Dumpster Diving Thesis Statement

In Rachel Sherman’s “A Very Expensive Ordinary Life: Conflicted Consumption,” the argument centres around the “legitimization” of wealth by the New York’s upper class in order to be seen as not only rich, but morally worthy. The possession of great wealth alongside their less fortunate peers could be uncomfortable also for those that hold the city’s riches. Hence, New York’s affluent has “legitimized” their wealth and consumption, or on a more macro level, the inequality between the social classes in the city in order to feel more comfortable in their spending, and to manage the impression of the wealthy in the eyes of the greater public in the much morally contested behaviour of lavish spending in an unequal society. This is supported throughout the reading by the justification of excessive spending and consumption by the claim that the rich live an “ordinary” life. The need that they feel towards justifying their spending comes to show that their amount of spending is excessive in the eyes of the ordinary person, in which they also acknowledge themselves as well. Nevertheless, the interviewees frown upon being labelled as someone that values luxury over reasonable spending. Hence, they expressed their emphasis on the importance of needs over wants, and that practicality should triumph over extravagance. They see “limited” consumption as a form of self discipline, where excessive spending was only justifiable when it is spent on the family and invested in the children. If

The effects of Eighner’s attention to language in the first five paragraphs emphasizes that he is knowledgeable and confident about dumpster diving. As he states, “I live from the refuse of others. I am a scavenger” (Eighner 108). Eighner create an appeal to ethos when he displays his own experiences on the lifestyle of dumpster diving and its different aspects.

In the essay “On Dumpster Diving” Lars Eighter explains his life as a dumpster diver. What to eat, where to go, he explained it all. What was unclear was his purpose; he did a good job explaining and getting people to get emotional but then there was no purpose. What did he want his audience to feel or do after they read “On Dumpster Diving”? Did he want them to feel bad for wasting stuff that could have still been used or was it a survival guide type of thing?

In Andy Mulligan’s novel Trash, he has made a firm statement about the inequalities and injustices in the world today. One example of this is seen throughout the theme Wealth, which is explored frequently throughout his novel. The quotes “... he’d (Zapanta) built himself a palace, for the king he thought he was. (pg. 121)” and “I (Olivia) learned that the world revolves around money. (pg. 135)” both display the inequalities between those wealthy and those poor. Mulligan conveys the differences by emphasising that with bundles of money, people are able to buy impressive things such as grand houses or lots of servants and show off to others, which can impact their reputation with companies and people by making themselves seem worth more.

Events that unfold in a person’s life occur because of uncontrollable circumstances around them as well as their actions. This balance of power of these two forces is never the same in different people. Thus, people fall into two general categories, those at the mercy of the uncontrollable and those who exert more control over their lives than outside forces do. Francis Aloysius Phelan, in William Kennedy’s “Ironweed,” falls into this second category. Francis is a former baseball player in his younger years who know finds himself, at 58, living as a bum in Albany, New York in 1938 during the Great Depression. Francis’ life is one filled with death, destruction and general unhappiness worse than the average person living during the same time

Eighner’s attention to language in the first five paragraphs causes the reader to view dumpster diving differently than they normally would. By providing the reader with his own personal views of how he sees a dumpster diver, and the terms he prefers to use when referring to them, Eighner inserts a more positive perspective over dumpster diving. For example, Eighner “I live from the refuse of others, I am a scavenger” (Eighner 108). Eighner indirectly dismisses the typical negative ideas about dumpster diving and instead puts it in a more positive light. Eighner’s use of language in these paragraphs appeals more to pathos since he utilizes diction, such as when he mentions that he sees dumpster diving as “a sound and honorable niche” (Eighner 108), to

In the text "On Dumpster Diving," Lars Eighner gives us an inside depth of what it's like being homeless and having to dumpster dive for living. Lars Eighner shows how dumpster diving has become a full-time job because it's the only way he can survive. Eighner claims that dumpster diving requires a lot of effort, he made some rules that would help others in the same situation become more efficient and find supplies that are useful for their survival.Dumpster diving has helped Eighner realize that materialistic things aren't necessary and that you should live off necessity. Eighner used to invest on materials that weren't necessary, but dumpster diving has helped him find value in his life and it helped him realize that people need must be grateful for what they have. In today's society a lot of people invest so much on materials that they want, but aren't necessary. Once their belongings aren't deemed useful anymore they just throw it out. I found it

(BS-3) This disconnection can manifest as a distance from society. (BS-2) More significantly, materialism can create a divide between one’s conscious self and their deeper emotions. (BS-1) Most worryingly, the human need for social interaction can be covered under a blanket of commercialized goods, and altogether forgotten. (R) Perhaps all of us could do well to remember that in a world where our lives go by quickly, we should prioritize the ones close to us over insignificant items and petty flights of

Ultimately, thanks to his “scavenging” journey, Eighner has learned to live on the disposal of others by filtering out what is useful to keep and what is useless to remove. Most importantly, he becomes aware that the balances between wants and needs and between material possessions and freedom of burdens can lead to happiness, or what Eighner calls—“a healthy state of

Humans, by our very nature, are always striving to achieve more in life. Unfortunately, our materialistic society, and that of the Roaring Twenties, interpret this as striving for wealth. That pursuit often becomes all-consuming, eventually hindering our pursuit of gratifying life goals. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts wealth as a fraudulent thief whose pursuit must be abandoned for the sake of tangible fulfillment. He illustrates the dangers of attempting to find gratification in wealth through the life of Jay Gatsby, who ironically sacrifices morality, identity, and love in order to gain wealth, which he attempts to use to justify his claim to these very things. When Gatsby loses everything, we see that wealth not only fails as a means of fulfillment but actively participates in the destruction of this goal. Fitzgerald suggests that wealth cannot lead to happiness, rather it undermines the existing and potential good in life. It should therefore should not be used as means of attaining fulfillment.

Many Americans love shopping, especially during the holidays, with its captivating discounts and sales, which lead to uncontrollable splurges on irrelevant things. According to Quindlen, this is an example of America’s crazed consumerism and it is absolutely absurd. In her article, “Honestly, You Shouldn’t Have”, she states that there is currently an assumption that purchasing American merchandises symbolize an act of patriotism and at the same time, build a strong economy. She also states that we, as Americans, need to acknowledge important spiritual values such as friends and family rather than material goods.

William Hazlitt, a renowned 19th century author, highlights in his famous text “On the Want of Money” his ideas on money and how it plays a part in how a person lives their life. Hazlitt presents the case that money cannot buy happiness as it superficial, but yet life without money will ultimately end in sorrow and “to be scrutinized by strangers, and neglected by friends.” By his extreme control over rhetorical strategies such as diction, syntax, and imagery Hazlitt was able to accurately portray his beliefs on the effect of money on people.

The American people are focusing more on materialistic items, people are shopping for pleasure more than necessity. This article comments on how people are shopping to release stress or to gain pleasure. Even though the article was written in 1984, it is still pertinent to modern time. In Shopping and Other Spiritual Adventures in America Today by Phyllis Rose, varied sentence length, different point of views, and anaphora are utilized to prove that society is becoming consumed in materialism.

Imagine spending one year of your life living in a dumpster. Not just the average, everyday dumpster, but a customized dumpster suited to meet all of the essential needs for one to live in. Professor Jeff Wilson, also referred to as “Professor Dumpster,” is engaged in a one year project in which he will be sleeping in a dumpster every night. His future plans consist of making the dumpster even more appealing by adding a toilet, solar panels, a second floor, and several other amenities. Wilson says in the article, “‘We could end up with a house under $10,000 that could be placed anywhere in the world, fueled by sunlight and surface water, and people could have a pretty good life’” (James Hamblin ℙ4). In the article, “Living Simply in a dumpster,”

reasoning for this is the left side of our brains absorbs information, whereas the right side then