Courtney Moorefield
Professor: Frischkorn
EGL 093-02
February 14, 2019
Low-Wage Workers Are People Too… Agree or Disagree?
In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich makes the point that shows how low-wage workers are made to feel both invisible and unwanted, a shameful underclass to the rest of society. Though Barbara is only temporarily inhabiting this world, she too is unable to escape the sense of shame she comes to feel from the way she is treated as a low-wage laborer. The transition is difficult but for reasons other than those expected, she makes the point that “during a month of poverty and toil, no one recognizes my face or my name, which goes unnoticed” (11), and no risk of her cover being blown. She enters a “parallel universe” (11). Ehrenreich mentions that she is “most commonly” called “girl” (12). She is rarely addressed by her name because people simply don’t care. It is dehumanizing, objectifying and disrespectful.
For most of my life, I’ve felt invisible to most people and that was my choice. I know what it’s like to have people around me and for them to not remember my name. I chose to not open up to people outside of my family, because I do not need to have many close friends in order to live my life. Not to mention, most people with higher payinghigher-paying jobs seem to look down on those who make less money than people with higher income. I’m sure that if workers with lower incomes had the chance to go back in time, they would choose to go down a different career path. No matter ifwhether you’re wealthy or not, people shouldn’t judge another person’s career path, you never know if that will turn out to be your new career too.
Works Cited
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed. New York: Picador, 2001.