blood sweat and tears in order to reveal the everyday and often concerning lives of lower class citizens in her book Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By In America. After deciding to explore the lives of the poverty stricken class of American citizens, Ms. Ehrenreich made the executive decision to proceed to live among her subjects for a full year in order to perceive the full effects of an unsteady lifestyle and potential homelessness. Ms. Ehrenreich worked lower-class jobs such as waiting tables, housekeeping, and being a sales associate and wal-mart, all the while encountering multiple hardships of the so called proletariat such as low wages, feeling unappreciated, drug abuse, and gross amounts of sacrifice. Mrs. Ehrenreich should be commended for her dedication to her field for facing such adversity. I completely agree with her tactics off of which the book was built and wish more journalists would take the time and forgo luxury to fully exploit their subjects and produce a top notch article. Obviously no reporter who conducts standard interviews will live with their subjects for months on end; however, reporters should take their time and demonstrate pride in their work.
Also demonstrated in Nickel and Dimed: on Not Getting by in America, was also the underlying theme and often forgotten fact that America’s job market is most certainly not an equal opportunity market, but is in fact a prime example of enhanced supply and demand: a job is open(demand) and people want it(supply). However, some supplies are more qualified than others to perform said job due to factors such as education and people skills. Then, those who are less qualified end up with lower end jobs, less money, and more hardships. What a wonderful demonstration of the uphill battle that is unemployment and the lower-class. Throughout the book Mrs. Ehrenreich also continuously reveals known facts about the horror that is the lower class, providing the reader with further insight into her study and hardships. Such facts include statistics on how many citizens hold multiple jobs, information on personality testing, and further descriptions about jobs Mrs. Ehrenreich performed. The statistics also managed to shed light on Mrs. Ehrenreich’s heroic ability to persevere as well as her sometimes swayed resilience or determination as she did buckle under pressure one night while waiting tables.
I only sing praises as I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Ehrenreich’s piece on her experiences with the lower class and could not find an upsetting, disappointing, or dry moment. I agreed with her tactics in not only relaying her exposure to the poverty stricken lower class of America, but also in aggregating her research and would recommend her literature be read by peers calling it both informative and entertaining. Our hats off to you Mrs. Barbara; cheers.
Also demonstrated in Nickel and Dimed: on Not Getting by in America, was also the underlying theme and often forgotten fact that America’s job market is most certainly not an equal opportunity market, but is in fact a prime example of enhanced supply and demand: a job is open(demand) and people want it(supply). However, some supplies are more qualified than others to perform said job due to factors such as education and people skills. Then, those who are less qualified end up with lower end jobs, less money, and more hardships. What a wonderful demonstration of the uphill battle that is unemployment and the lower-class. Throughout the book Mrs. Ehrenreich also continuously reveals known facts about the horror that is the lower class, providing the reader with further insight into her study and hardships. Such facts include statistics on how many citizens hold multiple jobs, information on personality testing, and further descriptions about jobs Mrs. Ehrenreich performed. The statistics also managed to shed light on Mrs. Ehrenreich’s heroic ability to persevere as well as her sometimes swayed resilience or determination as she did buckle under pressure one night while waiting tables.
I only sing praises as I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Ehrenreich’s piece on her experiences with the lower class and could not find an upsetting, disappointing, or dry moment. I agreed with her tactics in not only relaying her exposure to the poverty stricken lower class of America, but also in aggregating her research and would recommend her literature be read by peers calling it both informative and entertaining. Our hats off to you Mrs. Barbara; cheers.