In the first stanza, the speaker reflects bitingly on his father’s commitment to his joyless job in an “automotive warehouse”. The narrator attitude to his father's commitment is obvious primarily in the imagery he chooses to express his distaste at his father’s choice to work for a paycheque, rather than for his own fulfillment. “A pay cheque over his mouth” suggests that his father hates his job but does not complain about, perhaps because the money to support his family is more important than his own happiness. However, the son does not respect this choice or his father’s commitment to support his family. Rather, he sees this job as shackles, as slavery, the “clocks stretched around his legs” revealing his resentment at his father working to “get his time in”.
The theme for “Clearing Paths to the Past” is that hard working people are important, just like in “To be of use” the author tells us that we shouldn’t take those who work hard for granted. In “Clearing Paths to the Past” it says that,”She had muscled the farm along while he worked at
One major theme authors universally write their stories around concern the power of human relationships. Though writers may take different paths to communicate this, the strength that comes from these unique connections that exist between individuals resonates with everyone. Authors clearly articulate through a myriad of rhetorical devices that maintaining relationships is a fundamental part in personal growth and allows for a stronger sense of self. In finding companionship and comradery. people become capable of evolving and arriving at better understandings of who they are.
A theme that was evidently a stable for the working farmers, and also the Protagonists Lennie and George was the theme of brotherhood. Brotherhood contributed to the novel in a sense that it created opportunities amongst men which society would deem impossible at the time. People are definitely reliant on human interaction. This is seen in the novel when an African farmhand named Crook, who was segregated at the time because of the color of his skin, talks with his cohort Lennie about how he never has anyone to talk to, stating, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. DOn’t make no difference who the guy is as long as he’s with you” (Steinbeck 80 1937).
In her personal narrative, Bonnie Jo Campbell describes to her readers the time she sold manure the summer after school let out. At first, Campbell was embarrassed to deliver manure; however, over time, she began to realize selling manure was beneficial for both her and the customer, and quite fulfilling as well. Campbell (1996) states, “Within about a week, however, I began to see the absurdity of our situation as liberating” (p. 30). She begun to understand that selling manure was an honest vocation as opposed to her first thoughts. Not only is manure delivering effectual, but also are the other countless overlooked jobs often seen as low class citizen jobs.
She expresses that, “North and South Carolina and Georgia place no restriction upon the work of children at night; and while we sleep little white girls will be working tonight in the mills in those states, working eleven hours at night,” (Line 27-31.) She uses the phrase ‘while we sleep’ to generate feelings of remorse among the listeners as the children work tirelessly on end while the adults are resting. She also uses the phrase ‘little white girls’ to create more sympathy as girls were seen as frail and innocent, and it creates the question ‘Why is an innocent and weak person being forced to work laboriously?’. She also states, “Tonight while we sleep, several thousand little girls will be working in textile mills, all the night through, in the deafening noise of the spindles and the looms spinning and weaving cotton and wool, silks and ribbons for us to buy,” (Line 18-22.) She uses auditory imagery in the pathos argument above for her audience to better understand the harsh conditions that the children work in.
“I came to a clear conclusion, and it is a universal one: To live, to struggle, to be in love with life--in love with all life holds, joyful or sorrowful--is fulfillment. The fullness of life is open to all of us” (Betty Smith). Betty Smith, born as Elizabeth Lillian Wehner, grew up in Brooklyn, New York as the daughter of poor German immigrants. At the time, child labor was legal and Smith began work at the young age of fourteen to help support her family. Smith’s life in the slums and her experiences during the Great Depression greatly influenced her writing.
Throughout “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays”, the author’s reflect on how their fathers were hard workers, although each memory is emotionally different. In “My Papa’s Waltz”, Roethke remembers his father coming home from work and his hands “Was battered on one knuckle” (Line 10). Even though the father had a long day at work, the boy recounts him coming home and dancing with him. Whereas “Those Winter Sundays”, Hayden recalls his fathers hard work by describing his “Cracked hands that ached/
In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s is revealed through a simple story of ranch workers who hope to improve their lives. Migrant workers, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is based on trust and protection. The other workers lack the companionship and bond that these two men have. In the novel, the absence and presence of friendship is the motivation for the characters’ actions.
Men became ruthless while fighting for the limited jobs and resources. It talks about how a cruel world and work makes men cruel. This novella talks for the American Dream. The American ideal during those days holds that anyone can be successful there if we work hard for it.
In the essay “Work Is a Blessing,” by Russel Honore the reader sees a strong argument for why work of any kind is a blessing. Honore begins “My father said “ya know, boy, work is a blessing.” (79) Throughout the story you can see the evolution of Honores belief in his father’s discussion that work is indeed a blessing, in place of a struggle. Living on a farm, Honore consistently helped out working with animals, gardening, etc.
The main concept of alienated labor was developed by Karl Marx in his early work Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts from 1844 - First Manuscript [Estranged Labor]. As defined, the concept of alienation is profoundly embedded in religions and social and political theories, the possibility that some time in the past individuals feeling like foreigners in the world, however, sooner or later this distance would be overcome and humankind would again harmony with itself and Nature (Encyclopedia of Marxism). Formed from Private Property, the political economy that is Capitalism divided society into two classes¬ - Property owners and Property-Less workers. By exploitation and estrangement, these classes become further designated as masters
Working is one of the many tasks that most adults have to endure. As for Phil, work was not just a task, but was a life commitment that took valuable time away. Ellen Goodman describes her stance of this issue in the piece, “The Company Man,” by employing repetition of important phrases and by showcasing the irony of Paul’s life. This conveys a sense of sympathy for Paul and his family and disapproval of his actions, who let his work consume his life, leading to his death. To begin, the use of repetition allowed Ellen Goodman to show her critical attitude and pity towards Phil.
She begins by talking about her college experience of how her own professors and fellow students believed and “always portrayed the poor as shiftless, mindless, lazy, dishonest, and unworthy” (Paragraph 5). This experience shocked her because she never grew up materialistic. She brings up the fact that she is the person with the strong and good values that she has today because she grew up in a poor family. In culture, the poor are always being stereotyped.
He achieves this by making a summarizing statement about how people over 60 tend to reflect on life and the impact of their decisions. He shifts his focus to the overall significance of the piece when he declares, “Over 60 we are fascinated by the mystery of our life, why roads were taken and not taken, and our children encourage this as they develop a sense of family history” (98-101). Murray conveys to the audience that people over 60 often have the tendency to reflect on major events in their life and attempt to discover a reason for why they made they the life choices that they made. This allusion calls the Frost poem to mind without mentioning it explicitly. The author utilizes the rhetorical device to conclude his writing and synopsize its significance.
