In this section of the book, Ehrenreich leaves Maine after quitting both of her jobs. She moves to Minnesota and lives in her friend's apartment for a few days. She then begins her search for jobs and places to live. She is offered a job at Menards and Wal-Mart. She finds out that most jobs require a drug test, which she has some doubts on whether she will pass. She ends up declining the job offer at Menards, despite the higher pay, because of the long shifts and discrepancy in pay. After completing the long orientation process at Wal-mart, she begins work there.
We were shocked that she included in her writing her use of marijuana. She described how she was worried about not passing her drug test because she had used the drug prior to applying for these jobs. For this reason, she kept job searching just in case she failed the test; she was making sure she had a backup plan. She did Internet research to find ways to pass a drug test after using the drug. She also spent extra money on detoxification materials and drank excessive amounts of water to try and cleanse her system. We were surprised that she would include this and admit to using an illegal drug. Up until this point, we would have been surprised that she even used drugs.
In one of our classroom discussions we talked about power and how people take advantage of it. This related to our book in a few ways. First off, we could easily notice how all of Ehrenreich’s bosses had power over all of the other employees. These bosses abused their power because they controlled the rest of the company. The employees felt like they had no power; they felt threatened by their bosses if they were to do something wrong. One example of this is how the workers at Wal-Mart are not allowed to sit or even use the bathroom while they are clocked in. This is considered ‘time theft’ and the employees are subject to punishment. The employees are not allowed to do anything that is not work related on company time; the bosses control everything the workers do. Employees have very little power, if any, in their workplace. They do not have opportunities to make decisions within the company and they have to follow every rule that the bosses give them.
We found one section of the book exceptionally well written. She explains how she feels that the ‘Barb’ that she is known as at Wal-Mart is different than the ‘Barbara’ that she is in real life. She says that ‘Barb’ is “meaner and slyer” than her real self as well as “not quite as smart” as herself (169). She explains that she begins to resent some of the customers, like if they mess up her clothing displays for example. She also describes how she dislikes when a newer employee tells her what to do, or questions whether Ehrenreich has done her job correctly. She finds herself acting like this ‘Barb’ only when she is working at Wal-Mart, as if the place changes her personality. We feel that this section was written really well; we noticed that she starts writing more aggressively during this part of the book compared to the earlier sections.
We can relate to this section when she plans out her breaks during her shifts. She explains that she only has two fifteen minute breaks and she has to use them wisely. She mentions how she will try to use the restroom before her break starts to give her more time to rest during her break. We also do this when working at our jobs.
Wow this is awesome
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