Lars Eighter's essay “On Dumpster Diving” describes the lifestyle and steps involved in the art of scavenging. Homelessness is considered to have a negative connotation, but Eighner tries to maneuver these notions by showing contrasts in his personal experiences and ironic portrayal. Drawing on his experiences, this personal essay contains evidence that demonstrates how Eighter targeted social class to make clear statements about modern consumerism and materialism. He begins to define what "dumpster diving" is and makes a correlation with scavenging as a way of survival. Additionally, he described the technical difficulties of dumpster diving and mentioned which statues are scavengers. It also lists the stages of dumpster diving and concludes by creating a direct connection to consumer society. Students should read “On dumpster diving” by Lar Eighter because it pushes readers to question society's social norms and their correlation to material objects. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Eighner proves his point about consumer society, with the public's lack of empathy towards edible food being thrown away. Over the course of his personal experiences, Eighter has come to the conclusion that there are positive aspects to finding food in a dumpster and picking up what has been discarded. He stated that “you can find a lot of perfectly good food in dumpsters.” Therefore, he discusses how food is acquired through his multiple research methods and that many of the foods found are safe to eat. The author also characterizes the idea of college students throwing food because that's all they know how to do. He states, “Perhaps the item was discarded due to negligence, ignorance, or waste.” The idea of a wasteful society arises from the constant waste that is thrown away every day for no good reason. As a result, Eighner contrasts college students and consumerism not to degrade them, but to indicate the common trait many people have when it comes to actually caring about the food they throw away. This allows Eighter to creatively establish his opinion while maintaining the truth behind his idea. Furthermore, the statement can also be seen as a connection to Eighter himself and how others might perceive him as simply a dumpster diver and nothing more. Society doesn't know the history behind certain individuals, just like students don't know when something is likely to go bad. Eighner instills that dumpster diving serves a function in a consumer society, and owning material goods is only part of the process. Therefore, Eighter wants readers to know that objects have no sense of value, no matter how rare they are. The idea of being socialized to think about the art of acquiring things, but what can be designated as truly valuable? Materialism arose from this idea due to the lack of definition of what would truly be considered valuable. For this reason, Eighter believes there is “no value in the abstract.” This idea formulates the basis for disbelief in material things as mental ideas last longer. As a result, Eighter realizes that scavenging is similar to self-confidence. That must be individually sufficient to live on. Eighner also uses the contrast between the working class and the idea of competition to always want more. Eighter states that “among us there are millions of unrestrained people who have confused themselves with.
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