MovieChat Forums > White Oleander (2002) Discussion > In the book, a question...why didn't Ast...

In the book, a question...why didn't Astrid just get a job?

posted 13 years ago by fiatlux-1
9 replies | jump to latest

*mild spoiler for the book below*

In one of the homes Astrid goes to in the book, she is starved of breakfast & lunch 5 days of the week. She complains of having no one and nowhere to go for the long lonely afternoons.
She was 15, why the heck didn't she get a part time job and get some money to eat?? It might have even made the character more interesting, trying to sneak around more.

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] angelatalk2000 13 years ago

I think the writer wanted to make the book as dramatic as possible. Note that Astrid has a major traumatic event in every home in which she is placed, even though the circumstances of her life were traumatic enough. You're right, Astrid was smart and self-reliant enough to at least have tried to find a job, but having her starve and consider prostitution make the situation more poignant. This over-dramatization was soemething about the book I did not like.

[–] meaella 13 years ago

Just finished rereading the book yesterday. I think the reason she wouldn't have gotten a job was because at that point she was still completely reliant on other people. She didn't really start to rely on herself until she got to Rena's house. The whole book was her journey to break away from these mother figures in her life and become her own person (I think).

[–] canon-stufff 13 years ago

don't you have to be 16 to work? she probably didn't even have a social security card until she moved in with claire.

[–] fiatlux-1 13 years ago

In many states you can be 15 to work. But you can only work so many hours a week.
It used to be 15 hours a week here in CT, I believe.
You don't need a SS card to work, but you do need to know the number. She could have asked her case worker I'd imagine.

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] catseye664 12 years ago

I had a friend who started working at Burger King when she was 14.

[–] thenightterror 12 years ago

Very simple. A child needs their legal guardian's permission to work, and the guardian can seize their child's income and keep it for themselves, though they do have to return it when the child turns 18. This happened to my father, his parents took every dime he made when he was a minor, but he successfully sued his mother for the money back.

Astrid would have to get the foster mother's permission to work and she would know that Astrid was making money, and that's assuming Astrid even had a social security number. Since the vulture was just after money, I don't doubt for a second she would have pocketed her paychecks. It would have been a lot better if they openly addressed that, though, I agree.

[–] trixie-k-88 11 years ago

It's not that easy for kids to get jobs, especially when they look poor and unkempt. Most kids also don't know how to set up resumes and references and things like that. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if her money was taken from her even if she did get a job.

[–] Faridah (1325) 3 years ago

You could this question to all those who are unemployed. There are only so many jobs to go around and even less for teenagers.

[–] JoeBlow88 (547) 2 years ago

I dropped out at 14 and worked on oil rigs up north, I worked with lots of 14-18 yr old guys from the bottom ends of society. They are always hiring for dangerous and shitty jobs...