- I think that Erin’s aggressive nature is definitely stemmed from internal frustration of being screwed over all the time. She has been left twice with 3 kids. This can create frustration that can lead to desperation to do anything in order to get a job and support her kids. I think Erin is a little more pushy than she needs to be. In order to get a job and sustain it, one has to follow the rules of the company. Erin’s morals and what she thinks is right prevents this from happening most of the time. I think that she presents passion for what she does despite not really conforming to authority.
- At the beginning of the movie, I thought that Ed was just a small fish. He wasn't really that good at his job and didn't work hard enough. I think that he worked very hard with Erin because he saw her passion and also saw the magnitude of the case. He saw he had the opportunity to make history and worked hard to ensure he completed it. Obviously as a client, you expect your attorney to work just as hard for you as they do other people, but it really isn’t realistic. With other people and other clients offering a bunch more money, there really isn’t any incentive to work as hard. Money is the ultimate motivator and if you are good at what you do, you expect more money.
- I think that Erin’s work ethic is very strong. She does her own thing that is very effective in its own right, but it is very different than everyone else she is working with. I think Erin Brockovich sees herself as an important person in the case she is working. In her mind, she is the only one who was willing to get her hands dirty and she knows that she is invaluable to the whole lawsuit. Ed doesn’t treat her like his equal until the very end of the movie because he realizes that this is not about the money, it is about the people. She is claiming that her work ethic is better than Ed Masry’s. She has a point because he doesn’t want to take the risks to get the lawsuit done.
- Erin says that the people of Hinkley don’t dream of being rich. She says that the money isn’t going to be what they dream of. The people of Hinkley dream of being healthy. They dream of their kids being healthy. The millions of dollars are going to go towards doctors, not their own personal well being. Their problems are serious and they want to be treated seriously. I think that she is right when she says that all they want is to be healthy and lead their own lives. They might not be the most complex people, but the have to pay the medical bills in order to keep receiving treatment.
