What was Ehrenreich’s experiment?
Ehrenreich conducted a live experiment in which she worked at minimum-wage jobs, living, as best she could, in whatever circumstances those wages would afford. She worked in Florida as a waitress at a greasy spoon, sometimes for $2.43 an hour, plus tips.
Why did Ehrenreich do her experiment?
Ehrenreich wondered how unskilled workers survive on such meager incomes; particularly, she was interested in how the 4 million women who were about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform were going to make it at $6 or $7 an hour. Ehrenreich was not thrilled about undertaking the task herself.
What did Barbara Ehrenreich discover in her experiment?
Throughout her experiment Ehrenreich plunged herself right in and shortly discovered how difficult it was to afford the basic necessities, such as, paying rent, having money for food and clothes, and having health benefits.
What is the purpose of serving in Florida by Barbara Ehrenreich?
Ehrenreich’s purpose is to attach importance to the low-wage America workplace. Using rhetorical strategies such as negative diction, simile, images, and pathos, Ehrenreich attempts to raise public awareness of the low-wage workers’ life in her readers.
What is Barbara’s real profession and what is her job in her article nickel and dimed?
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY. Though Barbara Ehrenreich is best known for her 2001 investigation of the working poor, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, her career as a journalist and social critic spans three decades.
Where does Ehrenreich begin her first low wage job of the book?
Ehrenreich begins her experiment in Key West, Florida, where she finds an efficiency apartment for $500 a month. As Ehrenreich applies for numerous jobs, she learns about the low-wage-job application process.
What does Ehrenreich do before every shift?
What does Ehrenreich do before every shift? “I’ve been washing dishes since I was six years old, when my mother assigned me that task so that she could enjoy her postprandial cigarette in a timely fashion . . . .”
When was Nickel and Dimed written?
2001
Written from her perspective as an undercover journalist, it sets out to investigate the impact of the 1996 welfare reform act on the working poor in the United States. The events related in the book took place between spring 1998 and summer 2000. The book was first published in 2001 by Metropolitan Books.
How does Ehrenreich establish her ethos in this section?
Ehrenreich establishes her ethos by using many examples of dialogue to support her essay. This makes her narration irrefutable because it is difficult to deny something that happened when there are direct quotes from people to support it.
What is the message of serving in Florida?
Conclusion. Ehrenreich vividly describes her experiences, sending a message to the reader that many working class Americans live in extremely rough conditions. People living in this situation don’t have the opportunity to succeed, and are stuck in a downward spiral of increasing poverty.
What is the argument in serving in Florida?
Serving In Florida Rhetorical Analysis
Barbara Ehrenreich’s piece titled “Serving in Florida” represents the condition in which workers are treated while working in a restaurant. Ehrenreich describes this condition as unfair because she must perform duties as if they are “strictly theatrical exercises” (130).
What techniques does Ehrenreich use to make her argument?
To strengthen her argument, Barbara Ehrenreich uses four main rhetorical devices: exemplum, enumeratio, metaphor, and procatalepsis. Ehrenreich utilizes exemplum to emphasize the harrowing living and working conditions of workers in the service industry by providing examples of the lives of her fellow employees.
What is the essay serving in Florida about?
“Serving in Florida” by Barbara Ehrenreich is a story about Ehrenreich’s experience as a low-wage waitress in a restaurant. Ehrenreich discusses her experiences as a low-wage worker and the everyday difficulties she encounters in her position.
Who is the intended audience of nickel and dimed?
The intended audience for this book is anyone, but it is more directed towards low wage workers because they can understand where she is coming from.
