MOTIVATIONNEEDS

IN

MY NAME IS EARL, S02E22, GET A REAL JOB

Show Summary
The series stars Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Eddie Steeples and Nadine Velazquez. Earl J. Hickey (Lee) is a petty criminal whose winning $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. Lying in a hospital bed, under the influence of morphine, he develops a belief in the concept of karmic retribution when he hears about karma during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. To turn his life around, he makes a list of every bad thing he's ever done in an attempt to correct them, as he believes that this is the only way he can gain positive karma. After doing his first good deed, he finds the $100,000 lottery ticket he had previously lost. He sees this as a sign of karma rewarding him and, with his newfound wealth, he begins doing good deeds according to his list. As he continues to fulfill good deeds, Earl seems to be only doing so to improve his own life but begins to develop a sincere sense of morals and ethics, refusing to participate in illegal or morally wrong activities-though sometimes finds himself in very awkward situations including a suicidal stunt man, a second-hand hot tub that gives his ex-wife Joy a communicable toe disease, a Korean War veteran who wants to reclaim some possessions Earl destroyed (including the ear of a fellow soldier) and a psychotic "witch woman" who proves him right in thinking she is evil when she knocks him and many others out and stores them in her basement.

Cast of Characters
Earl J. Hickey, a small-time thief with a messed-up life, narrates events of the last seven years. In 1999, while drunk, he married a pregnant Joy. In 2000 Dodge (so called because his real father drove a Ford) was born. In 2001 Joy gave birth to a black boy, Earl Junior (presumed to be Darnell Turner's child). In 2005 Earl wins $100,000 with a scratch-off lottery ticket, but is immediately hit by a car and watches the ticket blow away. While he recovers in the hospital, Joy divorces him, and Earl is introduced to "karma" while watching Carson Daly. He decides to try to make up for all the bad things he has done and makes a written list of 259 items. After leaving the hospital he picks up trash to atone for item #136, "I've been a litterbug", and finds his lost $100,000 scratcher. Figuring karma works pretty well, he resolves to continue making up for items on the list.
1 Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu

He starts with #64: "Picked on Kenny James" in elementary school. Earl, Randy and Catalina find Kenny's parents' house, and Earl sends Randy to find out from them where Kenny lives, because Randy is a good liar as long as he has 4 beers. Randy poses as former class president looking for Kenny, but received a beer from Mr. James. Randy mutters "dibs" when he sees Mrs. James while he is mildly drunk, and makes his escape with the address. Over the next few days Earl spies on Kenny to figure out how best to help him. Kenny has a good job as an assistant manager, a powder blue Renault Le Car, and a nice house, but nobody to share his life; so Earl decides to get him laid, by hiring Patty the Daytime Hooker. When Kenny refuses free sex, Earl talks to Kenny in person. Kenny is still afraid of Earl and Randy, telling them to take what they want and leave, but Earl persists in trying to help. When Randy finds homosexual pornography in Kenny's nightstand, he and Earl flee the house. Earl decides not to help Kenny because he is gay, but when he returns to his motel room Joy hits him with a telephone, angry that Earl didn't bother telling her that he won the lottery. Earl thinks this is Karma's way of telling him to give Kenny another shot. Finding Earl waiting for him at home, Kenny tries to use Mace on Earl, but accidentally sprays it in his own face. Earl pours milk into Kenny's eyes to soothe the irritation, then asks Kenny why he doesn't have a man. Kenny answers that nobody knows he is gay, and he is afraid to go to a gay bar. Earl agrees to come with him, and persuades Randy to go along by telling him there will be bubbles. Kenny is still too afraid to try to talk to anyone at the bar, but thanks Earl for giving him back his confidence; he no longer fears Earl. Earl crosses off #64 while Randy, after 15 beers, dances with a man.i

Episode Recap
Earl and Randy don't usually set the alarm clock, but today is their first day at their new jobs, stocking appliances for Mr. Waadt. Up until now, Earl has kept himself from becoming an adult, #273B on his list. Once he got his GED, it was time to start looking for a job. Earl learned that it's easy to get a job, but hard to find one you want to keep. While Earl's feeling good to be part of the workforce, Joy is enjoying her own little dose of reality. After stocking up on green punch, she and Darnell run into her deaf lawyer's word talker Doug in a parking lot. Joy insults Doug, mistaking his old-looking wife for his mother. Miffed, Doug reminds Joy that her trial starts next week, and maybe she shouldn't have bought all that punch - Joy might be going to jail. Supervisor Reggie explains the perks of the job to Randy and Earl: everyone gets a one-week vacation and a store credit card. Twice a day the guys eat snacks from the vending machine. After four hours, Earl's already not sure if he can perform this job for the rest of his life. When salesman Ricky calls Earl to the sales floor, it's just like the first day he drank chocolate milk and realized he wanted to have a moustache for the rest of his life - Earl wants to sell appliances in the front of the store. Reggie explains that no one's ever moved from the back to the front of the store. It's a little ironic: the salesman all wear Dockers, but they call the guys who work in the back Dockers,' because they work on the loading dock. The Dockers wear Dickies, which is what they call the guys who work in the front, because they are. Meanwhile, Joy prepares for the possibility of prison by trading in the Subaru BRAT for a car that will accommodate her family, buying a life-like sex doll for Darnell, and learning to speak Mexican. Earl goes the extra mile to show Mr. Waadt that he wants to be a salesman. The Dockers think Earl is sucking up, despite his claims of being a regular guy. Earl remarks
2 Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu

that he's spent his whole life making fun of people who try to get ahead - maybe he was wrong. All the Dockers, even Randy, try to sabotage Earl, but Mr. Waadt takes notice of his hard work, and gives Earl a shot. If he can sell $5000 in appliances by end of day Sunday, he's in. Now that Earl's wearing Dockers, all the salesman, led by smarmy Ricky, promise they'll do whatever it takes to keep Earl from joining their ranks. On Sunday, it looks like Earl has failed to reach his goal, when a little old church lady comes in to the store to purchase a boatload of appliances for a soup kitchen. Earl asks the Dockers to load the truck, but they refuse, so Earl does it himself. The guys are amazed - no Dickie has ever pulled his own stock! While he's busy, Ricky lies to the church lady and scoops the sale. Stress will make you do crazy things, as Darnell finds out, when he wakes up next to the sex doll. Joy has left him a video, explaining that she traded in the Brat because she needed a bigger trunk, and learned Mexican because she's going on the lam to Mexico to escape prison! She begs Darnell's forgiveness and promises to send for him and the kids as soon as she can. It's closing time at the store, and despite a rousing don't-give-up speech from Reggie, Earl turns his in his tie and name tag to Mr. Waadt. Reggie knocks on Mr. Waadt's office door. He puts down his store credit card, demanding to buy a refrigerator from Earl. Ricky's protests fall on deaf ears, as all the Dockers line up to buy appliances from Earl in a show of solidarity for one of their own. Earl wins the day, and is promoted to salesman. Sadly, Joy's not having the same luck in Mexico.ii

Discussion Questions
1. Using Maslows Hierarchy, indicate which needs Earl and Randy are getting fulfilled through their respective jobs. 2. Using Herzbergs Two-factor theory, indicate which of his two jobs gives Earl greater satisfactiondocker or sales associate? 3. Using McClellands Learned Needs theory, indicate what are Earls and what are Randys dominant needs?

Solutions
Write to starling@qatar.cmu.edu for to obtain a copy of the solution to this case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_(My_Name_Is_Earl)#Synopsis http://mynameisearl.wikia.com/wiki/Get_a_Real_Job

i ii

Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu