Analysis Of Lars Eighner's On Dumpster Diving

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Life as we know it today revolves around cell phones; transportation, finance, education, nutrition, and communication can all be accessed or controlled through your actual mobile device. Technology all over the world seems to be improving lives while it seems to steer differently in the American culture. There are plenty of pros and cons due to cell phones that makes it hard to distinguish whether it has bettered the American culture or set it on a path for failure. In Lars Eighner essay On Dumpster Diving, Eighner talks about a time in his life when he lived in poverty and was forced to look through dumpsters or as others around him stated “dumpster diving”. Eighner defines his definition on Dumpster diving and how there is a method to it …show more content…

Great deals of people have lost their innate characteristics, case in point the urge to talk to people in public when they need information about something. Copious amounts of people cannot say hi to each other in real life for the sake of feeling strange and prefer to avoid confrontation by saying what they need through their phone. Babies can say hi to us and we will smile, but when adults say hi to each other they look away puzzled. Great amounts of people have lost the image of the old fashioned lifestyle along with the beauty of it. Several don’t admire the free things in life and take for granted the most important things in life. A majority of people cannot look up at the sky instead of their phones and be glad they are alive. The world’s youth is now distracted and trapped by the fascination of how easily they can feel included with society as a result of easy communications with having a cell phone. Kids would rather be on their phones playing games or posting up statuses on their social network for the reason that that’s what society was doing. No body wants to go outside and make friends when they have plenty online. People are not compelled go to the store to buy things anymore; they can just purchase it on their phone and have it delivered in a short amount of time. I’m not sure if people are choosing to ignore or if they are absolutely now blind to the fact that these actions are harming our future. I cannot deny that cell phones have given us extra privileges, but we should not rely on them to make us further human. I myself access social networks through my phone but I haven’t forgotten that when my phone dies, my life still continues. People forget that they have a life outside of their mobile device. Countless now find it strange if someone doesn’t have a phone, kids in elementary school now have

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  • On Dumpster Diving Summary

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    The reader learned about what exactly one would eat or wouldn’t eat while taking a dive in a dumpster. “Raw fruits and vegetables with intact skins seem perfectly safe to me” and “For myself, I avoid the game, poultry, pork and egg-based foods, whether I find them raw or cooked.” are examples that prove his experience with dumpster diving. He explains how negligent college students are when he inspects their garbage. “A typical discard is half a jar of peanut butter. In fact, non-organic peanut butter does not require refrigeration and is unlikely to spoil in any reasonable time.” (Eighner 676) Since college students live on “Daddy’s money” they throw away what could be valuable to another, the peanut

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  • Stereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner

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    Although Eighner reveals that his chosen lifestyle was to live on another's refuge, he kept in accordance with his acts of superiority and snobbishness by excluding himself from the term "Dumpster Diving." Instead, he preferred to be called a "scavenger because of its frankness in the term." (Eighner, 1993). Furthermore, Eighner, explains that there are rules to abide by when successfully "scavenging" through dumpsters, "using the senses…knowing the dumpsters of a given area…. [and] Why was this discarded?" It is the explanation of the three guidelines Eighner asserts to be superior to 'can scroungers' (Homeless people who rummage through the dumpsters for money). The author further elaborates his snobbishness by revealing that he has tried the heinous lifestyle of "can scroungers," and deduced that only a few dollars could be obtained. Moreover, Eighner states, "one can extract the necessities of life from the dumpsters directly with far less effort than would be required to accumulate the equivalent of cans." (Eighner, 1993). The author stereoty...

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  • Critical Analysis Of Lars Eighner's Article On Dumpster Diving

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    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.”

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  • On Dumpster Diving Summary

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

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  • The Appeal Of Ethos In Dumpster Diving By Lars Eighner

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    Eighner writes, “Long before I began Dumpster diving I was impressed with Dumpsters, enough so that I wrote the Merriam research service to discover what I could about the world “Dumpster”. I learned from them that “Dumpster” is a proprietary word belonging to the Dempsey Dumpster company.” He was so fascinated with Dumpsters, that he learned the definition, which is a fact. A definition can be adjusted; however, it is not completely revised. Definitions are definite. Eighner states, “Eating from the Dumpsters involves three principles: using the senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the found materials, knowing the Dumpsters of a given area and checking them regularly, and seeking always to answer the question, ‘Why was this discarded?’” He uses his senses to analyze the condition of the things he finds logically. Dumpster diving requires the ability to critically think about what can and can not be eaten. Eighner writes, “Although very rare with modern canning methods, botulism is a possibility. But botulism is almost certainly fatal and often the first symptom is death.” He uses knowledge to understand what the expectations of some foods, especially canned foods, should be. While Eighner uses all three persuasive appeals in his writing, ethos is the most

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    In "On Dumpster Diving," Eighner is delivering the message that society needs to only depend on items that, to them, express certain value, and to clarify that Dumpster diving is a way of life, not an immoral, greedy practice. Eighner wants readers to not only have respect for the poor, but to strive for efficiency by being less

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  • A Critique Of On Dumpster Diving By Lars Eighner

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    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.

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    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

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