A Brief Review Of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel And Dimed

It is obvious that media plays a significant role in our society. It affects every aspect of our lives - political, social, and cultural. In the various works including articles, lectures and films, Jean Kilbourne presents an insightful and critical analysis of advertising and its profound negative effect on all of us. She states that, “Advertisement creates a worldview that is based upon cynicism, dissatisfaction and craving” (p. 75). She discusses the issue in a very objective and impartial manner, “The advertisers aren’t evil. They are just doing their job, which is to sell a product, but the consequences, usually unintended, are often destructive to individuals, to cultures, and to the planet.” (p. 75). She provides many examples that support

It is a true story of a struggle to survive. She defines her experiment as an attempt of “a person with every advantage that ethnicity and education, health and motivation can confer… to survive in the economy's lower depths” (2001, p. 12). Barbara Ehrenreich paints a grim picture of a low-income earners' existence. In her book, even the titles of the chapters cause the depressed feelings, “Serving in Florida, Scrubbing in Maine, and Selling in Minnesota”. She states, “From the first day on, I find that of all the things that I have left behind, such as home and identity, what I miss the most is competence” (2001, p. 16). She explains that even the unskilled and lowest-paying jobs require great mental and physical efforts. Furthermore, she comes to conclusion that a hard-working person with low income cannot achieve a decent standard of living. Barbara Ehrenreich’s work was so significant in 1990’s because it emphasized a striking income inequality and convincingly demonstrated its role in the people's daily lives. In support of her position, she gives the persuasive and eloquent examples. For instance, she describes her humiliating experience at a restaurant, “Employees are barred from using the front door, so I enter the first day through the kitchen” (p. 16). I think this study is still socially relevant because the situation has not significantly changed nowadays. Moreover, a social polarization has become even worse. Hard working people, who struggle everyday on the minimum wage, cannot afford dental care, full health insurance, and healthy food, while the people with well-paying jobs enjoy their lives. It should be kept in mind that we are talking about the people who prefer to work hard instead of living on welfare. They deserve to live a normal