Alexandra Hendricks
English III
Bell 6
12 April 2016
On Dumpster Diving
How does the author remove the stigma of those who are living in poverty or homeless? Cite examples that remove the stigma and explain how these lines combat the stigma.
In the article On Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner unintentionally debunks many homeless stereotypes and stigmas throughout the text.
One stigma he debunked is homeless people are ruthless to get food. Being homeless, it is unpredictable when a person is going to get their next meal, so the homeless will steal food. Eighner was caught eating out of a pizza dumpster, and the owners believed he stole pizzas by placing bogus orders. He responds,” I never placed a bogus order to increase the supply of pizzas and I believe no one else was scavenging in those dumpsters” (Eighner 20). Eighner debunks that stigma by being honest and showing that he is not so consumed with survival that he is willing to steal pizzas.
Another stigma debunked is that homeless people are competitive for survival and will hoard a dumpster to themselves. It seems that homeless people would be territorial over a dumpster since there could be good food in there and they can’t afford to share it. That is a myth since Eighner helps other homeless people learn how to go dumpster diving,” Since then I have initiated several companions into the trade [dumpster diving]” (Eighner 30). By showing helping new homeless people, he shows that he is not territorial over a dumpster and will share it.
On Dumpster Diving debunks many myths about the homeless. Homeless people are not territorial over dumpsters, and will not do anything for food.
