A Comparison Of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel And Dimed

1357 Words6 Pages
The various social, cultural, political, geographic and economic forces in an individual’s life influences the decisions and beliefs they make. These forces are everywhere in life, such as the mother who gives thanks to God everyday for the food on her table. Her children are influenced by these practices and often become dedicated followers. “When someone sees the same person everyday, they wind up becoming part of that person’s life. And then they want the person to change.” These forces influenced the lives of Santiago, Ayaan, Eliza, and Barbara. They grew up following the beliefs of the society they lived in and as they were exposed to various forces and ideas, they rebelled against that society. Santiago was born in the Andalusia region of Spain as the child of a simple farm family. Many people in this region lived in small towns where every day was the same. They woke up, did the same things, saw the same people, and almost never followed their own dreams. His…show more content…
in biology. She lived with a decent income and had a stabile life. It is a common belief in American society that unskilled workers get enough money to sustain them. With the falling rates of unemployment and the increasing minimum wage, it is easy to believe that America’s working poor are doing well. However, Barbara rebelled against society by going out there and living the life of an unskilled laborer and proved that the poor did not make enough money to sustain them. With the money Barbara made with several jobs at once, she was barely able to pay the rent for a house. However, she had to work long shifts of exhausting work and rely on drugs to keep her going. This could not be considered sustainable, as the workers would not be able to sustain themselves and still pay the rent for a house as well as have savings incase of emergencies. Barbara’s work changed the way people perceived the unskilled
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