How does the writer document hard times?
The writer documents hard types by including quotes from characters who suggest they will do all it takes to make ends meet. By utilizing meaningful quotes, such as “Where’s my tip?,” the author illustrates what is important to people during this time. Since they are concerned with earning tips and finding any work they can get, the characters’ dialogue and lifestyles suggest times are hard. The author describes their lifestyles by including various descriptive details: “At three stops along the way, they can be seen making a living, or at least a few extra dollars” and one person “sometimes sleeps on the A train.”

How and where does the writer bring money into his story?
The writer brings money into the story by discussing a variety of factors: the workers’ salaries, how much they pay for rent, and how much they spend on cars, etc. He provides perspective on salaries by suggesting “an eight-hour workday can land a gas pumper about $50, and for the more energetic ones, maybe more,” for example. He also describes how one man had spent $200 on his truck: a vehicle that would serve useful when “picking up mattresses left on the street and delivering them to a refurbishing business that would pay him $15 for each one.” When discussing money, the writer frequently contextualizes salaries and costs, comparing prices to what services at other venues, like garages, would cost, and how one worker “earns about $150 a day, which helps him pay the $950 monthly rent for his one-bedroom apartment nearby.”

Do you think the lead is effective?
If so, why? I think the lead is effective because it provides a general sense of what the article is about without giving away too many details. Although the reader knows the article will focus on someone who works hard and pumps gas, it is not disclosed who exactly these people are nor what the other “hustle[s] along the strip are”; these mysteries inspire me to keep reading. The lead is effective in catching my attention and raising questions in my mind without revealing too many details.