Reality, Poverty and the American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reality, Poverty and the American Dream - Essay Example The first of these readings which will be engaged with is that of Barbara Ehrenreich’s â€Å"Serving in Florida†. This piece is especially useful to understand due to the fact that it racks the actions, mental exhaustion, physical fatigue, frustration, hopelessness, and misery that necessarily follows many that seek to carve a life for themselves with few opportunities or little education. Although it is simple to merely utter that the American Dream is available to each and every citizen that seeks to expend the hard work necessary to realize it, Barbara Ehrenreich proves that the reality of the situation can oftentimes be far different than the ingrained cultural norm. As such, Ehrenreich first notes that the work is demanding, degrading, physically exhausting, and completely incapable of covering all of the bills that she incurs as a function of her long commute. Regardless of the fact that she rents practically the cheapest efficiency apartment money can find, she s truggles to put food on the table and pay the high cost of commuting 30 miles each day. As a function of this very real and present reality, the author determines that she must necessarily take a second job in order to meet the extant needs that her financial situation engenders. This choice requires even more commitment, hard work, longer hours, and fewer and fewer hours of sleep and leisure (Ehrenreich 17). Ultimately, such a choice is not surprisingly exhibited on the health and outlook that Barbara experiences.