Ehrenreich provides fairly extensive commentary in footnotes. what is the effect of this strategy? in the footnotes, is her tone different from the one used in the body of the piece? explain

Footnotes in formal papers give information to the reader, that are not pertinent to the paper. Students who have papers as required reading often find the footnotes to be enlightening. They tend to be less formal language and therefore an easier read to the non academic. So yes, Ehrenreich's footnote language does tend to be a little more relaxed in her footnotes. It is not a huge difference, however, it often does make for easier reading. It is not necessarily good for all but it does make life easier, on someone who has a paper as required reading. An academic likely prefers not to read the footnotes.