Serving In Florida By Barbara Ehrenreich: Chapter Analysis

“Serving in Florida,” by Barbara Ehrenreich, an American author and political activist, went undercover from 1998 to 2000 to see the impact of the 1996 welfare reform act and to see in the lives of the working poor in the United States. During this time, she took on low wage jobs to see what it was like to survive, or if it was even possible. In 2001 she published her book called Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. One of the chapters from this book is “Serving in Florida.” During this chapter she takes on the role of a server and sees what it is like surviving in this occupation. She first establishes her creditability by telling the audience about why she is in this position. Since she just started in this job she has

Not only was Barbara struggling to find a place to live with the income she made, so were her co-workers, “She squints a me in disbelief: ‘And where am I supposed to get a month’s rent and month’s deposit for an apartment?’” (Ehreneich, 133) This shows that her argument is not just based on her own experience. Again, another co-worker struggled to squeak by with the income she was pulling at this low wage job. “Similarly, Mariannae’s boyfriend lost his job as a roofer because he missed so much time after getting a cut on his foot for which he couldn’t afford the prescribed antibiotics.” (Ehreneich, 134) Unfortunately the money issues did not end with finding a place to live but it was also affecting their medical conditions. The important that this American author included this is that it keeps her and the story unbiased. Some may argue that it is an unbiased piece because there is no viewpoint from those not in a low wage job. But, there is no viewpoint from those individuals because that is not of importance or what the purpose of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is. In the end, Barbara did a good job of making sure her story was not just about her journey with this low wage job but of showing that her experience mirrored everyone else’s in the

She does this by the detailed stories of all of her co-workers living situations. She also does this by talking about all of exhaustion she has just trying to make it. “Joan, who had me fooled with her numerous and tasteful outfits (hostesses wear their own clothes), lives in a van parked behind a shopping center at night and showers in Tina’s motel room. The clothes are from thrift shops.” (Ehreneich, 132) By her explaining what it is like for them living it paints a picture into their lives so you can get a better idea of how bad it actually is. When you can see this it is easier to make an emotional attachment to the story and those in the story. Nobody likes stress or exhaustion, she pulls in a lot of the audiences’ emotional attachment with this next quote, “But for me it’s a crash course in exhaustion management.” (Ehreneich, 137) After Barbara has to pick up a second job to make ends meet she struggles making it mentally and physically with how tired she is. This can create a lot of emotional attachment to those who have been in her position before or are currently in her position. This can create a positive or negative emotional reaction for those individuals. It could be positive for them to see that they are not the only ones in this situation, but a negative reaction could be because they have been in her shoes and go