In Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, Barbara Ehrenreich uses precise language to paint a picture of Holly, an underprivileged woman working at The Maids. While working at The Maids, Ehrenreich provides the audience with numerous descriptions and characteristics of Holly. First off, Holly is a twenty-three year old who feeds not only herself, but also her husband and an elderly relative; astonishingly, she manages to do so with a salary of thirty to fifty dollars per week. Specifically, Ehrenreich writes, “She is visibly unwell-possibly whiter, on a daily basis than anyone else in the state… think bridal gowns, tuberculosis, and death” (Ehrenreich 95). Furthermore, the author describes Holly’s meager eating habits by asserting,