Ehrenreich's time in the lower caste

     Barbara Ehrenreich's experiences with lower class work must have been eye-opening, yet at the same time, the reader can tell that it doesn't change her views as a well-to-do American.  One of her experiences that seemed to shock her was the tutorial video on how to clean surfaces.  She is appalled to learn that no water is used in the process, which as she later confirms with housecleaning experts, is ineffective and completely unsanitary.  Small details such as the aforementioned one further proves to her how menial the lower class jobs can truly be, and thus strengthens the message of her book.

     While Ehrenreich's book has moments in which conveys its message effectively, there are moments in which the reader may question the author.  She seems to immerse herself in her work, yet every so often, she will make an offhand comment that suggests her mental views of the lower class are still somewhat stereotyped.  For instance, she mentions that at one point that "Maybe...I'm getting a tiny glimpse of what it would be like to be black."  This comment is racially insensitive, profiling all African Americans as lower class workers living with unfavorable conditions.  When she later reveals to her maids that she is, in fact, an author, she almost expects them to look at her with a sweeping sense of awe.  However, no one really seems fazed; in fact, one worker is actually satisfied with her lower paying position because it's all she's really known.  Ehrenreich's experiences, while more realistic than the reader who is merely seeing them on paper, are not genuine.   As someone who has known another life, she will never truly see the world through the eyes of a member of the lower class.