Teaching Resources
The questions posed by the publisher at the end of Ehrenreich's text presuppose an empirical orientation to the issues raised by the book. Though useful in their own way, they don't do much to help students think about the literary or textual aspects of the book. Thus, I've designed the following questions to help students to think about the questions of representation and textuality raised by Nickel and Dimed. I'd like to make these as representative of as many pedagogical perspectives as possible. Please email me (kirving@gmu.edu) with your questions about the book so they can be added to this list.
1. Midway through the book, Ehrenreich writes that "The poor seem to have disappeared from the culture at large, from its political rhetoric and intellectual endeavors, as well as from its daily entertainment" (117). Elsewhere, she tells us that the reason she rented a car everywhere she goes rather than relying on public transportation is that "I just figured that a story about waiting for buses would not be a very interesting read". To what extent do you think that she is correct in her assertion that people, in general, simply aren't interested in stories about the working poor? If you think that she is correct, then how would you explain the success of Ehrenreich's own book--a New York Times bestseller? What strategies do you think she employs to render her book compelling and readable?
2. While training to be a housecleaner, Ehrenreich tells us this about one of the mandatory videos she watches: "I like 'Dusting' best, for its economy and aesthetic beauty". Why do you think that Ehrenreich insists on reminding us periodically of the kinds of "cultural capital" she possesses? What narrative effects do you think that this kind of address has? What does it say about book's implied reader?
3. Why do you think that Ehrenreich narrates much of her story in the present tense? After all, given that this is a retrospective account, this would seem to be a somewhat anomalous choice. What narrative effects do you think that she hopes to achieve with this present tense narration?
4. Ehrenreich's book is an ethnography. Compare other ethnographies you may have read with Ehrenreich's. Do you think that Ehrenreich's decision to participate in minimum wage work herself, rather than simply observe such work and write about it from a more objective perspective, was well-advised given her agenda? Why? Why not?
5. Think about the way in which Ehrenreich describes the working women that she meets. Most are eager to please their employers and customers and many are quite passive. Does this representation of minimum wage workers strike you as accurate? Think back to your own experiences with, or as, a minimum wage worker and think about whether this kind of work induced in you the kind of passivity that Ehrenreich observes.
6. Read Herbert Gans' essay about the history of representing the poor in England and the U.S. To what extent do you think that Ehrenreich's book is indebted to this history? Are the workers she meets the "deserving poor," or the "undeserving poor," or something else?
7. Ehrenreich does not fraternize with the people she meets outside of work hours. To that extent, then, what we get is not so much a picture of a "working-class culture" as a portrayal of "minimum-wage workers". How would the book be different, do you think, if Ehrenreich had socialized with the workers she meets after hours? How would her representation of her working peers have differed, do you think?
Select Syllabi that include Nickel and Dimed
English:
Economics:
Anthropology and Sociology: