Analysis Of Americans Are Working So Hard It's Actually Killing People By Esther Kaplan

Everyday American businesses find innovative ways to progress in the economy, the question is, are they progressing the ethically correct way? Journalist, Esther Kaplan argues in her article, “Americans Are Working So Hard, It’s Actually Killing People” that companies overwork their employees to exhaustion. Kaplan effectively supports her claim with powerful evidence and statistics, followed by cited sources and strong word choice that creates vivid images which allow the readers to identify with the employees, and pulls the reader in with emotions such as horrifying shock and anger.
Kaplan introduces us to some nurses from Wilkes-Barre General Hospital who explain the inefficiency of increasing the patient-to-nurse ratio, making it harder

Referring back to the nurse who had to handle ten patients on her own when she had only worked at Wilkes-Barre for a few months, Kaplan quoted her statement, “I was drowning.” By using the word “drowning” which quite literally means to submerge without air, the nurse informed Kaplan that handling the profusion of patients made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. Another example that the author uses is when she presents meat-packing worker, Juan Martinez. She explains that after only four years of working at a Cargill beef processing plant, Martinez “had hands so disfigured from making repetitive cuts that he could no longer work…” and that “[h]e still experiences pain so intense it feels like nails are being hammered into his fingers.” The words used by the author to describe Martinez’s pain clearly paints a picture in the mind of the reader. Kaplan pairs her strong word choice with cited sources by telling the readers which employee said what, supporting her appeal to ethos. During the middle of the article, the author states that she visited a hospital where nurses were on strike due to inadequate staffing. Kaplan described the surroundings as, “an exhausted, sweaty group of organizers…” and appeal to ethos by herself being a credible source for physically being at the strike

Towards the end of the article Kaplan provides the reader with evidence that produces anger. She quotes nurse Wheeler from Wilkes-Barre Hospital after asking her about breaks during work by adding her response, “I don’t think I’ve ever.” The audience not only is shocked by this nurse’s statement; they may feel anger because every employee should be entitled to take a break after long strenuous hours of nonstop work. Another piece of evidence that supports Kaplan’s appeal to pathos is when she lets the audience know that nurses and nurse aides are two of the main occupations that lead to musculoskeletal injuries. The reader cannot help but feel horrified when finding out that nurses easily garner injuries due to inadequate staffing. Half-way into the article and referring to the inadequate staffing from many employers, actor Tracy Morgan is introduced with a small anecdote. Kaplan informs the readers that a Walmart trailer driver who was trying to reach his destination for the final delivery was speeding when he hit the actor’s car, killing the passenger that was in the vehicle with the actor. She fuels the readers’ anger and shock by stating that the driver had not slept for over twenty-four hours