A Critique of On Dumpster Diving
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.
To Survive One Must Eat
The majority of the population enjoys a breakfast from the comfort of his or her home. There are those that have no home and no idea where their next meal may
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As depicted by Mayberry (2009) Lars Eighner began dumpster diving for food a year before he became homeless the first time in 1988 and again in 1995 but prefers the term scavenger, which he feels is a “sound and honorable niche” (p.351). It is not clear from this excerpt why he started scavenging for food long before he became homeless nor what led to him become homeless either time, however one could surmise that it was from lack of resources to purchase food to eat and living expenses. Pearce (2013) continued to state on a phenomenon that “one may in fact still have housing but may not be able to afford much more than the monthly payment”, consequently if one continues to pay for the housing, he or she may have less available in terms of food and end up relying on other sources of food as Lars Eighner did by scavenging dumpsters (para. 12). Eighner went on to state how he was able to discern edible foods from non-edible such as eating yogurt past the expiration date if it was still sealed, however with all the precautions he took still got dysentery at least once a …show more content…
Eighner (1991) stated “Except for jeans, all my clothes came from Dumpsters. Boom boxes, candles, bedding, toilet paper, medicine, books, a typewriter, a virgin male love doll, change sometimes amounting to many dollars: I acquired many things from the Dumpsters” (p.6). The availability of these items could sustain a homeless person for an indefinite amount of time.
Numerous people may not realize what he or she discards may in fact be of use to someone in a homeless condition, therefore education for the public to instruct them to donate more items should be considered. If collaboration could be made between the local refuse plants and the homeless shelters to help educate the public, more usable items could be donated rather than discarded as trash. This could be as simple as a correspondence attached to the monthly bills for all the residents of a
According to an observation walking down on Market Street in San Francisco, homeless people are almost seen in every corner of the streets. Some would try to earn some money from playing music or even trying to perform a show. When exiting from Embarcadero Bart station, a women is seen at a corner trying to sell things. Things that are old and things like fake jewelries. Some would try to walk up and ask if one might need help with directions and would ask for money later on. In chapter one of "Nickel and Dimed", Barbara wrote a note about her coworkers; about how her coworkers lived. "Gail is sharing a room in a well-known downtown flophouse for $250 a week. [...] Claude, the Haitian cook, is desperate to get out of the two room apartment he shares with his girlfriend and two other, unrelated people." People are living in an apartment, house or a motel with more than one person in order to pay their rent. What would happen if their roommates move out or your boyfriend kicked you out of the house? Where would the person live now that he or she is being kicked out. The person can go to a relative or a friend 's house to stay, however this does not erase the fact that the person is homeless. Being homeless can change a person 's life dramatically, emotionally and
The majority of people waste food on a daily basis. In fact, in the U.S. alone there is an estimate that over half of the food produced goes uneaten; meanwhile there are people who are in need of food, and it ultimately goes to waste (Dockterman). For example, in his essay, “On Dumpster Diving,” author Lars Eighner writes about his experiences of dumpster diving with his pet dog, during his years of homelessness. According to Eighner, much of the food and materials he came across in the dumpsters were in usable shape, and many items were new. Clearly there needs to be a change in American food waste, in current and, hopefully not so much in, future generations. In order to bring about change in this misuse of food, Americans need to be conscious
Homelessness is increasing every year and effecting Americans of different age, ethnicity and religion. In Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” he explains what he went through while being homeless. He describes how and what foods someone should be looking for and to always be conscious of what one is eating because there is always a reason why something has been thrown out. He continues to go into detail about other items that can be found in the dumpster like sheets to sleep on and pieces of paper to write on. Things that can keep him 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. It’s a way of living and they are comfortable doing it. “I began dumpster diving about a year before I became homeless” (Eighner 713). He tries to bring us into the world of being homeless. It is hard to imagine what it would be like in that situation, and how could surviving as a dumpster diver be a way 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 guidelines of what is and is not safe to eat. “Eating safely from the dumpsters involves three principles: using common sense for evaluating the food, knowing the dumpsters of the given areas and always ask, “Why was this discarded?” (Eighner 714).
