Please post:
*Quote or stat from this section and explain why you found it interesting or important.
*A connection to your life, the world or GOW
*A discussion question for the class
In a second post:
*Comment/ answer one of your classmates questions
See mbakerenglish.pbwiki.com for a sample response
Serving in Florida
ReplyDelete1. "Still, it is a shock to realize that "trailer trash" has become, for me, a demographic category to aspire to." p.12
I feel that this quote relates to life and Grapes of Wrath. I think this is interesting that this relates to real life because Enrenreich still has it in her head that the style of her living won't change. It makes her seem almost arrogant and cocky. I feel that people today don't think twice about the changes in their life until it's almost too late. The Joad family probably didn't think about savings because they were living off day to day pay from their farms and once it came down to it, and they had lost everything, they had finally realized how much money they didn't save. Barbara thinks now that nothing will change in her life. Little does she know, her world is about to be turned around.
Why does Barbara, after all that she has seen in her lifetime, think that her life won't change?
Taylor S.
Period 5
CONNOR MORIARTY
ReplyDeleteStatistic: "Eighty-one percent of large employers noe require preemployment drug testing... Marijuanna, which can be detected weeks after use- is also the most innocuous, while heroin and cocaine are generally undetectable three days after use."
Connection: My sister applied for a job as a dance teacher for a magnet high school in New haven where they drug tested her. Even small employers are drug testing these days.
Question: Why are companies worried more about their employees using marijuanna than cocaine and heroin?
"In real life I am moderately brave, but plenty of brave people shed their courage in POW camps, and maybe something similar goes on in the inifinitely more congenial milieu of the low-wage American workplace." p.41. This was after the storage room was locked and it was harder to get things that the waiters needed. She didn't intervene and realized that it was because she had changed as a cause of working in the place she did. I think being in this position took something out of her, and for the time being, changed her completely, but she did manage to recognize this. I wonder how many poor people are actually someone completely different than who we see, but the situation they are in has changed them until they can find something better for themselves and reveal who they really are. I think that what she says raises the question of what types of situations can change a person, for the better or for the worse?
ReplyDeleteMrs. Baker - I think that there is a reasonable solution to this problem. If the government were to create housing for those who were working jobs in the hope to rent an apartment some time within a reasonable limit, say a month or two, I think a lot of problems would be fixed and many people would be able to stay on track much more easily.
-Carley W p5
"They don’t cut you no slack. You give and they take” (22). Gail makes this statement about her management and I agree. Management doesn’t have to work as hard and they get more money while employees are stuck doing all their dirty work and less of a pay. At my own job the same thing happens. My boss does whatever he wants and could be as nasty as he wants to you, but regardless I’m still working as hard as I could, benefiting his business while he sits around and leaves early. Also he is nicer to workers who mean more to his business. He is very good to the cooks, on the other hand, I’ve seen him scream at the dishwasher for someone offering to help her dry dishes. Do you think that people higher up at a job should be treated better than others if others are working harder anyways?
ReplyDeleteJACKIE G5
“A twenty-minute ‘interview’ by computer since, apparently, no human on the premises is deemed capable of representing the corporate point of view.”
ReplyDeleteI found this quote interesting because it shows how technology, even now, controls the lives of people and their work; which also determines how they can live their lives. I’m unable to connect the quote to myself or even my family because as of right now we’re not affected by technology, work wise. But, I am able to connect this negativity towards technology with GRAPES OF WRATH. In this quote the computer is viewed just as the tractors were with people who lost everything to them such as their land; resulting in the loss of money and an easier life.
After learning new things about life, would you put that knowledge to use in order to help people who struggle each and every day?
Jenna L.
Period 5
When reading a poster on a hotel wall, Ehrenreich recalls it reading that, “If you seek happiness for yourself you will never find it. Only when you seek happiness for others will it come to you” (20). For me, I found this quote very meaningful and can serve as a life lesson. I often compare the meaning and theme of this quote with how I perform my everyday tasks. First, after reading this quote and comparing it to Barb’s experiences I feel it means that when you seek happiness for yourself you are often not satisfied with the result and it took more unhappiness to achieve your goal. However, when you achieve happiness for others you know the challenge was worthwhile and your act ions are represented and appreciated in the other person’s emotions. If more people abide by such a life lesson then there would be more pleasure in the world.
ReplyDeleteDo you agree with my above statement and do you often feel more satisfied and happy when you bring happiness to others?
Ryan H. Per. 5
At the end of the chapter, Ehrenreich flat out quits her job and walks out. She says, on page 48, "I had gone into this venture in the spirit of science, to test a mathematical proposition, but somewhere along the line, ... it became a test of myself, and clearly I have failed." I find this interesting because she's just giving up. I find it odd that someone who's giving up would even think about writing a book about what lower-class life is like. It makes me wonder if her perception of this life is flawed. This reminds me of Grapes of Wrath in that she's acting like Connie. The general crowd suspects, even though there is no solid fact, that Connie walked out of the family because he couldn't handle it. Barb is another example of human's tendency to walk out when the going gets rough. But I don't mean to be hating on Barb. She knows she failed, so I guess I'm just elaborating here.
ReplyDeleteQUESTION: How come Barb won't completely let her guard down and take on the life of a low-class person? She's always giving herself exceptions and all, but wants to "expose" the working conditions of these people. Does this reduce the validity or quality of the book for you?
- Therese Period 5
Connor, I definitely agree that even small employers have such a strong problem with marijuana. And especially because heroin and cocaine are more of a drug to kill, and marijuana simply just makes you feel different. I don't think that they should have drug tested your sister because it's not a big deal if smaller drugs are used, it's more about the higher addiction drugs that can kill.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Quote: “Eighty-one percent of large employers now require preemployment drug testing, up from 21 percent in 1987(p14).”
ReplyDeleteConnection to my life: When I went to apply for a job at BIG-Y, they required me to take a drug test, which confused me seeing as I was only going to be bagging groceries. My mom told me that when she was younger it wasn’t that common to be drug tested, especially for a job at a supermarket. I can definitely connect with the author because it is a wake up call that nowadays you have to just expect to be drug tested, even if you’re only working for minimum wage.
Discussion Question: How would the book be different if Ehrenreich wasn’t white?
Comment on Taylor's Post: I agree with you that Ehrenreich sounds a bit arrogant in her quote on page 12 because she's so used to being wealthy, that "trailor trash" isn't appealing to her. She definitely needed a reality check at that point in the book because as you said, she was about to see her life flip upside down. Sometime's in life you have to be positive and keep your head up high instead of dwelling on the negative things.
Leah S. Period 5
Connor commenting on Jackie G
ReplyDeleteI do not think people higher up in the business should be treated better than people lower in the organization. No matter how hard the workers are working, the people that aren't as high in the business seem to get disrespected because they aren't as "important".
Connor, I have also been drug tested at a job interview. I understand why employers drug test people, but there are ways around it. People could use others urine or take something that will make the test negative. I think they test marijuana more because it is more highly abused by people and easier to catch people with.
ReplyDeleteJACKIE G5
Taylor- I truly do agree with you that people don't think until it is too late. I feel that if people were open minded to see things in a negative and positive perspective it would prevent loss of jobs, money, homes which would trickle down to improve our economy.
ReplyDeleteJL
:)
hola
Delete“But everyone knows they have crossed over to the other side, which is, crudely put, corporate as opposed to human. Cooks want to prepare tasty meals, servers want to serve them graciously, but managers are there for one reason- to make sure that money is made for some theoretical entity, the corporation…” (22)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this quote, I was immediately reminded of The Grapes of Wrath. The cooks and servers genuinely care about the comfort of their customers as well as the quality of their work, much in the same way that the farmers take pride in their land and crops. On the other hand, the managers are more concerned about making money in order to please the corporation. This reminds me of the tractor drivers. They would do anything to make money and please the government, even destroy the farmers’ crops and take their land. The corporation of the chain of restaurants has no sympathy or concern for the employees at the restaurant, just as the government has no compassion for the farmers that were made homeless. I can relate to this quote because I recently just quit my job of working in a restaurant. While I was working, I did everything I could to make sure that the customer was happy, even when they were complaining that their food was cold or that service was slow, as did the other waitresses I worked with. However, I always felt that whenever our boss came around, everyone was walking on eggshells and completely changed their way of operating. Rather than looking for characteristics such as friendliness or a sense of welcome, our boss made sure that everything was being done proficiently, making sure that we were using the equipment properly and never let anything go to waste, always worrying about money aspects of the business. I feel like my personal experience of working in a restaurant connects almost exactly to this quote.
If you were manager of a business, would you care more about the customers or money? Is it only human nature to act the way that managers do?
Amanda M period 5
My quote was from page 16, "At the word tomorrow, something between fear and indignation rises my chest. I want to say, 'Thank you for your time, sir, but this is just an experiment you know, not my actual life.'"
ReplyDeleteI thought that this quote was important and significant because it shows how Barbara is giving second thoughts about going through with her experiment. It shows how she is not quite ready to leave her "pampered" life to approach the working class lifestyle. I feel that this is an easy quote to relate to for many people including myself. This is because I recently got a job and I am so used to having things done for me, but now not only am I holding more responsibilities for myself, I am also responsible for customers' orders at the restaurant I work at. I did not want to get a job at first like Barbara didn't want to follow through with her experiment at first. Eventually, I realized that this would be a good experience for me to have. I'm sure Barbara thought something similar when she finally decided to follow through with her experiment.
My question sort of connects to this quote in a way. My question was: What do you think was running through Barbara's head when her real boss told her that she would be the one to go through with the experiment that she suggested to him?
-Jess B. p.5
“If you’re going to do something, do it well. In fact ‘well’ isn’t good enough by half. Do it better than anyone has done it before” (18). This quote really stands out to me. Anything that you so, you should put your heart into it. If you’re really looking for success, do it to the best of your abilities. What’s the point in doing something if you’re not giving it your all? Something I can relate this to is playing sports. Practice is the time where you’re allowed to make mistakes, to try new things and get better at it, to go hard and build endurance. If you’re not trying new things and going hard, what’s the point in practicing or even playing a sport, you won’t make any improvements. The same goes for homework, do all of it and actually try to get the problems right, this is how you actually learn the material.
ReplyDeleteQuestion for the class: do you agree with this quote? Can you relate to it?
Madison B Period 5
On the bottom of page 26 there is a statistic. It states that “nearly one fifth of homeless people are employed in full or part-time jobs.” This fact was pretty mind blowing for me. When I think of homeless people I tend to think of people who don’t have a job and are living on their own off of the land or their surroundings. I never really stop to think that there really are people out there who work very hard, sometimes even harder than people who do live well, yet they still don’t have enough money to make a living. This really brings all of this to reality. It shows me that homeless people are not always just “lazy” or “druggies” or addicted in any way to anything. A lot of the time they are people just like you and me who just don’t get paid enough to make it in life. Latter in the chapter it states that on her job searches she sees that “Most housekeepers are African American, Spanish speaking, or refugees from the Central European post-communist world.” As I read this I noticed that this is actually very true today as well. A lot of housekeepers seem to be of foreign ethnicity. It seems pretty odd that this is so very common. As I thought about all that I also wondered, why are many housekeepers usually of foreign ethnicity?
ReplyDeleteJarrett L. Period 5
"'Men run everything-we don't stand a chance unless we stick together.'" (21)
ReplyDeleteI chose this quote because in some ways this is true. There are many jobs where men still earn more than a woman with the same job.
Do you think it is fair for those higher up in the work place to be treated better?
''if one of us is off sneaking a cigarette or a pee, the othhers will do their best to conceal her absence from enforcers to corporate rationality''
ReplyDeletei feel that this quote is relatable becuase having a house ful of sisters we are constantly covering for eachother. i also think thst its comforting to know that even though this is not the best place to work that its nice that your co-workers look at for you. i htink that if they weren't good people at heart then there wouldn't be that kind of ''family'' environment so im glad that the co-workers look out for eachother and that the situation is so relatable to real life!
my question is our bosses really not allowed to not let there workers leave to go for a necessary break like the bathroom? if someone gets injured isn't that a crime?
Lauren N 5
Nickel & Dimed: Serving in Florida
ReplyDelete*Interesting Quote: "But as the days go by, my old life is beginning to look exceedingly strange. The emails and phone messages addressed to my former self come from a distant race of people with exotic concerns and far too much time on their hands. And when I sit down one morning in my real home to pay bills, I am dazzled by the two and three figure sums I owed to Club Body Tech and Amazon.com," (34).
---> I found this quote to be interesting because it seems to me like low class workers have more depth. I feel like people with high paying jobs don't do as much labor as the lower class and get paid so much more. Why is it that jobs like waiters or maids have to do hard work for low wages? It really doesn't make sense to me. This quote pops out at me because it really shows how different the upper and lower are from each other.
*Connection to GOW: I can relate this to GOW in the way that these hard working farmers make so much less than the bankers who drove them off their land. I just have trouble understanding how hard work gets so much less than jobs that don't require as much physical labor. As I said earlier in my post, it seemed as though the people Barbara originally worked with had so much time on their hands compared to the people working for the maid service, etc.
*Discussion Question: Do you think that higher paying jobs are sometimes less work than lower paying jobs? If so/if not, Why?
Kelly L, P5
“I had been vain enough to worry about coming across as too educated for the jobs I sought, but no one ever seems interested in finding out how overqualified I am” (15)
ReplyDeleteBarbara Ehrenreich often talked about how she was surprised that no one noticed how educated she was. In the “Serving in Florida” section, she says, “I had been vain enough to worry about coming across as too educated for the jobs I sought, but no one ever seems interested in finding out how overqualified I am” (15). This quote comes from her experience trying to find a job. She expected to be too good for the jobs she was applying for, but instead, no one was interested in hiring her. Later in the book, she complains about people looking down on her in places such as the grocery store. At first, wasn’t she doing what she began to complain about? Did she change the way she viewed the lower class people when she became one of them? Or is she just hypocritical? Does this reflect the society’s tendencies toward the working class? This idea can be connected to an experience I had. When I was working in a camp at the Pine Orchard Club, I, not being a member, felt like I was being looked down on. Even the kids that were supposed to look up to me tried to boss me around. This leads me to believe that society does tend to look down on those who are working for them, but in my experience, there were extremely kind and respectful exceptions.
At first, wasn’t she doing what she began to complain about?
Did she change the way she viewed the lower class people when she became one of them? Or is she just hypocritical?
Does this reflect the society’s tendencies toward the working class?
The quote about men running everything is mine
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn L Period 5
"Cooks want to prepare tasty meals, servers want to serve them graciously, but managers are there for y onlone reason - to make sure that money is made for some theoretical entity, the corporation which exists far away in Chicago, or New York, if a corporation can be said to have a physical existence at all" (22).
ReplyDeleteThis quote reminds me of the novel, "Grapes of Wrath", the other required summer reading book. The cooks and the servers represent the farmers because both put a lot of effort into their work. They are the people who genuinely care about their job and strive for perfection. Also, the managers signify the tractor drivers because they both want more money. In "The Grapes of Wrath," the tractors plow the farms, crushing the farmhouses. Even though this action is hurting many families, they still do it because of the money. At times, managers, like Ted in "Nickel and Dimed," belittle their employees and expect a lot from them so that more money will be brought into the business. Both the tractor drivers and Ted are so motivated by money that they will intentionally hurt others to get it. Lastly, the corporation signifies the government in "Grapes of Wrath," because both are ahead of everything.
Question: Do you think Barbara's experience would have been different if she were a person of color, rather than white?
Alexis Marsico, Period 5
"... according to a 1997 report of the National Coalition for the Homeless, 'Myths and Facts about Homelessness,' nearly one-fifth of all homeless people (in twenty-nine cities across the nation) are employed in full- or part- time jobs."(pg 62)
ReplyDeleteThis is like in the Grapes of Wrath how people are working, the whole family is working, and they still barely have enough money to buy food, live in tent camps, and are basically homeless.
My Question is: We blame the poor for being poor, but we give them no opportunities to get out of poverty; what do people expect them to do?
Gretchen g per5
On page 15, Ehrenreich discovers why she is having so much trouble finding work as a hotel maid. "Most of the hotels run ads almost continually, if only to build a supply of applicants to replace the current workers as they drift away or are fired, so finding a job is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time and flexible enough to take whatever is bing offered that day." This is a perfect parallel to the troubles of the migrant workers in The Grapes of Wrath. The large farms would advertise that there was work available so that they would have an over supply of labor. The more people that showed up, the less the employers had to pay each one. I think that is similar to what the hotels are doing, but in my opinion, they also use it as a scare tactic. Just like in the period of industrialization, when employers would bring in scabs to break up a strike, so businesses today still like to send the message of "you are easily replaced" to the workers. What do you think it would be like to work in this kind of environment? Would you be anxious that you could loose your job?
ReplyDeleteMolly H 5
I agree with Connor when he askes why one drug is more important then others. I feel that it should be equally tested for because they are all harmful.
ReplyDeleteJess B.
Conbaby,
ReplyDeleteI think they test for marijuana because its the easiest to catch. Yeah, its silly when there are other drugs that do a lot worse. But I bet those ignorant goody-two-shoes people who come up with those laws assume that if someone's doing marijuana, then they're probably, or could be, doing those hard core drugs too.
They're trying to keep some control.
- Therese
"They don't cut you no slack. You give and they take." Pg 22
ReplyDeleteGail says this about her management and I completely agree. The managers don't need to work as hard as the other employees and get paid the bigger bucks. The people that do all of the "dirty work" don't get paid nearly as well. This is the same for my cousin Alyssa who works at a bakery. She works in the front selling people the baked goods so she gets treated fairly well while the dishwashers get yelled at frequently. It seems as though the people who are noticed by the public are treated better and make more money. The people that are more valuable to her boss get paid more are are treated better, like the bakers and cashiers.
Do you think it's fair that people higher up on the food chain get paid more for less work?
Kristen C. Period 6
Quote: p 25 “Gail is sharing a room in a well-known downtown flophouse for $250 a week. Her roommate, a male friend, has begun hitting on her, driving her nuts, but the rent would be impossible alone” – This quote comes from when Barb is talking about her coworkers, and their living conditions. None of them really have much more than this and some even have less. I think it’s sad that when people who are living on their own, or even with their kids can’t afford a decent apartment for themselves and the people they need to take care of.
ReplyDeleteConnection: I connected this quote to my dad’s parents before my grandpa entered the military lived in a two bedroom house with 4 other people. It was very crowded and smelled because they lived in a crowded area of the Bronx. It was all they could afford until my grandparents could get on their feet. They lived in a house with an alcoholic who threatened my grandpa on many occasions and a family of three who were always fighting an neglecting their son. They lived there for three years until my grandma was pregnant with my aunt and my grandpa enlisted in the military, they were lucky, but I think it’s sad that many people may be stuck living in situations like that their whole lives.
Queston: If there are people who are better off than others that they know, why don’t these people try to help others so that maybe they can get to the point that they’re at?
Stacy per 6
Hey Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI think by law, for every for fours you work you have to get at least a 15 minute break. At least, I think that’s the way that it is done in CT. Also, if something does happen to you on the job, I think the employer is liable. However, I feel that employers should make a working environment that guarantees safety and allows you to take a break when you need to. I feel that if working environments were better, so would the workers.
~ Jessica P6 :)
“But everyone knows they have crossed over to the other side, which is, crudely put, corporate as opposed to human… managers are there for only one reason- to make sure that money is made for some entity, the corporation… (22)”
ReplyDeleteThis quote was said by Ehrenreich regarding the managers and assistant managers in the restaurant business. They are not paid much more than the workers, but because they are given the role of being in charge, they stop caring about serving customers and only about money. This quote made me think of the chapter in GOW, in which the farmers had their land taken away by the banks. The men who came to talk to the farmers said that the bank was not human, but a monster that needed money to stay alive, and more than just the humans who ran the bank. Despite the decades that have past, businesses now seem the same as the businesses that kicked farmers off their land in the GOW, caring about money and nothing else.
Do you think that the sole concern of business is money?
Jenny L. 6
Quote- “But as the days go by, my old life is beginning to look exceedingly strange. The emails and phone messages addressed to my former self come from a distant race of people with exotic concerns and far too much time on their hands. The neighborly market I used to cruise for produce now looks forbiddingly like a Manhattan yuppie emporium. And when I sit down one morning in my real home to pay bills from my past life, I am dazzled by the two- and three- figure sums owed to outfits like Club Body Tech and Amazon.com.” I found this quote to be important because it shows a turning point in how Barbara thinks. She begins to change and sees how before she never even thought twice about the money she spent. Her old life seems so foreign to her after only working in Florida. Now that she has stepped out of her own shoes she can clearly see how different her normal life was from what she’s experiencing now.
ReplyDeleteConnection: When I read this quote I related it to how I felt after reading Grapes of Wrath. When I read GOW I saw how much money my family spent on items that weren’t necessary in order to help us survive. The Joads were only able to buy things that were absolutely necessary. People today don’t need most of the things they buy and we don’t stop and think about it. Both of the summer reading books showed me that.
Question: Why do people who have low wage jobs think differently then others?
Alexis A. Period 6
If you were manager of a business, would you care more about the customers or money? Is it only human nature to act the way that managers do?
ReplyDeleteAmanda your question really sparked my interest. If I was a manager of a resturaunt I personally would be more concerned with the customer that the money. I know when I go to a resturaunt I like to be treated like a person and not someone who is just there to pay for a meal. I think it is human nature to act the way most managers do because most people are greedy. They want what they want and will do whatever they can to get it.
Kristen C. Period 6
1. The quote I chose if from page 19 just after Barbara has started working at Hearthside, and she says, "Sometimes i play with the fantasy that I am a princess who, in penance for some tiny transgression, has undertaken to feed each of her subjects by hand. But the nonprincesses working with me are just as indulgent, even when this means flouting management rules...She [Gail] dips into her tip money to buy biscuits and gravy for an out-of-work mechanic who's used up all his money on dental surgery...'If you seek happiness for yourself you will never find it. Only when you seek happiness for others will it come to you'."
ReplyDelete2. When I read this it reminds me of many people I know, and sometimes myself. She sees herself as a princess, so I see that as she thinks she's more entitled than those she's serving. I know many people who, just because they have money or an education, think they're better than those around them. Which most of the time they're not. Many people who don't have much, are the best people because they know how to live without relying on too much. And then Barbara sees Gail do something for a customer that would hurt her psy, and Barbara sees how that helps Gail feel happy so she picks up the rest of the customer's tab. I like the quote that she says in the end that you can't seek your own happiness, if you help another find theirs then you will find yours.
3. How come so many people think they're better than those with less than them?
1. "My first task is to find a place to live. I figure that if I can earn $7 an hour-which, from the want ads, seems doable-I can afford to spend $500 on rent or maybe, with severe economies, $600 and still have $400 or $500 left over for food and gas. In the Key West area, this pretty much confines me to flophouses and trailer homes-like the one, a pleasing fifteen minutes from town that has no air-conditioning, no screens, no fans, no televison, and, by way of diversion, only the challenge of evading the landlord's Doberman Pinscher"..."Still it is a shock to realize that "trailer trash" has become, for me, something to aspire to."
ReplyDelete2. This makes me think of how taken for granted much of the blessings in our life our and how content the less fortunate are to settle for something, that for us, is unbearable. The families in GOW were completely happy to camp out on the side of the highway with thier family, but Barabara is complainging about the lack of air conditioning and television.
3. Based off the end of my first paragraph...How can the poor trailer trash seem like the bottom of the totem pole to us, but to the destitute on minimum wage it seem almost wealthy?
Jake Period 6
SCRUBBING IN MAINE:
ReplyDelete"Now to find a job. I know from my Key West experience to apply for as many as possible, since a help-wanted ad may not mean that any help is wanted just now" (57).
My cousin Ellie had a similar experience when she was trying to find a job. She had just moved to guilford from a big city in New York and was in need of rent money. She had applied to many jobs, and when she went to go to one of the interviews, she was turned down right away. Despite the fact that the person she had been contacting over the phone concerning the job had led her on to believe she would get it, the boss of the company that she went to meet with told her that the spot had been filled for about a week, but she could try again later in case the new hire decided to quit. This actually happened to her twice before she found the job she is in now.
Why would a company lead someone on to believe there is a job available, when in reality there has not been an opening for days? Why would an employer wait until the interview to say this?
CHELSEA T. period 6
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you said, and I don’t think it is fair that people who are higher up on the ‘food chain’ of business get paid more. They usually do a lot less work than those people at the bottom. In fact, to be fair, people on the bottom of the food chain should be paid more, because they do a lot of difficult work. Or, at the very least, they should have better working conditions and be treated better by the managers.
Jenny L. 6
Quote: “I had gone into this venture in the spirit of science, to test a mathematical proposition, but somewhere along the line, in the tunnel vision imposed by long shifts and relentless concentration, it became a test of myself, and clearly I have failed. Not only had I flamed out as a housekeeper/server, I had forgotten to give George my tips, and for reasons perhaps best known to hardworking, generous people like Gail and Ellen, this hurts.” (48)
ReplyDeleteConnection to GOW: Ehrenreich told herself to give George her tips since he got in trouble. This reminded me of how Ma in GOW said that the only poor people are nice to each other. Ehrenreich wasn’t poor, but she became emotionally involved in her experiment and wanted to help her coworkers just like Gail and Ellen helped others out.
Question: Why do you think that Ehrenreich’s experiment became a test of herself? Do you think the same thing would happen to anybody else who tried this?
Shama K. P. 6
krissy, i'm just going to comment or attempt to answer your thought provoking question :) In an ideal world i guess everyone would get paid big money for whatever they do, but since we don't live in a communist society and our jobs aren't chosen for us, its the experience we have and the initiative we take to get the best job we can that gives us differences in pay. The people in the book didn't go to college and didn't go to a trade school, or they were simply fresh of the boat with zero education. To be fair because they spent less time on working for their future, like kids who work their butts off in high-school to get scholarships to go to college, its only fair that they get paid more for all of their knowledge that they have gathered. So in short, even though i'll probably look like a bad person for saying this, i do think it's fair for people who are higher up on the work food chain to get paid more for less work.
ReplyDelete-Stacy per 6 C:
In the text before this quote was stated Barbara asked one of her characters how she can go long without food and the co-worker responded with I don’t know how you can go so long without a cigarette. “As if, in the American workplace, the only thing people have to call their own is the tumors they are nourishing and the spare moments they devote to feeding them”
ReplyDeleteIn the text, Enrenreich shows how much a cigarette means to some of these people. Even though Enreneich smokers herself she does not appear to be as addicted to her other co-works. In the quote above I understood it as the people who work may not have a steady house to live in every time and a full meal three times a day, but as long as they are able to have a smoke during their break then that is at least one perk or positive note to their day. Knowing this just leaves so many questions in mind at to why or how it becomes such and addiction that it is the only positive thing in your day is having a cigartee. I have been in personal situations were people on the streets as k for money and they don’t say for food or just needs in general. Most times they have said please I need a pack of cigarettes. This just leaves me on a question as to how someone needs cigarttess so much that is the one of the only happy things in their life.
Grace N
Period 5
“According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are not required to pay “tipped employees,” such as restaurant servers, more than $2.13 an hour in direct wages. However, if the sum of tips plus $2.13 an hour falls below the minimum wage, or $5.15 an hour: the employer is required to make up the difference. This fact was not mentioned by managers or otherwise publicized at either of the restaurants where I worked.” (16)
ReplyDeleteI feel that this law is not enforced at all. This is because she didn’t hear about it at either of the restaurants she worked at. This is a law that seems to go unnoticed in the world of serving. Many things in our lives go unnoticed but this seems very important to servers who don’t make enough money. If business is slow then the servers don’t get that much in tips. In order to make a living they need to make a certain amount. When employers don’t pay the difference the workers can suffer by not eating for that day. When being a server is the only way the people make money every cent matters. This is like the Grapes of Wrath because if the Joad family doesn’t get paid enough money than they might have to go hungry that night.
Why did it take so long to get mandatory bathroom breaks?
Austin C. Period 6
My post is the one with the princess quote from pg 19
ReplyDeleteSarah p6
STAT: Studies found an increase in job-related stress from the mid-1980s to the 1990. Kim Moody cites this statistic as evidence of "management by stress", where workers' health is ignored in favor of productivity.
ReplyDeleteWhat stands out most to me about this statistic is the irony in letting workers' health go to waste for a supposed gain in productivity. People are at their best when they're rested and healthy. Any gain in productivity caused by ignoring this will be short-lived at best and detrimental at worst.
CONNECTION: In both Nickel and Dimed and The Grapes of Wrath, people coming from hardscrabble backgrounds are desperate to find work. When they do, the job is menial, the benefits are either useless or nonexistant, and the pay is well below a living wage.
DISSCUSSION: Ehrenrich admitted that her experiment was hardly scientific, that her experience differed from her coworkers' because of how she decided she would live and what her finincial state would be while undercover, among others.
What provisions did she make for herself that made her experience not as authentic as it could have been? While she was undercover, how did the blue-collar life she made for herself differ from what real unskilled workers have to go through day-by-day?
Luke S. Period 6
Olivia N. 6.
ReplyDeleteQuote:
"...'You're doing fine.' The only trouble is I'm spending time chatting with the customers: 'That's how they're getting you.' Furthermore I am letting them 'run me,' which means harassment by sequential demands: you bring the catsup and they decide they want extra Thousand Island; you bring that and they announce they now need a side of fries, and so on into distraction. Finally she tells me not to take her wrong. She tries to say things in a nice way, but 'you get into a mode, you know, because everything has to move so fast.'... feeling like I've been stripped naked by the crazed enforcer of some ancient sumptuary law: No chatting for you, girl. No fancy service ethic allowed for the serfs. Chatting with customers is for the good-looking young college-educated servers in the downtown carpaccio and ceviche joints, the kids who can make $70-$100 a night. What had I been thinking? My job is to move orders from tables to kitchen and then trays from kitchen to tables. Customers are in fact the major obstacle to the smooth transformation of information into food and food into money- they are, in short, the enemy. And the painful thing is that I'm beginning to see it this way myself." pg. 35.
This quote is basically saying that she has no freedom in her job. There is no la-di-da chatting. It's not about socializing or making the customer feel welcome, this is about making money; getting customers to leave quicker so more can shuffle in when they're done. I found it interesting that her opinion was swayed into thinking this way after she got through saying she felt like a serf that was only to taker orders and bring them back. I also find it interesting that it's all about the money and honestly it's upsetting, because it makes these people seem so greedy... but as for the employees, they're forced into this thinking because they're paid so little that all they can focus on is how they're going to earn more tips from multple tables.
In away this relates to GOW, because the people that take tractor jobs away from 13 families are doing it because all they can think about is helping their family. Survival of the fittest.
Question: How would life at that restrauant be if every employee socialized and focused more on making the customer happy?
Olivia N. 6.
ReplyDeleteQuote:
"...'You're doing fine.' The only trouble is I'm spending time chatting with the customers: 'That's how they're getting you.' Furthermore I am letting them 'run me,' which means harassment by sequential demands: you bring the catsup and they decide they want extra Thousand Island; you bring that and they announce they now need a side of fries, and so on into distraction. Finally she tells me not to take her wrong. She tries to say things in a nice way, but 'you get into a mode, you know, because everything has to move so fast.'... feeling like I've been stripped naked by the crazed enforcer of some ancient sumptuary law: No chatting for you, girl. No fancy service ethic allowed for the serfs. Chatting with customers is for the good-looking young college-educated servers in the downtown carpaccio and ceviche joints, the kids who can make $70-$100 a night. What had I been thinking? My job is to move orders from tables to kitchen and then trays from kitchen to tables. Customers are in fact the major obstacle to the smooth transformation of information into food and food into money- they are, in short, the enemy. And the painful thing is that I'm beginning to see it this way myself." pg. 35.
This quote is basically saying that she has no freedom in her job. There is no la-di-da chatting. It's not about socializing or making the customer feel welcome, this is about making money; getting customers to leave quicker so more can shuffle in when they're done. I found it interesting that her opinion was swayed into thinking this way after she got through saying she felt like a serf that was only to taker orders and bring them back. I also find it interesting that it's all about the money and honestly it's upsetting, because it makes these people seem so greedy... but as for the employees, they're forced into this thinking because they're paid so little that all they can focus on is how they're going to earn more tips from multple tables.
In away this relates to GOW, because the people that take tractor jobs away from 13 families are doing it because all they can think about is helping their family. Survival of the fittest.
Question: How would life at that restrauant be if every employee socialized and focused more on making the customer happy?
Alexis A,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that she is stepping out of her comfort zone and is trying to view the situation from different shoes and looking at it from a different perspective but i do not think that she has even come close to experiencing that of what someone who is normally living this lifestyle would face. I also thought that your question was really good and thought provoking.
Jake Period 6
Olivia N. 6.
ReplyDeleteQuote:
"...'You're doing fine.' The only trouble is I'm spending time chatting with the customers: 'That's how they're getting you.' Furthermore I am letting them 'run me,' which means harassment by sequential demands: you bring the catsup and they decide they want extra Thousand Island; you bring that and they announce they now need a side of fries, and so on into distraction. Finally she tells me not to take her wrong. She tries to say things in a nice way, but 'you get into a mode, you know, because everything has to move so fast.'... feeling like I've been stripped naked by the crazed enforcer of some ancient sumptuary law: No chatting for you, girl. No fancy service ethic allowed for the serfs. Chatting with customers is for the good-looking young college-educated servers in the downtown carpaccio and ceviche joints, the kids who can make $70-$100 a night. What had I been thinking? My job is to move orders from tables to kitchen and then trays from kitchen to tables. Customers are in fact the major obstacle to the smooth transformation of information into food and food into money- they are, in short, the enemy. And the painful thing is that I'm beginning to see it this way myself." pg. 35.
This quote is basically saying that she has no freedom in her job. There is no la-di-da chatting. It's not about socializing or making the customer feel welcome, this is about making money; getting customers to leave quicker so more can shuffle in when they're done. I found it interesting that her opinion was swayed into thinking this way after she got through saying she felt like a serf that was only to taker orders and bring them back. I also find it interesting that it's all about the money and honestly it's upsetting, because it makes these people seem so greedy... but as for the employees, they're forced into this thinking because they're paid so little that all they can focus on is how they're going to earn more tips from multple tables.
In away this relates to GOW, because the people that take tractor jobs away from 13 families are doing it because all they can think about is helping their family. Survival of the fittest.
Question: How would life at that restrauant be if every employee socialized and focused more on making the customer happy?
Quote:
ReplyDelete“It is our job as servers to assemble salads and desserts, pour the dressings, and squirt the whipped cream. We also control the number of butter pats our customers get and the amount of sour cream on their baked potatoes. So if you wonder why Americans are so obese, consider the fact that waitresses both express their humanity and earn their tips through the covert distribution of fats.” (20) This quote appears as Barbara is serving people at the Hearthside. I find it ironic that waitresses are being humane and fending for themselves while they are making their customers more obese.
Connection:
This quote reminds of the way Dunkin Doughnuts puts globs of cream cheese on their customer’s bagels. Nobody needs that much cream cheese, but they put it on because they know how obese America is and how we love our fats. This also shows how different restaurants don’t even care about their customer’s health. As a result, America is getting more and more obese.
Question:
How do businesses avoid the Fair Labor Act and not get caught by the government?
-Bob T 6
1.)“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 most is competence” (17).
ReplyDeleteThis quote is basically saying that as much as you miss being home and being “yourself,” there are some cases where you miss competence the most. That might sound a little bit conceited, but having basic necessities like good food, clothes, and shelter are much more important.
2.)I can relate this to the Grapes of Wrath because in many cases, the Joad family was yearning for certain luxuries and necessities that they couldn’t have while on the road. Like Barbara, money was scarce for them and although the family missed the place they could call home, they wished for food and a proper shelter, more. They were so hungry and scared, that it would make sense for them to miss competence, as well.
3.)Do you think this book is implying that corporate businesses are starting to take over our country in some way?
4.)Jess B., I think the question that you asked is very interesting. I know that if I was in Barbara’s shoes, I would be scared and nervous. She thought it was a good idea for this experiment to go through with someone else but once she found out that it would be her, I bet she was worried because she was so used to having everything set for her. GOOD JOB BEST FWENDDD.
Allie B Period 6
Alexis,
ReplyDeleteI think that the book would be very different if she were of another ethnicity than being white. I remember multiple times during the book where Ehrenreich displayed signs of racism, which made me sort of hate her
Julianne M
Hey Jenna!
ReplyDeleteI foung the statistic you found about then technology to be very interesting! I also agree that is shows how much of an impact that technology has on our life style now. Your questions is very good and I myself wounder that, but if i was to answer that I would say that it would be nice to be able to apply everyone wiht that type of knowledege, but it may be difficut to do so! In that case companies who only to applcations taht way may need to offer thier was of doing so! Good Job though (:
Love you, Grace!
Statistic:
ReplyDelete"I could find no statistics on the number of employed people living in cars or vans, but according to a 1997 report of the National Coalition for the Homeless, 'Myths and Facts about Homelessness,' nearly one-fifth of all homeless people (in twenty-nine cities across the nation) are employed in full- or part-time jobs."
Connection:
To think that this statistic was made in 1997, a year when America's economy was growing strong, the amount of working people that were homeless is shocking. Relating to Grapes of Wrath, where they had the hope that once they all found jobs in California they would able to have a secure shelter and way of
life, it shows that that mind set is not necessarily true. America is known as the land where the "American dream" is attainable for anyone if they work hard. That wasn't the case in the 1930's, 1990"s or today. How is it possible that one out of every five homeless person has a job and still can't make ends meet?
Question:
If this novel was written today, would there be more sympathy for the poor in America compared to the economic state of America in 2001?
Treasure p6
To the person who posted before Jake:
ReplyDeleteI think the wealthier people think they are better than those who have less than them because in society it's generally seen as better to have more. Growing up in a world where this idea of having more is better makes us think that we are better when in reality we simply have more.
Shama K. p6
Response to Stacy B.’s Post-
ReplyDeleteHello Stacy, I totally get what you’re saying about your quote and agree with you! I feel so bad for people who aren’t able to make enough money to care for themselves. It’s especially sad when parents can barely provide shelter for their kids I felt bad for Gail because she couldn’t even escape from her annoying friend and had no other choices.
Quote: p 25 “Gail is sharing a room in a well-known downtown flophouse for $250 a week. Her roommate, a male friend, has begun hitting on her, driving her nuts, but the rent would be impossible alone” – This quote comes from when Barb is talking about her coworkers, and their living conditions. None of them really have much more than this and some even have less. I think it’s sad that when people who are living on their own, or even with their kids can’t afford a decent apartment for themselves and the people they need to take care of.
I also thought your connection was great and I’m glad your grandpa was able to get our of that situation. Many people don’t even have a chance which is terrible. I also think people who are better off should try to help other as much as possible!
-Alexis A. Period 6
"At the word 'tomorrow,' something between fear and indignation rises in my chest. I want to say, 'Thank you for your time, sir, but this is just an experiment, you know, not my actual life'" (16).
