One man’s trash is another man’s treasure right? Well that's what a lot of people say, but probably not what writer Lars Eighner would say. Being a homeless, dumpster diver back in his youth he would have probably said, “one man’s trash is another man’s survival.” Lars Eighner writes a very unusual essay on, “Dumpster Diving,” about his unique experiences of obtaining food and other basic necessities while being homeless and without a job. He tells about his findings in dumpsters, which ranges from food, to miscellaneous personal objects such as love letters, pill bottles and even fairly new running shoes. Not only does he talk about his findings, but he tells his feelings and tries to ponder about the meanings of his findings and also the people that discard the items. Although Eighner builds himself up to be a self-righteous individual, and claims to keep his opinions from the facts, he draws …show more content…
He teaches his readers two valuable lessons that he learned through his experience of dumpster diving; take only what you can use, and the short existence of material things. I agree wholeheartedly with these two principles. Spiritual and mental things last for a much longer time than any knick knack ever can. And indeed it is easy to believe that an object holds a sentiment to us, think backwards to what that object first transformed from. A treasure chest, a block of wood, a log, a tree, a small seed. Look at that sentimental object for what it really is and it truly is nothing more than what we make out of it. Yet we still have the sentiments and memories that object supposedly holds. I too believe that there is no reason in holding onto things that we don’t need either. Eighner is trying to explain to us that we shouldn’t place our happiness in such things that clutter our lives and are really just
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
There are plenty of articles that discuss in great detail the conditions and many aspects of dumpster diving, but there is a fundamental difference between diving for survival and diving for profit. Lars Eighner, the author of “On Dumpster Diving”, tells stories of multiple instances of his dumpster diving experience. Eighner also explains exactly what it’s like to be homeless and to rely on scavenging through garbage to survive in order to get your next meal. On the other hand, in the article “Dumpster Divers: Scavenging is About More Than the Trash” by Elana Dure, she discusses that dumpster divers believe to think they are scavenging for treasure, not just for pleasure and enjoyment, but for profit. Both are “making a living”, but one group
Lars Eighner's short essay, "Dumpster Diving," reveals the stereotypes about homelessness in America. In order to confirm these known stereotypes about American culture, Eighner includes autobiographical accounts of the economically inferior class, as well as revealing his elitist rules that governs the life of a homeless person. According to Eighner, homeless people fall into the following categories, 'can scroungers', 'Dumpster divers', and 'scavengers.' (Eighner, 1993). In addition, Eighner's blatant demonstration of his superiority to the people he scavenges from reveals his true character of snobbery.
The understudies additionally disposed of medications, erotic entertainment and spirits. Eighner says that people throw away perfectly good stuff. Its majority contains much value, however he just gathers things that he can utilize quickly. Eighner writing style says a lot about his lifestyle, it shows that when he first started he did not realize that we as people throw away a lot of good things that can be fixed or that we waste a lot of food when their are others that need it more. He believes that whatever he finds has more value than it does to someone else. At the time when he was not homeless it made him realize that some things at the time were not worth acquiring, and know he think it holds so much value even though he was person that invested in materialistic things.
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.”
1. The main idea is not only that owning stuff is not the key to happiness, it’s also that consumers today own more than they need to thrive which directly impacts the environment. Hill illustrates the environmental impact by showing statistics of global warming today versus the past century, and how consumerism is leading to a hotter climate. Hill debunks claims of buying happiness by discussing a study where stress hormones spike to their highest when people are managing their personal belongings. Hill’s most prominent example that consumerism is not the answer is himself, as he discusses some of the most stressful times of his life being right after coming into a large sum of money and buying whatever he fancied. When Hill concludes his article, he states that “I have less—and enjoy more. My space is small. My life is big” (213).
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
If I got lost in a desolate desert, I would survive because I value things that are essential and beneficial for survival. King Tut would have died if he got lost because he values items like gold and jewelry, whereas I bring the essentials. This is a good habit because money does not bring happiness into anyone’s life. It is the moments that they spend with their family that bring true happiness into their lives. When people value material possessions greater than their own or their family survival won’t live a happy life.
Dive: Living off America’s Waste (which this paper will refer to as “Dive!” from henceforth), is a movie about Jeremy Seifert and his life of voluntary simplicity through dumpster diving. Seifert presents and analyzes data about food waste in America, causes of a production system that wastes one-half of what it makes, and methods to counteract this waste. Hinted at before, this documentary has much to do with the articles Voluntary Simplifiers, Spirituality, and Happiness and Creating a More Just and Sustainable World that were read for class. By using these two readings, we can come to understand the sociological concepts that are presented in the film Dive!
Essayist, Lars Eighner, in his prize-winning essay, "On Dumpster Diving," discusses his experience as a homeless person. Eighner's purpose is to convey the idea that society needs to be less materialistic and place emphasis on items with "sentimental value" (387). He wants society to not get caught up in materials and live life to the fullest. Eighner creates an informative and educated tone to convince readers that dumpster diving is a honest, not greedy or selfish, "modern form of self-reliance" (386).
First, the acquisition of any failure to discard large amounts of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value. Second, clutter that precludes using living spaces as initially intended such as using the kitchen to cook or the bathroom to bath. Finally, third significant emotional distress or impairment in function caused by hoarding behavior and clutter. (Cited by Fleury) Studies of hoarding show the rate of occurrence somewhere between 2 to 5 percent of the American population. That means as many as six million to fifteen million Americans suffer from hoarding that causes them distress or interferes with their ability to live. (Frost9) Neighbors or even family members could display symptoms of hoarding, however many times these signs go unnoticed because they are not thought of as hoarding most of the times they are laughed off or referred to as the “pack rat”. Robert Frost stated in his book Stuff, “The passion of a collector, the procrastination of someone who has not taken the time to put things away, the sentimentality of one who saves reminders of important personal events---all these are part of the hoarding story.”
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.
...This is a very powerful article taking his readers into the world of being poor and homeless, and what people experience every day that could never be imagined. Eighner says in one of his last paragraphs that, “many times in our travels I have lost everything but the clothes I was wearing and Lizbeth” (Eighner 724). He also states that he and the wealthy have the same attitudes about knowing there is more where what they came from. Eighner is so powerful and doesn’t care what others think of him. He is just trying to survive like everyone else. To have such a carefree attitude is very moving.
It is of no surprise to anyone that people in general, particularly Americans, tend to be overly-enticed by materialistic things and ridiculous ideals, placing more emphasis on them than things of sentiment. In “On Dumpster Diving,” author Lars Eighner develops on his experiences as a homeless man not in an attempt to defend the art of Dumpster diving, but instead to build upon the idea that a majority of people spend too much time and money on things that will not matter in a few years—they should instead focus on things that will never lose their value. Throughout the essay, he is attempting to persuade his audience that they should change their regular way of thinking and let go of materialistic things in order to live a better, more sound, and overall healthier life. To develop this purpose, Eighner utilizes juxtaposition, exemplification, and definition.
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