Sage Patchett- Erin Brockovich

Sage Patchett

 

1. I believe Erin Brockovich’s aggressive pursuit of a job does stem from the fact that she is a single mother struggling to support her family. This is especially because she desperately needs the money to be able to support herself and her three kids financially. Therefore, she has a higher drive to find a job since she truly needs it to survive. I think that because Erin lives a very simple but financially disadvantaged life, her sense of what is “right” or “wrong” is not greater than the average American’s. In fact, she seems to have less of a sense of morals because she is always swearing and dressing provocatively, something taboo and not appropriate to most Americans, especially in the workplace. This could be because she doesn’t have the time or the resources to care about what other people think of her. She’s real and gets straight to the point because she’s dealt with a lot and is determined to be get her point across and be independent and hard-working. I think Erin is pushy, but she is just doing what she has to do in order to survive. For instance, she walked right into her job place and demanded for herself to get a job. This is very pushy, but she’s only being so self-assertive because she has to get a job in order to afford food and shelter for her family. She’s a hard worker and a go getter because she needs to be, not just because she wants to.

2. I think attorney Ed Masry is sympathetic of Erin Brockovich’s situation as a struggling mother later on in the film. This is shown in the movie because despite the fact that she storms into the office demanding for a job, he gives her a chance. However, at the very beginning of the film I didn't like him because he let the other person win in the case when Erin was in a car accident. I think he didn’t work as hard for Erin’s case as he might have for some of the firm’s clients who might have been million dollar corporations because he didn’t try very hard in the trial against the guy who crashed into her car. She lost the case because the guy, who was a rich doctor, had the money to afford a fancy lawyer that could paint her as reckless and guilty rather than the other way around. He might not try as hard for her case because he knows that she didn’t have a chance, which I personally think is unfair. I think that attorneys should give the same service to every client regardless of the revenue that client represents because even if someone doesn’t have a lot of money, they still deserve an equal shot at winning a case.

3. I think Erin Brockovich has a strong work ethic because she seems to highly value work and put her best effort into everything that she does. She sees herself as more than just a temporary employee because she goes off and does her own research for the case, even though she doesn’t have much time with raising her kids. She goes out of her way to do her job because she sees herself as more than just Mr. Masry’s assistant/secretary, as shown by her frequent defiance of her boss. This influences how Erin does her job because she feels that she has a bigger purpose and is not just doing things to get them done. She knows that the case is important for other people’s health and safety, and spends many hours reading the case and meeting with people to get more information for the good of the community.

4. I agree with Erin´s perspective after the meeting with PG&E’s attorneys, where she makes a compelling argument for a higher settlement amount for the nearly 400 plaintiffs involved in the case. Erin makes them realize how expensive and painful it is for the patients who had to deal with the many side effects of the drinking water. She asked the lawyers how they would feel if their "uterus was ripped out" or their "spine was deteriorating" and multiply that times a hundred, since they have to pay for expensive health care. She argues that all people have experienced pain in one way or another, so it would be morally wrong to deny them of the money that they need.