Week 12 Prompt

 Title: Hand to Mouth, Living in Bootstrap America

Author: Linda Tirado

 

Where is the book on the narrative continuum? 

                  Highly Narrative (Reads Like it is Fiction)

X            A Mix (Combines highly narrative moments with periods of fact-based prose.)

                  Highly Fact Based

 

What is the subject of the book?

                  The author Linda Tirado narrates her journey on living paycheck to paycheck in the United States. She also uses humor to demonstrate how people in poverty survive.

 

What type of book is it?

                  Non-Fiction. It reads similar to an essay. Tirado shares her daily experiences with struggling with health care, minimum wage, and poverty. 

 

Articulate Appeal

What is the pacing of the book?  Average pacing. Keeps the reader’s attention but is easy to put down. 

Describe the characters of the book. This book centers around the authors daily struggles. She mentions her husband and former coworkers in several chapters. 

How Does the Story Feel?  Depressing. While Tirado uses humor to describe poverty, it is still a depressing story. 

What is the intent of the Author?  Tirado wants to share her life story of living in poverty and working two jobs while going to school. Something millions of people in the United States can understand. 

What is the focus of the story?  Tirado describes how one event can change your life. An example was she had her car towed. She could not afford to get it out of impound. The result of this one incident is both her and her husband lost their jobs because they had no transportation to work. 

Does the language matter?  Yes. The author uses vulgar language throughout the book.

Is the setting important and well described?  Yes. The author is clear on the locations of her jobs and home. 

Are there details?   Yes. The author goes in detail on her experiences living in poverty.

Are their charts and other graphic material?  No.

Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, and experience?  The author’s purpose of this book is to make readers understand how it feels to live paycheck to paycheck. Tirado shares her personal experiences with us to help us learn and understand what the lower middle class deals with on a daily basis.