Reflection of Nickel and Dimed
This experiment was an interesting challenge for the author, Barbara Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich could have just written a book about poverty and the low wage work force by collecting research from other people but instead she got out there and did the work herself. At times, especially in the first chapter, Ehrenreich would seem like she was not working hard and giving up but she eventually got over these feelings. Ehrenreich was not too picky about her choice of jobs, food, or living arrangements. I can’t imagine eating only fast food or canned meat for months. I think that the results of this experiment are extremely volatile and could have been drastically different with little change of Ehrenreich’s plan. Ehrenreich claims that she had an advantage being white, English speaking, and not having children. It would be interesting to see an experiment done to compare the results to Ehrenreich’s experiment. It was good that Ehrenreich performed many different jobs to see different experiences while doing her research. Ehrenreich’s experiment also easily proved that low wage work can be very difficult and hard work. Ehrenreich also showed the poor treatment of the workers by management who feel that they are more powerful. It was interesting to see Ehrenreich’s feeling on invisibility while working at Wal-Mart where she was only one of the many workers at the store. She did not receive any praise for her work in any place. Ehrenreich also felt very helpless as a low wageworker because she thought that people saw her as only an uneducated, ignorant worker. Ehrenreich did not execute her experiment perfectly but it didn’t make much of a difference. Ehrenreich didn’t spend only the exact amount of money that she earned and she started off by giving herself a bonus to establish housing. Ehrenreich did not make money anywhere she went.
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