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English 101 Final Essay Q1: Discuss the contemporary issues in every essay A) Lars Eighner, in “On Dumpster Diving”, portrays the waste that is accumulated due to modern consumerism and materialism. He also demonstrates the issue of the wage gap. Consumers of the modern age spend too much and therefore waste too much. In the essay, Eighner describes life as an scavenger and demonstrates how people are able to live by the minimal resources. “Scavengers” are able to survive on the waste of the consumer. Eighner presents this scenario as a contrast to the life of a modern consumer, in order to portray it’s unnecessary wastefulness. Mainly, food seems to be taken lightly by society, as Eighner as a scavenger finds “a half jar of peanut butter”, …show more content…
Eighner then presents his sadness as he comes to the realization that what he considers special is completely ignored and thrown away by daily consumers.Consumers also tend to come from the middle class. Those in the lower class do not have access to the monetary resources to mindlessly purchase. Eighner conveys the emotional impact that living out of a dumpster can have on a person. He describes finding objects such as "abandoned teddy bears, shredded wedding books, and pets lying in state." Seeing the pets makes him think about his dog Lizbeth and how she is likely to end up with a dumpster as her final resting place, as Eighner does not see himself having a place for her before she passes on. Rummaging causes Eighner to consider how much individuals underestimate the way that they can purchase something new to replace something old that they have discarded. He …show more content…
If Jonathan Swift had written a serious piece simply espousing his true beliefs he would not have received as much feedback, due to the fact that there were already informational advertisements at the time and nobody was interested in reading them. The only thing that would get the people 's attention was something that would create a lasting impression, so he wrote a satirical piece with trenchant humor and mochary. “A Modest Proposal” surprised people and got them thinking about the condition of the poor in Ireland and what should be done to solve it. For example Swift states that “those who are thrifty” can use the carcass of the infant for ladies’ gloves or gentlemen’s boots. This itself can help those reading the piece to begin to think about possible solutions to the substantial issues involving the poor in Ireland. He also proposes that children that are fourteen should be consumed as well so the poor don’t have to go hungry and that it would limit the number of breeders, in an attempt to illustrate the extremity of the circumstances. His sarcastic way of joking enlisted fear in the poor and concern in the rich, helping them realise the drastic issue present in the
According to Mayberry (2009) Lars Eighner, a graduate of the University of Texas, became homeless in 1988 and again in 1995 (p. 351). Some of the accounts from Travels with Lisbeth (1993), a book by Lars Eighner, depicted what he went through and what he found during his homeless state. A homeless person must eat and sleep but may not know where or when this might happen next. The human will to survive enabled Eighner to eat food from a dumpster, reach out to other for handouts, and sleep in places other than a bed with covers.
The author, Lars Eighner explains in his informative narrative, “On Dumpster Diving” the lifestyle of living out of a dumpster. Eighner describes the necessary steps to effectively scavenge through dumpsters based on his own anecdotes as he began dumpster diving a year before he became homeless. The lessons he learned from being a dumpster diver was in being complacent to only grab what he needs and not what he wants, because in the end all those things will go to waste. Eighner shares his ideas mainly towards two direct audiences. One of them is directed to people who are dumpster divers themselves, and the other, to individuals who are unaware of how much trash we throw away and waste. However, the author does more than direct how much trash
Jonathan Swift is the speaker in the story, A Modest Proposal. He is also the author of many other books and stories. In the text of A Modest Proposal, Swift addresses what he believes to be a big issue in the magnificent country of Ireland, Dublin to be exact. Therefore, he proposes a solution to the problem, however, the solution is not what we would call humane, orthodox, reasonable, or even one that we would consider performing today. Swift wrote this piece for anyone that can read and comprehend what the text implies.
In the time frame that Swifts’ A Modest Proposal was written Ireland was going through political, economic, and religious struggles. In 1729 England had contrived, with the help of Irish venality, to wreck Ireland’s merchant marine, agriculture, and wool industry. Prostitutes in Swift’s paper are having kids like senseless people, but yet they can’t afford to feed them. Jonathan Swift proposes that his people should sell the babies and eat them. He thinks this would help solve the problem of over population. Swift tried to give his people pamphlets on how to fix the problem that was plaguing their country, but they ignored them. Swift says “These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants.”(1) Swift proposes that the mothers sell the babies for 8 shillings; the rich would find the child to be a delicacy and the extra money would go to the landlord. So everyone would benefit from this proposal. He does this as a way of making his people aware of what is going on in their
In a country where a significant percentage of the population is homeless (approximately 600,000 (endhomelesness), but the exact count is unknown since it is so difficult to accurately measure), it is important that everyone understands the typical experiences and plight of a homeless person. Since most people likely do not have regular face-to-face interactions with the homeless, their perception of the homeless will be based around the stories they hear and read. Thus, it is important to analyze those popular stories and memoirs and determine if they accurately reflect the typical homeless individual. One of those popular stories is Lars Eighner’s On Dumpster Diving. In his memoir, he lays out an image of homeless life which I think is atypical
Step 3: 1. Eighner introduces his arguments through the use of narrative stories and his own personal experiences. He uses this technique to let the reader see firsthand how some people are able to survive off what is carelessly thrown away by others who take what they own for granted. Eighner illustrates this point on page 1, “The necessities of daily life I began to extract from Dumpsters. Yes, we ate from Dumpsters. Except for jeans, all my clothes can from Dumpsters. Boom boxes, candles, bedding, toilet paper, medicine, books, a typewriter… I acquired many things from the Dumpsters.”
