Edison, New Jersey

"Edison, New Jersey"
Junot Diaz

"The best customers leave us alone until the bill has to be signed.  Every now and then we'll be offered water in paper cups.  Few have offered us more..."  -page 123

What I found most interesting about this story was the point of view, that of a blue collar worker.  My Uncle is a general contractor and I work with him on occasion, so I am quite familiar with being the "lowly" worker and stranger in someone else's home.  Of course, there are greater issues of class and race at play in the story, of which I am not familiar.  However, I can relate to how you feel when at work in another's home.  In addition, I have experiences that greatly contrast that of the story.

The narrator of this story is obviously bitter towards those who employ him, and doesn't respect their property.  Whether through vengeance or simply entitlement, he steals and occasionally vandalizes the homes in which he works.  Additionally, he frequently steals from his own place of business.  Of course, this can be justified by his need to make ends meet, but for the most part he seems driven by the idea of luxury, and by becoming those who he works for.  It's true, when you are working on someone else's property you feel demeaned by default.  It's uncomfortable knowing their in the house and scrutinizing your work on their property.  In that respect, I agree with the narrator.

However, he does not seem to truly have pride in his work.  My Uncle is unreasonably proud of his contracting work, not settling for any cut corners or damage to the home.  He is only satisfied once his skills have been portrayed to the extent of his abilities.  I doubt he could leave a home in peace knowing he had nicked the floor, or duped his employers.  Of course, that doesn't mean we don't occasionally talk some shit.  If the customer is rude and/or stupid, it's common for us to gossip with the taper about that state of their house or the ridiculous quirks the homeowner may have.  However, most customers are not so insufferable, even the incredibly rich ones.  I've worked for people who leak money from every orifice, yet still offer us lunch and cool drinks every chance they get.

Is this because we're white?  Who knows.  Is it because my Uncle works hard to achieve a standard of excellence?  Maybe.  There's thousands of factors to be considered, but you get out what you put in and see what you want to see.  If you see an asshole, you're working for an asshole and it will show in your drive to please that person, who will in turn dislike you.

I could've analyzed the story itself more, but it was fun to go off on that somewhat irrelevant tangent.