"Serving in Florida"

I really enjoyed reading this participatory feature story. I think Barbara Ehrenreich takes an interesting approach to journalism. She experiences what she writes about and attempts to cover all of her subjects objectively. She not only tells us what she is going through, she tells us what her co-workers at the hotel and restaurant experience. The only situation that I kept questioning, throughout, was her portrayals of the managers.

I have no doubt that the hotel business and corporate America monitor the behavior of workers. I've worked in the hotel industry before, at the Days Inn and the Marriott, and I remember my managers’ behavior. Like Ehrenreich notes, "If the manager on duty catches you in an idle moment he will give you something far nastier to do." While this is usually true, no managers are interviewed. Ehrenreich tells us what they say from her perspective.

On the other end of the spectrum, I think Ehrenreich does a great job in covering different topics in her writing. She talks about her co-workers' financial situations, home life and multiple jobs. In my opinion, through sharing these different lifestyles, we are able to sympathize with the workers. I think the clear descriptions allow us to envision "a day in the life" of a worker. On page 142, we read that a server sees "sinks clogged with scraps of lettuce, decomposing lemon wedges, water-logged toast crusts." Indeed, this scenario brings readers into the situation and shows them what Ehrenreich is seeing.

Overall, I feel bad for the workers after reading this feature. I wonder if this was Ehrenreich's intention. If not, I feel that she is favoring one side of the story, and perhaps she should revisit her strategy.