There are certain stigmas associated with a person's occupation – often incorrectly. In “On Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner explores a niche that many consider shameful, even taboo. However, Eighner's calling goes beyond the acrimony it stirs up. Deep within societal norms, ingrained in our very bones, exists a stubborn aversion and deep distrust of scavengers. From this resentment arises the reader's conjectures about Eighner, particularly about his intellectual abilities. Ultimately, the reader's unfair generalization about dumpster divers wrongly undermines the unspoken credibility pact between reader and writer. From the disgust provoked towards dumpster divers, Lars Eighner recognizes the need to establish his credibility. Thus, in his dumpster-diving testimony, Eighner makes extensive use of the rhetorical appeal of ethos in an attempt to establish himself as a credible source and refute his reputation and that of his peers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In blatant gray font[1], the ostentatious title “On Dumpster Diving” begins the essay with a call to the voyage of Darwin's Beagle. – the precursor to On the Origin of Species. But the allusion goes further than the counterpart titles; Rather, Eighner structured his essay to emulate Darwin's methodology of hypothetical speculation. Like Darwin, Eighner based many of his conclusions on observations rather than conventional experiments based on induction. Through indirect interrogation of location analysis and careful timing, Eighner summarizes his personal experiences into a unique set of guidelines governing dumpster diving. Ultimately, this emulation of inquiry uses the rhetorical strategy of ethos – namely the appeal to authority, in this case Darwin – which in turn gives the author much-needed credibility. Like Darwin, Eighner presents the reader with the area he frequents as an example of location analysis. He addresses this problem in the first two sentences: directly stating "I am not here by chance", but rather because the area is "inhabited by many well-off students" who are prodigiously generous in what they throw away (89 ). Clearly, his methodical scavenging tactics at this location have proven lucrative, where "the typical reject is half a jar of peanut butter" (89). And to further prove the ROI, Eighner meticulously compiles his findings, boasting about intermittently still-warm pizzas, yogurts and cheeses, canned goods and pantry staples, alcoholic beverages and even non-tangible items such as drugs or pornography. Thus, the public assumption is that the author's excursions were extremely profitable compared to other dumpster divers, and Eighner attributes his success in part to his location analysis. Just as Darwin takes credit for leading the HMS Beagle to the Galapagos archipelago, Eighner also takes credit for strategically choosing the location for his pursuit. Beyond Eighner's geographic certainty about his beneficiary region, much of his success stems from his close attention to the entire academic calendar. Alluding to the strategic timing of Darwin's journey, the author also benefits from the inference that the student will "throw away food during recess" if there is uncertainty about perishability[2] (89). Thus was born Eighner's cornucopia[3]..