Reset Button

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Barbara Ehrenreich's story about serving in a run down diner in Florida would be a daunting task for anyone as she explains the horrors in an impoverished lifestyle. And for the eight pages of text the reader can devote their empathy for the writer... until of course you remember that to her, this is all just an experiment. At any point in this hardship that she deems to burdensome to bare she can simply pull the chord and eject back to the safety of her PhD bestselling author life to comfort her. I hate to admit this but usually when we have to read stories like this in the textbook i save the author background section for after I finish the piece, and I cannot begin to explain the speed for which the author lost my sympathy for the piece. An endearing story about a woman who has to live basically from paycheck to paycheck and room in a trailer home, but managed to make ends meet and survive where most Americans would fail had morphed into a Cronenberg metaphorical spit in the face for anyone who doesn't have the luxury of leaving a life like that behind.
Im sure if able, George would have pulled his lifeline chord to eject from his situation of being accused of the unforgivable crime of stealing ketchup packets or cherry pie mix from the dry storage room, which let me remind you was never actually proven. Or maybe he'd have pulled it to free himself from an apartment full of other dishwashers who have to schedule when they work just so others can have room to sleep there. Although Ehrenreich's work shed light on the cruelty shown to people in the bottom of the workforce, I can't help but feel like she'll never be able to truly understand any of their experiences. When she gets fired and has finally had enough of acquiring research she can leave but where can George go? Or better yet, where can any of the workers at Jerry's go when the diner gets shut down and they don’t have the cash to feed their families? Nothing, and if you want to know why it's because we don’t get to see that part of the story, the actual lives of the people she's writing about. We end the story before learning of the fate of George and are left to wonder of the other souls that Ehrenreich left behind and we leave them just like her, done with living through her character in the diner we all just pull our chords and go back to who we really are... We close the book.
In the end however, ultimately I can only share envy towards her. Picture being able to simply eject from your life when things get too difficult to handle, or whenever you just need a break. Assuming that said alter ego life is better I ask you loyal reader, looking at your life now would you pull the plug on this version of you if it met being able to embark in a better one? Leave everything you've known in Michigan and enter into the life of your dreams? Taking advantage of my omnipresent control over this blog don't expect me to share my answer but i'd be lying if I said retreating to a second chance doesn't seem extremely tempting.
Yours truly
-Connor

Comments

  1. molly capelliMarch 3, 2019 at 10:37 AM

    wow, i have goosebumps after reading this! I would absolutely love to have a "reset button." I mean can you imagine having a way to live the life you had always imagined. Don't get my wrong, I love my life here, but being able to change all the things I want to, get rid of mistakes I've made, yeah I'd do it. I think you have here an amazing analysis of this week's readings and I always love to read your blogs-great job!

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  2. Abby DangremondMarch 3, 2019 at 4:21 PM

    Wow, I did not even realize this until I read your blog. I love how you connected the idea of "pulling the plug" (in a sense) to real life, as too many of us would long to have that option of opting out of hardship and throwing ourselves into our dreams. Great job making your point, you've convinced. me--the author can never truly understand when having that option.

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