Homelessness is increasing every year and about a quarter of all homeless people suffer from mental health issues. In Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” he explains what he went through on a daily basis while being homeless. He describes how and what foods you should look for and to always be conscious of what you are getting because there is always a reason why something was thrown out. He continues to go into detail about other items that can be found in the dumpster like sheet and papers. Things that can keep you busy through the day. Eighner carefully explains to his readers how being a dumpster diver has become a life style for the homeless and this is how they survive. “I began dumpster diving about a year before I became homeless” (Eighner 713). He tries to bring us into the world of homelessness. It is hard to imagine what we would do or not do in that situation, how would we survive if dumpster diving was our means of survival? As a dumpster diver, Eighner is able to tell us what is ok to eat and have and what is not ok for your health. His essay starts by uttering some guid...
The Effectiveness of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift "A Modest Proposal for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public" - Jonathan Swift 1729. In reading this you will discover the answer to the above question in three parts; · How effective is it as an argument · How effective is it as a piece of information · How effective is it as satire "A Modest Proposal" first appeared in public in 1729, Swift wrote this article after all of his previous suggestions had been rejected by the Irish authorities. Swift felt the English government had psychologically exiled him and this greatly added to the rage he felt over the way the Irish People were treated or rather mistreated by the English. Although Swift's highest and most prominent concerns were for his own class, the Anglo-Irish, he in the end spoke for the nation as a whole.
Even though he can live a “comfortable consumer life”, he would rather being a scavenger where he learned a lot of experience in distinguishing on what was safe to eat and what is not. Author is stating the three steps to go through: the common sense, knowing the Dumpsters and checking it daily. He also mentions that in the process of evaluating
To start off, the full title of Johnathan Swift’s writing is "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for making them Beneficial to the Publick." From just reading the title of the book “A Modest Proposal”, I was thinking it was a story about romance and how a gentleman proposed marriage to his female lover. His proposal, in effect, is to fatten up these undernourished children and feed them to Ireland's rich land-owners. He does this to illustrate how backwards and bad the state of Ireland is and the social classes. For these reasons, he looks at the politicians to blame for the poor conditions because of the apathy they presented while in the decision making process, to resolve the conditions.
This essay will have no value unless the reader understands that Swift has written this essay as a satire, humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of a person, government, or society (Satire). Even the title A Modest Proposal is satirical. Swift proposes using children simply as a source of meat, and outrageous thought, but calls his propo...
In the article “On Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner writes about his experiences dumpster diving and the knowledge needed to “scavenge” (as Eighner says) successfully. Because of the stigma attached to dumpster diving, the article grabs your attention. Once you begin reading, you realize the article covers many more talking points than just dumpster diving.
Lars Eighner’s essay, Dumpster Diving, implements his thoughts on materialism and wealth through his actual experience as one of the homeless and conveys his concerns on modern society. That is to say, Eighner provides ethical accounts on people and their obsession over prestigious conveniences as to where they need to focus on the necessities. The author formulates a commendable position in exclaiming that people should not place value on tangible objects but rather what results from the human mind.
I’ve read many essays this year as a student in ENGL 1301. Of the ones I’ve read from A Writer’s Presence, many have contained elements that could benefit other future students of ENGL 1301. One that really stood out to me was “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner. In the essay, Lars Eighner recounts his time as a homeless man and what that in fact entails in great detail. By reading and studying it, students would see great examples of how to pique a reader’s attention with details, how commas could be used effectively, and how to tie everything in an essay together well.
A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick is a satirical essay written by Jonathan Swift in 1729. The essay points out that the impoverished Irish can ease their economic problems by selling their children as food for the rich people which is a figure of speech but deals a great impact. It also encouraged positive development for those who suffered financial crisis and famishment, and urged the aristocratic lords to lower their taxes, so to put a means to an end of the starvation of the country from both its food and coins. This satirical essay mocked the insensitive attitudes towards the poor, as well as the state of the English