ReplyDeleteI find this an important quote that defines Barbara's original perspective on the working class, a stark contrast to her beliefs at the end of the book. In the beginning, it was kind of like a winning or losing a game to her, and she didn’t relate to her jobs personally. However, as she became more and more immersed in this new lifestyle, she became less conceited.
This can be related to the Grapes of Wrath since the Californians displayed similar prejudices and arrogant behavior towards the Okies. They probably believed that they were better than the Okies, and they would never be reduced to living out of their cars, starving their children, and begging for jobs. However, if they had taken the time to understand the Okies and how they had been kicked off their own land, stripped of their possessions, then they would have developed an appreciation to what the Okies were put through. Because Barb actually DID go through the trouble of getting a personal account of what the working class went through, her preconceptions were changed drastically.
Before reading this book, did you have prejudiced and ill-informed perceptions of the working class? How did reading this book influence your views on the subject?
Hey Shama! I do believe that Ehreich’s experiment became a test of herself. After finding out how hard living off minimum wage was and how much she’d have to sacrifice, she still stuck with her plan instead of just giving up. If she didn’t feel like she had something to prove to herself, I think she would have given up just a week or so in. I think that for me, this experiment would turn into something more profound for me, too. Instead of just finding out HOW the working class survives, I’d want to know if I personally could handle it.
Sreedevi D p 6
in "speaking of courage" courage was what norman bowker didnt have. he saw kiowa
ReplyDelete(if that was the guys name) drown in the mud for some reason. He must have not really cared much for him because he was his best friend and did not save him. at the end norman thought it would be a good idea to take his boot. norman could have gotten a badge but his lack of courage he didnt save his friend
matthew c
period 7
I think this story was sad because it was the all about how he is just getting back from war and he likes to drive around the lake because he feels in control of the car. this it the first thing he could controle since he got back from the war. It also tells us about what the men in war went through while at vietnam
ReplyDeletewhy did he feel safe around the lake?
Rob C
per.7
Luke,
ReplyDeleteI thought the statistic you picked showed how terrible management is in the working world. The workers should be treated better so they are more healthy, but all the owners care about is production. It is sad how people in this day and age don't even have any common courtesy for each other. I agree with you that the workers will not produce efficiently if they don't have proper rest.
-Bob T 6
Hey Ryan H!
ReplyDeleteI came across that quote when reading the book and found it to be very important too! I think that quote is completely true in the fact that if you're selfish, you won't find happiness in your life. The way you explained the quote was awesome and I 100% agree/understand what you are saying. To answer you're question, I think that you definitely have to bring happiness to others in order to recieve it. I personally feel more satisfied just making others laugh or helping my mom out around the house. It's not "all about me" and if my life were to be that way, I'd be lonely and selfish.
Good job, Ry!
Kelly L, P5
“You learn to stuff your pockets with napkins before going in there, and too bad for the customers, who must eat, although they don’t realize it, almost literally eat out of our hands.”(30) This quote pertains to when Barbara was describing the employee bathroom at Jerry’s.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is absolutely disgusting. If you work in the food industry you should be required and have access to the necessary hygiene products so employees can wash their hands. I work at a job that involves me making food and we have several sinks, which are always stocked with soap, and we are required to wash our hands basically after anything we do. There are signs posted everywhere at my work to wash your hands and such, and I can’t believe that anyone would serve people food, if their hands weren’t washed.
My question is that if you weren’t provided with proper working conditions, would you say something, or keep quiet in order to keep your job?
~Jessica C P6
Treasure,
ReplyDeleteI think that there would be more sympathy for the poor in America if the book was written today, versus in 2001. The economy has gotten increasingly worse and there are even less jobs today than there were before. There has not been a significant positive change in the economy since 2001. Gas and food prices and expenses continue to increase, as the value of our dollar decreases. I was also wondering this :).
Alexis M
Ry, I completely agree with your statement, I even got goosebumps when I read your comment! It sounds cliche, but I definitely think that it is better to give than to receive. On holidays such as Christmas and other peoples' birthdays, I love giving gifts and seeing their happy reactions and knowing I was responsible for it. This quote is also a great motto to live by! Now I know why my parents think we are getting married, kidding! :) - Amanda M
ReplyDeleteOn page 22 one quote in particular caught my eye, Ehrenreich states “Managers can sit – for hours at a time if they want- but it’s their job to see that no one else ever does, even when there’s nothing to do…” I found it ironic that the manager’s job is to keep people from sitting around when they are doing just that. It made me wonder how a job can change your personality and make you feel somewhat better or worse than everyone else. I think it is interesting that once a person assumes a more superior position in the workplace, they lose the personal and “human” aspect of their job and only focus on the money making. Because of materialistic tendencies I feel more people are concerned about reaping in the rewards and paychecks than they are about the actual quality of their work. A quote on page 22 supports this idea; Ehrenreich states, “Everyone knows they (managers) have crossed over to the other side, which is, crudely put, corporate as opposed to human.” This quote made me think of the time the manager calls one of the workers by the wrong name. This shows that at minimum wage jobs your name doesn’t matter nor does your life or personal problems, just as long as the job gets done. This reminded me of the treatment the migrant workers received in The Grapes of Wrath. They were mistreated by the land owners and called degrading names like “okies”. Overall I found it interesting that the job you have defines how you are treated in society.
ReplyDeleteIf you managed a company how would you treat your workers? Would you embrace your superiority or sympathize with them?
-Sophia G. p5
Jess, I liked that you brought up how Ehrenreich was not quite ready to leave her "pampered" lifestyle. I thought that by returning to her old life once and a while she was not truly expierencing the life of a minimum waged worker.
ReplyDelete-Sophia G.
Janna asked:
ReplyDeleteAfter learning new things about life, would you put that knowledge to use in order to help people who struggle each and every day?
I totally would. if i had any way of helping them, all of them, I would. Like low-rent low-income housing, and support groups among workers to get them to help each other out more. Also, put all the wage and housing/rent laws out for employees to see, so they can make sure they get paid fairly.
Gretchen G
period 5
Jake, I like your question, I think the reason people in the trailer park seem wealthy to those that are on minimum wage because people in trailers actually have more room than say a one room apartment. If anyone's ever been in a trailer its small and cramped but compared to a one room apartment it's like a palace. And then you look at people around here that have houses that are a normal size like 5-6 rooms instead of 1 or 4.
ReplyDeleteSarah p6
sophia!
ReplyDeleteif i owned a company i would definately give my workers their regular breaks and they would have like three emergency breaks and i would only put a limit so no on ewould abuse that privillage and i wouldl also sympathize with them becuase after reading nickle anddimed it change my perspective on lower waged jobs. by the way i totally loved how you made your question a personal one!
