tances. Most of her fellow co-workers showed to live in trailers, motels, or even in their cars. It was difficult to be able to afford to pay first months rent as well as a security deposit, whereas motels did not require so much money up front, even though it proved to be more expensive in the long run. Eherenreich allotted herself this rent money beforI think that Barbara Eherenreich depicted a realistic portrait of America’s lower class. She points out the differences between the working class and wealthy people. The differences that are shocking, yet they are so true.

"Welfare reform."-This is how it all began. The disturbing investigation of how people, women mainly, survive off wages as low as six or seven dollars an hour. Eherenreich was assigned the task of going into the workforce and experiencing, first hand, what poverty was really like. This is where my skepticism began. I never thought she could do it. I almost laughed to myself. "Survival of the fittest", I began to think-- They would feed her to the dogs and she would be eaten alive within a week. Her strength and determination soon demonstrated to me just how wrong I was about her, as it did her. I believe she did not think she would make it either, although in her perception she had indeed failed. Determination, however, goes a long way. When you are forced into a certain way of life, I guess you just have to accept it and adapt to it.

Applying for a housekeeping position, she acquired her first job as a waitress, (due in part to the fact that she was white), at a place called Hearthside. Housekeeping was dominated by the Latino females. At Hearthside, she learned, through the lives of her fellow co-workers, that she was better off than most, even under her restricting circumstances. Most of her fellow co-workers showed to live in trailers, motels, or even in their cars. It was difficult to be able to afford to pay first months rent as well as a security deposit, whereas motels did not require so much money up front, even though it proved to be more expensive in the long run. Eherenreich allotted herself this rent money before

six or seven dollars an hour. Eherenreich was assigned the task of going into the workforce and experiencing, first hand, what poverty was really like. This is where my skepticism began. I never thought she could do it. I almost laughed to myself. "Survival of the fittest", I began to think-- They would feed her to the dogs and she would be eaten alive within a week. Her strength and determination soon demonstrated to me just how wrong I was about her, as it did her. I believe she did not think she would make it either, although in her perception she had indeed failed. Determination, however, goes a long way. When you are forced into a certain way of life, I guess you just have to accept it and adapt to it.

Applying for a housekeeping position, she acquired her first job as a waitress, (due in part to the fact that she was white), at a place called Hearthside. Housekeeping was dominated by the Latino females. At Hearthside, she learned, through the lives of her fellow co-workers, that she was better off than most, even under her restricting circumstances. Most of her fellow co-workers showed to live in trailers, motels, or even in their cars. It was difficult to be able to afford to pay first months rent as well as a security deposit, whereas motels did not require so much money up front, even though it proved to be more expensive in the long run. Eherenreich allotted herself this rent money befor

thin a week. Her strength and determination soon demonstrated to me just how wrong I was about her, as it did her. I believe she did not think she would make it either, although in her perception she had indeed failed. Determination, however, goes a long way. When you are forced into a certain way of life, I guess you just have to accept it and adapt to it.

Applying for a housekeeping position, she acquired her first job as a waitress, (due in part to the fact that she was white), at a place called Hearthside. Housekeeping was dominated by the Latino females. At Hearthside, she learned, through the lives of her fellow co-workers, that she was better off than most, even under her restricting circumstances. Most of her fellow co-workers showed to live in trailers, motels, or even in their cars. It was difficult to be able to afford to pay first months rent as well as a security deposit, whereas motels did not require so much money up front, even though it proved to be more expensive in the long run. Eherenreich allotted herself this rent money befor

it.

Applying for a housekeeping position, she acquired her first job as a waitress, (due in part to the fact that she was white), at a place called Hearthside. Housekeeping was dominated by the Latino females. At Hearthside, she learned, through the lives of her fellow co-workers, that she was better off than most, even under her restricting circumstances. Most of her fellow co-workers showed to live in trailers, motels, or even in their cars. It was difficult to be able to afford to pay first months rent as well as a security deposit, whereas motels did not require so much money up front, even though it proved to be more expensive in the long run. Eherenreich allotted herself this rent money befor

tances. Most of her fellow co-workers showed to live in trailers, motels, or even in their cars. It was difficult to be able to afford to pay first months rent as well as a security deposit, whereas motels did not require so much money up front, even though it proved to be more expensive in the long run. Eherenreich allotted herself this rent money before she even began her venture, so she was not burned with it when beginning her project.

She begins to realize that the disgrace bestowed upon the lower class was nonchalantly accepted, whereas, this is utterly mortifying as well as shocking to those who have not lived and worked under such conditions. For instance, the right to be able to go to the restroom during working hours was only protected by the law since the year 1998, and is still an ongoing battle which many workers are continually deprived of (I know this from personal experience). Employers fire employees when they are no longer "of use", due to work-related injuries leaving them unable to work. These degradations are not ones that most of us have ever experienced and cannot nor will we ever even conceive of enduring.

With the realization that she needs to move to a closer location, Eherenreich migrates into a residential trailer park, as well as taking on the task of a second waitressing position, at a place called Jerry's. Here she decides that the management, although still a horrid chaos of power hungry mongers, is more professionalism then her other employers. The double shift is beginning to catch up with her, however, and she ends up leaving Hearthside, only to find herself needing yet another job to compensate for the lack of rent money. Finally she acquires her "dream" job of housekeeping, and yet still cannot keep up wi