In the text “On Dumpster Diving”, by Lars Eighner is about a man who speaks of being a homeless man joined by his pet, named Lizbeth. Not exclusively does he clarify his procedures living out of dumpsters, yet in addition the lessons he has learned as a scavenger. Above all I think the genuine message he was attempting to get cross over is that we waste more than we think we do, and it's in our nature as humans. He had built up a great deal of involvement in recognizing on what was protected to eat and what wasn't. He specified eating from a dumpster is the thing that isolates the dilettanti from the experts. Eighner passed by three standards, presence of mind, knowing the Dumpsters and checking them consistently, and looking for dependably
This shows that homelessness is not a one stop shop. Significant factors and actions have to come into play for someone to become homeless. The theses goes into great detail on the lack of studies and analysis from past years. She hits hard on the fact that many homeless people are seniors or mentally ill people. These people have a hard time taking care of themselves and rely on faulty systems including, care homes, financial aid, disability and ect. General triggers from past events in life that were traumatising can also play a huge role in homelessness.
This story explains the science behind dumpster diving and the different techniques people use to scavenge for treasures that was once other people's trash. The author, Lars Eighner, talks about the pros and cons of searching through dumpsters to find food or other items that could be useful when you do not have much money to spend on essentials. Lars Eighner told multiple stories of crazy things he would find that people would just throw away. He Explains why a college campus is one of his favorite places to scavenge through dumpsters because of all of the spoiled kids who are very wasteful and just throw stuff away. He says, “Students throw out canned goods and staples at the end of the semesters and when they give up college at
The United States will continue to be a developed country if the numbers of people holding cardboard on the street do not decrease. 1 out of 7 people in U.S suffer from hunger and are forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars (Hunger and Homelessness 1).Every year, the homeless population grows in United States. People become homeless because of many reasons. Because they are homeless, they have been struggling in every way that human possible can have. In order to get back on their feet, they need help in every way. The homeless population is increasing drastically in society. People who are more fortunate than others should put social status aside and take an action to help homeless people to get back on their feet.
Hill, R., & Stamey, M. (1990). The Homeless in America: An Examination of Possessions and Consumption Behaviors. Journal Of Consumer Research, 17(3), 303-321.
In the past decades, the booming housing market has caused the prices of real estate to dramatically increase causing the issue of homelessness to be on the rise. Many people who do live on the streets, resort to dumpster diving and finding trash to call theirs. In his article: "On Dumpster Diving" Lars Eighner, goes into depth about his experiences while dumpster diving. Eighner found many items in the dumpster that were still edible or somewhat useful. He began diving a year before he became homeless and has continued while he wrote his piece of work (Eighner 673). Eighner enlightens us with many instances of his journey dumpster diving while he was homeless.
It is true that some individuals are homeless not because of bad habits one might have, but because of financial reasons. A lot of society that is part of this problem is because they simply do not make enough at their low
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...
“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)
All-in-all, Eighner fails at his attempt to get us to stop "wasting" what we can't use. It is easy to see that it's not our faults if people are homeless, because we are not contributing to that. Removing clutter and getting rid of junk does not keep people on the streets! Some people are just down-and-out, and there's nothing we can do to help or hurt that. Eighner needs to look at the man in the mirror and realize that if he didn't get a job because people cut off their garbage, then that's not the case. Even though Eighner disagrees with me, today, tomorrow, and the day after that, I will always throw away that inch of peanut butter.
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
I agree with his assessment about society’s throw away mentality due to the fact that I have seen it myself first hand. Recently I helped my sister move out of her dorm room at NAU and I was horrified to see all the things and edible food she was just dumping and what was worse, she wasn’t the only one. All of the kids were getting rid of perfectly good items in the dumpster, so it’s no wonder that dumpsters near college campuses are one of Eighner’s favorite places to scavenge. In his article on page 3, Eighner elaborates on student’s wasteful habits, “but in the case of discards from student apartments, the answer may be that the item was discarded through carelessness, ignorance or wastefulness.” I believe agree with Eighner that some people have a pack rat mentality while others just throw it away. My parents are a good example of this and I think it has something to do with the way that they were raised. My mom is a pack rat, holding on to everything as long as possible and giving away to charity what she doesn’t want anymore. She squeezes every last drop out of a toothpaste tube or a shampoo bottle, while my dad will throw it away half empty. My mom was raised in a single parent household, where money was tight and you used what you had… my dad however, was raised in a more affluent home and money flowed more freely. In fact, my mom does her own dumpster diving fairly regularly in our garbage can by rescuing stuff out of the garbage that my dad has thrown away, including belts, pants, shirts and hardly worn tennis shoes. She doesn’t keep the goods, but instead gives it to Goodwill or the church clothing drive. My dad is her antithesis and is definitely part of the throw-away society. My dad has little sentiment attached to stuff and like Eichner mentioned on page 6, “knows there is plenty more where what we came from.” After reflecting on