-Lauren 5
Jessssssss,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question, I would definitely talk to my boss about the conditions there, because honestly, that is so wrong. At my last job, I was a cashier for a small grocery store and we weren't required to constantly go to the sinks, but at least we had sanitation wipes at our registers. The fact that this is a restaurant and they don't have proper hygiene equipment disgusts me. I'd buy my own soap and towels if I worked there, or I'd call the health department ;D
-Olivia N6
To Jenna L.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion after gaining all the knowledge that this woman gained i would most defiantly devote myself to help the less fortunate. After spending a part of my life in their situation and seeing how hard they life and what they have to go through each and every day it would be nearly impossible for me not to help them! I would have to give everything i could to make things better and right because deep down i would know that the world can be a cruel place and there are many people who need help getting through it all.
Jarrett L.
“I feel powerfully vindicated- a survivor-but it would take a long time, probably months, before I could hope to be accepted into this sorority.”(pg31)
ReplyDeleteWhen she said this I felt like she was playing a game of some sort. Barbara Ehrenreich seems like a new kid in high school, trying to fit in a group in which she definitely didn’t belong to. It was obvious the first day was hard for her but she was ready for more the next day. She probably felt very powerful to have completed her first day of work and have “survived.” This reminds me of my first day at work. I was very confused at what everybody was doing and what I needed to do. At the end of the day when the manager came over, he said I had done a good job for my very first day. The only reason I felt good at the end of the day, was because I was praised but it must have difficult for her to know if she was doing everything the way it was supposed to be done.
Question: Do you feel that she can actually be deemed a survivor, by just completing the first day? How does this compare to the workers that do this for their whole lives and yet, support their families
Reema C. Period 5
Alexis M!
ReplyDeleteI believe you bring up a great point. Barbara Ehrenreich’s experience would’ve definitely been completely different. I know this was mentioned in class, on how racist she is. When I was doing the post- its, there was a quote that I found that related to this topic. Also, I think of the man that was fired because he was accused of stealing. He was Hispanic and automatically targeted for doing a crime. Lastly, I think of all the people that trusted her and told her their life stories, the race of the person not mattering. If she was not white, I believe the workers would be more conserved towards her. Just another point, is how throughout Grapes of Wrath the theme of poor people helping poor people came up constantly. In this book, everybody fought for themselves and became selfish. They did everything for their own sake, not the sake of their kind.
Reema C. Period 5
pg 100 "And, No wonder she’s poor, she’s got a beer in her shopping cart!...It’s the brilliant green-and-yellow uniform that gives me away, like prison clothes on a fugitive… I'm getting a tiny glimpse of what it would like to be black."
ReplyDeleteWhen Barbra goes to supermarket everyone stars at her because of her maid’s uniform. People make assumptions based on the way she looked. They think that the reason she is stuck working for a low paying job is because she wastes her money on unnecessary things. Here she realizes what it’s really like to be judged by looks and sees discrimination from a totally different point of view. This connects to GOW because the Okies were judged by the Californians. Californians assumed that the Okies were just there to steal their land and jobs. However, the Okies had no other option and their life wasn’t improving no matter how much they worked.
Question: What makes people judge the poor? Why do people stereotype the poor?
Hey Sree~ I had some ideas that were similar to yours. I do think the reason the wealthy are so arrogant toward the poor is because they don’t understand what it’s like to be poor. It’s so sad how people are so quick to judge others without even giving them a chance. Also, I think Barbra realized how grateful she was when she returned to her normal life to pay her bills and saw how the amount of money she spent every month could mean to some people.
Ash Y. 6
Serving in Florida
ReplyDeleteThe quote I chose that really stood out to me was when Ehrenreich stated, “Imagine a fate persons hell, and I don’t mean a place with no food. Instead there is everything you might eat if eating had no bodily consequences—the cheese fries, the chicken-fried steak, the fudge-laden desserts—only here every bit must be paid for, one way or another, in human discomfort.” (29). Although this quote may not apply to me directly, it is almost a direct relation to the Joad family and the struggles they endured throughout Grapes of Wrath. The Joads in my opinion truly are in a living hell. They live in nation where the American dream is still a reality, but only if you can pay for it. Everything in their lives is theirs for the taking but they must pay through the nose to get it.
Question: In this book, Barbra Ehrenreich seems to be somewhat religiously unaccepting. Why is this?
Sam B Per. 5
Interesting statistic:
ReplyDeleteAccording to the fair labor standards act, employers are not required to pay "tipped employees," such as resteraunt servers, more than 2.13 and hour in direct wages. However, if the sum of tips plus 2.13 an hour falls below the minimum wage, or 5.15 an hour, the employer is required to make up the difference. This factwas not mentioned by managers or otherwised published at either of the resteraunts where i worked."
I thought this was a really important fact that people should know, especially if you are in the resteraunt buisiness. If managers dont abide by this rule, waitresses and dish washers and busboys etc are getting jipped out of money. This relates to GOW because it just goes to show how the bigger people in higher up places of managment, jip the everyday, little people in their lives. It just goes to show how selfish and non-compassionate people really are sometimes.
Question: Why do so many mamagers care more about themselves then their workers? isnt it more sensible to treat them with kindness so they treat you back with the same attitude?
Jenna,
To answer your question, yes i think a big concern with companies will always be money. Money first, then respect. If they dont have money then they cant run the buisness, and as much as i would like it to be the other way around with respect first, people just dont act like that anymore =(
Sophie
ReplyDeleteThat was a really good question and I would sympathize with them. This is because you had to work your way up the ladder to get to where you are so you should respect how hard they are working. By over exhorting your power you are not doing anything to help the company you are hurting it. In order to have a good working company you need to have restraints on how much you limit them.
Austin C Period 6
Quote: “In real life I am moderately brave, but plenty of brave people shed their courage in POW camps, and maybe something similar goes on in the infinitely more congenial milieu of the low-wage American workplace.”
ReplyDeleteConnection: I think Barbara exaggerated a bit by saying that low-wage American workplace is similar to Prisoner of War camps. However, I do agree that mentality bred by the working conditions which involve a person to work various repetitive tasks quickly for hours. A person becomes unthinking, silent obeyers. They don't realize that their dignity is lost and they accept punishments without revolt.
Question: Do you think living off of low-wage job is really that bad? Do the working conditions make you feel as if you're imprisoned in a genocide camp?
Anjita P-6
@Ashley
ReplyDeletePeople stereotype the poor because they think that it's the poor people's fault that they live in poverty. They don't realize that those people don't really have much choice. And being in a higher social class than the poor, they probably naturally look down on the low-wage workers.
Anjita P-6
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