Lars Eighner

Lars Eighner, "On Dumpster Diving"

Lars Eighner (1948- ) was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and grew up in Houston. Eighner attended the University of Texas in the late 1960s. Besides writing, he has worked at a drug crisis center and at the state asylum in Austin, Texas. When he lost his state job in Austin in the late 1980s and couldn't support himself with his writing, Eighner was homeless for about three years. He recounted his experiences in the highly acclaimed book, Travels with Lizbeth: Three Years on the Road and on the Streets (1993). Eighner has also written a novel, Pawn to Queen Four (1995) and a nonfiction work about homosexuality called Gay Cosmos (1995). His work has appeared in periodicals such as The Threepenny Review, Utne Reader, Harper's, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Book Review. "On Dumpster Diving" is a gently written look at a tough subject. It was first published as "My Daily Dives in the Dumpster" in 1991 in Harper's Magazine and was revised and reprinted in Travels with Lizbeth.

CONTENT

1. Why does Eighner begin to capitalize the word Dumpster?
2. Explain why Eighner prefers the word scavenging to the word scrounging. What other synonyms does he mention?
3. Who are the dilettanti?
4. What conflicts does the author have with can scroungers?
5. What type of food does Eighner find "among the safest"? What serious problem is associated with this type of food?
6. Categorize the things Eighner finds in Dumpsters.
7. Describes the series of stages the author says a person goes through when learning to scavenge.

STRATEGY AND STYLE

1. Describe this piece as a process analysis essay. Is Eighner writing a "how to" guide to scavenging, or is he after more than that? Explain, discussing the final paragraphs of the essay.
2. What role does description play in this essay? Find some places where the author makes a direct appeal to the senses. Are these passages themselves appealing?
3. Paragraph two is only eleven words long. What information does it convey? Why do you think the author made such a choice? How do form and content interact here?
4. Describe Eighner's tone in paragraph thirty when he says that he doesn't want to present "too romantic a picture." Is he being ironic? Defend your answer with specifics from the text.
5. Find a comparison in paragraph thirty-three, in which rice is involved. What's the rest of the comparison and how effective is it in showing the author's thoughts about homelessness?

1. Do any of the things Eighner finds in Dumpsters surprise you? If so, why? If not, why not? How might have your level of surprise affected your reading?
2. Eighner writes that many times when he was homeless he lost everything but the clothes he was wearing and his dog. Speculate as to the circumstances of such losses. What do these things say about his life on the streets?

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUSTAINED WRITING

1. Write a comparison/contrast essay using this piece and Benjamin Franklin's "The Way to Wealth" as your main sources.
2. Examine the author's relationship with his dog, as preparation to incorporate your findings into a descriptive essay about your relationship with an animal of yours, past or present.

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Do some research about the homeless rate in one specific U.S. city or locality in the 1990s. What trends did you find? What was being done about the homeless problem during this time? Who was doing it? What still needs to be done?

WEB CONNECTION

Are you interested in pursuing the study of homelessness further, but unsure where to start? Visit this page on the topic from the Coalition on Human Needs. There, you'll find links to all sorts of information, from Federal programs to news to special reports.

LINKS

Biographical

Ready to learn more about this author? Visit Eighner's own homepage. It has the latest news, and links to all kinds of things including a Lizbeth Memorial, an online writing course, and some of his work in etext.

Here's an Eighner biography from the Texas Homeless Network. There are also a couple of photos on this page, and some related links.

Bibliographical

Would you like an update to the essay you've just read? Take a look at this letter Eighner wrote called "The Dumpster System 2000."

Here's some more etext! Click here and you'll be taken to Eighner's online interactive writing course. Do you like etext? Why or why not? What are some of the differences between it and plain old hard copy?

Cultural

The title of this essay is "Dumpster Diving on the Web." What's the main subject and how can you compare this piece to the one in your text? Can you make anything out of Eighner's embracing of the Internet?

How about a bit of background information about this author's work experience in Texas? This page has the history of the asylum in Austin where Eighner once had a job.

Here's another essay on Dumpster diving, complete with tips and etiquette. Which one do you prefer, this one or Eighner's? Explain.