Corinne’s Blog

“On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner

In his essay Lars Eighner give a depiction of his life as a Dumpster diver, and how it has affected him and his view on life. Dumpster diving is when a person will sometimes literally dive into a Dumpster to salvage items such as food, clothing, and other necessities because they either cannot pay for them or do not wish to. To Eighner, Dumpster diving started out as something that he had to do to survive. It was something that he was ashamed of. But as his time as a Dumpster diver continues he starts to become more skilled in the art of Dumpster diving, and comes to be more appreciative of it and even enjoy it.

In the last paragraphs of Eighner’s essay he starts to become more reflective about his time as a Dumpster diver. He compares his living situation to that of wealthy people. Both he and the wealthy are likely to discard what they possess with little to no thought about it, but the main difference that Eighner cites is why each of them throw out their possessions. Eighner throws away his possessions because he knows that possessions aren’t they key to happiness, whereas the wealthy are inclined to toss their items because they want the newest, shiniest, most expensive edition of the item they are throwing out. Eighner shows that he isn’t part of the rat race to have the very best possessions, because that’s not what life is all about.