There is a story behind every homeless person in America. A story that demonstrates what made them fall so hard that they are unable to pick themselves up once again. Barbara Ehrenreich goes out into the world in an attempt to understand the story behind people who are barely getting by in America. She does a tremendous job at portraying for her audience a reality that they have not seen. Her book Nickel and Dimed is specifically designed to expose a social reality that is a major part of the United States that is predominantly ignored by many.
I was extremely surprised by the attitudes of the workers whom she encounters. For example Holly who apologizes to her boss for breaking her foot and Colleen who does not react to the abuse in her workplace. These two very real scenarios demonstrate how when an employee has so many disadvantages they cannot risk speaking up much less rebelling. Ehrenreich shows her audience that doing this means that there would be no food on the table tomorrow. She is able to point out how even those who have jobs are having a difficult time covering their costs and barely getting by. Her novel made me realize that people working these low paying jobs cannot simply take a day off because they run the risk of not being able to pay their rent. They are constantly on survival mode because their salaries simply do not permit any other kind of lifestyle.
Throughout my entire life this idea of the “American Dream” has been drilled into my head; this idea that hard work is the only key to success. It is a beautiful idea in which everyone has the opportunity to succeed in America. Too often people come back to the reality that this “American Dream” is only a dream, especially when so many people work long hours for several years only to get nowhere. How much does a family have to work in order to not be so vulnerable to an economic downturn or simply not having to live day by day? This is a difficult question to answer when access to basic resources becomes racialized. The United States has a long way to go in order to improve the lifestyle of its people yet it is not an impossible task.