High Versus Low Class Social class is an issue among people all over the world due to earning wages and quality of life. Lower class people are often envious of the upper-class community because of their salaries. Upper-class people are often spiteful of some lower class for the job titles they hold. The poems “What Work Is,” by Philip Levine, “Singapore,” by Mary Oliver, and “The Restaurant Business,” by James Tate focus on the issue of social class and feelings towards other classes. These poems portray this theme by use of analogies, personification, and imagery. In Philip Levine’s poem “What Work Is,” the speaker refers to we as a metaphor for lower class men. The speaker emphasizes that all men need work to provide for their families …show more content…
The man spotlights how he is overwhelmed with his work in line 9. The man reaches out to the speaker seeking help although the speaker, “had never had an actual conversation with him” (Tate p.152). This signifies the man is looking for guidance in any open cavity he could find and looking for any available answers. The man, being a business owner, is more concerned with employing other people and keeping his customers happy than his own mental and physical health. The restaurant owner highlights in line 9 that the job is killing him. The owner is filled with guilt for the way he feels because of his financial status but is also concerned with the pleasure he is losing in his life because of the money he is earning. The man presents to the reader that money is the only reason his wife and children still love him even though he never sees them. In line 26, the restaurant business owner expresses how he does not enjoy his own life and would rather be of the lower class than to feel this way. The man denotes how the money makes him feel proud and also possessed all at …show more content…
“What Work Is.” Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers, edited by John Clifford and John Schlib, 5th ed., Bedford Bks St. Martin's, 2017, pp. 145–146. Oliver, Mary. “Singapore.” Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers, edited by John Clifford and John Schlib, 5th ed., Bedford Bks St. Martin's, 2017, pp. 146–147. Tate, James. “The Restaurant Business.” Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers, edited by John Clifford and John Schlib, 5th ed., Bedford Bks St. Martin's, 2017, pp.