Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich
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Book Summary Information
Author: Barbara EhrenreichEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-06-24
ISBN: 0805088385
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Product features:
- economics
- politics
Book Reviews of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Book Review: Truly...interesting...
Summary: 5 Stars
"On (Not) Getting By in America"; this sentence itself, incorporates the whole sense of the author's precious experience, and prospects to the potential reader a prompt sense of discomfort. Or at least, cues the awareness that somebody in this country is not indeed "living large".
Coincidentally, I think about it everyday, especially when I notice curious people driving in the next lane of the highway, during my tedious attempts to respect the 55-miles speed limit. "Curious" in this case is definitely a euphemism; I see individuals with obvious dental problems. Some have scarce or rotten teeth, and in some rare cases don't have teeth at all. I often catch myself in the rear view mirror shaking my head and naively wonder, how in the world can one neglect one of the main priorities, like personal hygiene or health care? In actuality, I always believed that you can have a fairly good idea of the social status of anyone anywhere in the world when they open their mouth, or by looking at them straight in the eyes. There you find clear indications of how they lived their childhood and youth, and which were the main concerns of the family in which they were reared. Consequently, as they approach adulthood, they keep carrying this scarlet letter as an undesired mark of infamous heritage. Moreover, a common denominator among the people I encounter is that they look precociously aged, probably by a distressed and sullen existence. At times they drive vehicles totally corroded and possessed by rust, and yet, I wonder if they will be able to get home safe to their families. Most of them are poorly dressed, and the expression they bear in their face is of utter alienation, desperation, misery, and hopelessness.
What are the possible causes of all that? Why do some people neglect their health, appearance, and basic safety? Ehrenreich provides us with one strong and simple answer: indigence, a disease common to millions of low-waged American workers. In her book, she lists personal experiences, statistical data, and specific information to explain and support some of the truly plausible reasons. She talks about real people, and reveals their personal dramas.
However, I am sure that some of these real people would not feel honored to be involuntary protagonists of Ehrenreich's book; or, ironically, maybe they would (!), for the reassuring feeling that "finally somebody knows", acknowledges and sympathizes with their daily wearing fight for survival. Perhaps they would be even able to feel the warmth of its solidarity, if the uncompassionate world in which they strive everyday would not have caused them to be outraged, and by contrast, numbed by the plethora of opulence that surrounds them. An opulence that appears to be at everybody's reach- the true American dream- but sooner or later unfolds to many with its true identity: a plain and simple chimera.
The Author sapiently describes her experiences with great pragmatism and dances on semantics seemingly without any perceptible effort, demonstrating a superb ownership of her native language. She does not spare harsh criticism to her temporary employers when portraying the world of the mistreated, the humbles, the humiliated, those that do not have an alternative, those whose dignity has departed its main headquarters like a soldier who ventures off to a war in another continent, and does not seem to be ever coming back.
I admire her ability to fully immerse herself in this "underworld", and deliver a sagacious observation on the dynamics that govern the lives of low-waged American workers. Yet, I particularly agree with some of her statements: as an example, when working as a maid and analyzing the possibility of hiring help for her house, she rebukes the idea of "having this kind of relationship with another human being" (Ehrenreich;91). I utterly adore this sentence; it "wraps it all up", in my opinion. After all, what is a relationship with another human being supposed to be based on? Shouldn't respect for every individual be the paramount of our daily social interactions? Or should an obese, ignorant, and crass lady-wearing a cheap and acidulous cologne-order a maid to kneel, and scrub her repulsive bathroom floor with her bare hands, and in her presence? Well, this hypothesis does not seem acceptable to me.
Nonetheless, we assist episodes of public humiliation in the workplaces every sacred day, and in all forms and variations, whether we eat at a restaurant, or we step into a public facility. Sometimes, I happen to see a janitor in the restrooms of my own workplace, and I cannot avoid feeling a sense of embarrassment, to notice how "different" our lives are. He/she works in the so-called "restrooms", but this embellishing noun does not make them dissimilar from latrines, because that's what they really are: a place where people dump their organic fluids and stenchy excrements. A fancy name does not masquerade their true designed purpose, especially when the outcome of some citizen's expedition is evidently visible on the toilet seat, or worse, on the floor. The idea that somebody, another human being, will have to bear with that sight and smell on a daily basis, only because he/she has no better choice, triggers in me a deep sense of depression; being born in the wrong family, in a bad time of history, or in a poor country, makes all the differences in the universe. Here I am, and I cross paths with a janitor-mostly an hard-working immigrant- that does not feel comfortable looking you straight in the eyes, almost as he/she would not be feeling dignified enough, just like the vassals would do in medieval feudalism, in presence of their lord. Yes, of course, "somebody ought to do that job", hence it is a task that has to be accomplished; that's the only reason why I put up with the idea of its existence, but I try to be as respectful as I can, to show my sincere and deepest sympathy or at least to establish a "bridge of communication". Ehrenreich provides us with and excellent, extensive and hilarious comment on her experience with the restrooms in the paragraph "Scrubbing in Maine", at page 92 of the aforementioned book; her choice of words is striking, and although disgusting, her description of "how to clean a toilet seat" is an exhilarating thriller.
Nonetheless, albeit being exhilarating, its depressing content keeps reminding us how miserable the lives of many workers -such as those employed in the janitorial services- can be; at least as miserable as that of anyone working for less that $10 an hour. In fact, despite the vivid and yet-still-bright survival of the "American Dream", the author brilliantly points out on page 186 that there is a great truth that she had been discovering during the course of her expedition: for those working with low-wage salaries, life goes on in the very same way, day after day, minute after minute, and nothing happens, let alone the possibility to improve either the quality of their job or that of their lifestyle. One can work for decades breaking his/her own back and putting up with chronic muscular pains, to find out that the light at the end of the tunnel has still the diameter of a micron.
It's also remarkable in my opinion, her consideration on the relationship between the strength of the economy and the cost of the rent, when she cannot afford housing in Minneapolis: upon quoting the statement of a public official with the phrase "the stronger the economy, the stronger the upward pressure on rents" (Ehrenreich;172), she sarcastically notices to be "victim of prosperity, not of poverty". In other words, the worse your financial situation, the deeper your precipice will be. Paradoxically, richness (and the pursuit of it) can be a blessing and a damnation, at the same time.
In essence, I evidently showed my appreciation for the book, mostly for its openly declared social commitment, and honest sober critique to the challenges of the capitalistic economic model; the lives and the hurdles of millions of Americans who work for less than $10 an hour are truly invisible to the affluent, but through her book, there is a slight chance that many will become aware of this unfair, inhumane polarization.
However, I cannot neglect to observe that her publication is often adorned with an endless surplus of negative stories tied to each individual with whom she works in each of the settings; those negative stories seem to be abounding at times, causing the profiles of those low-waged involuntary protagonists twisted into victims and/or scapegoats of this unjust society. I stand absolutely far from denying that people can have several problems at once, such as bad health, a violent spouse, or a drug addiction, but some of the characters of the book appear to have them all at once, like they were living a jinxed and catastrophic existence. Hence-and alas-in my opinion, some paragraphs appear on occasion to assume a grotesque connotation, such to deteriorate the primary social purpose of the author's initiative and favor a more extreme but entertaining content, almost a fairy tale: the cause of this, I believe, is a clear abuse of poetic license, or maybe, the victory of marketing over social obligation. Ironically, and to the same extent, the original purpose is eventually defeated by the same enemies it was once committed to obliterate.
Ehrenreich writes very well, knows what she writes and which keys to play, but is also visibly pleased to read her own writing, and genuinely admits it by stating that writing is a great tool to feed our own ego.
In conclusion, although I slightly disagree on the Author's approach towards her writing style, I absolutely adore her book, and passionately hope that it will be read by everyone, especially our state representatives and all the American people; I wish that they might eventually gain awareness of the gruesome reality that millions of low-waged fellow workers face everyday, when they are forced to "check their civil liberties at the door of their workplace and leave America and all it supposedly stands for behind, and learn to zip their lips for the duration of the shift", as Ehrenreich puts it on page 210. I look forward to the day our governors will find the inspiration to start facilitating a set of interventions aimed at reestablishing a decent and humanely life for all of the citizens, and most importantly, fostering the true and ultimate essence of every human being: their dignity.
Summary of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
The bestselling, landmark work of undercover reportage, now updated
Acclaimed as an instant classic upon publication, Nickel and Dimed has sold more than 1.5 million copies and become a staple of classroom reading. Chosen for ?one book? initiatives across the country, it has fueled nationwide campaigns for a living wage. Funny, poignant, and passionate, this revelatory firsthand account of life in low-wage America?the story of Barbara Ehrenreich?s attempts to eke out a living while working as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart associate?has become an essential part of the nation?s political discourse.
Now, in a new afterword, Ehrenreich shows that the plight of the underpaid has in no way eased: with fewer jobs available, deteriorating work conditions, and no pay increase in sight, Nickel and Dimed is more relevant than ever.
Essayist and cultural critic Barbara Ehrenreich has always specialized in turning received wisdom on its head with intelligence, clarity, and verve. With some 12 million women being pushed into the labor market by welfare reform, she decided to do some good old-fashioned journalism and find out just how they were going to survive on the wages of the unskilled--at $6 to $7 an hour, only half of what is considered a living wage. So she did what millions of Americans do, she looked for a job and a place to live, worked that job, and tried to make ends meet.
As a waitress in Florida, where her name is suddenly transposed to "girl," trailer trash becomes a demographic category to aspire to with rent at $675 per month. In Maine, where she ends up working as both a cleaning woman and a nursing home assistant, she must first fill out endless pre-employment tests with trick questions such as "Some people work better when they're a little bit high." In Minnesota, she works at Wal-Mart under the repressive surveillance of men and women whose job it is to monitor her behavior for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse. She even gets to experience the humiliation of the urine test.
So, do the poor have survival strategies unknown to the middle class? And did Ehrenreich feel the "bracing psychological effects of getting out of the house, as promised by the wonks who brought us welfare reform?" Nah. Even in her best-case scenario, with all the advantages of education, health, a car, and money for first month's rent, she has to work two jobs, seven days a week, and still almost winds up in a shelter. As Ehrenreich points out with her potent combination of humor and outrage, the laws of supply and demand have been reversed. Rental prices skyrocket, but wages never rise. Rather, jobs are so cheap as measured by the pay that workers are encouraged to take as many as they can. Behind those trademark Wal-Mart vests, it turns out, are the borderline homeless. With her characteristic wry wit and her unabashedly liberal bent, Ehrenreich brings the invisible poor out of hiding and, in the process, the world they inhabit--where civil liberties are often ignored and hard work fails to live up to its reputation as the ticket out of poverty. --Lesley Reed
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