The two essays from last week, Nickel and Dimed and Blue-Collar Brilliance, have the more affective arguments because both have evidence from close experience to support what they are stating. "Is the American Dream Over" and "Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer" lack concrete facts to support there arguments.
In Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich has extensive evidence from working as a maid in a cleaning service that had the looks to churn a profit for the company but left the workers tired and underpaid to prove her point that blue collar work isn't so rewarding. Mike Rose proves in Blue-Collar Brilliance that blue collar work can be educational and rewarding by telling his mother and uncles story of success as workers in blue collar jobs. Rose also goes on to explain what working in a blue collar job entails and giving evidence of the skills required to make it as blue collar worker.
Cal Thomas' argument in "Is the American Dream Over" is not as strong because he makes a lot of claims that he doesn't back up. He claims the way to achieve the American dream is through studying and staying in school, achieving at least an undergraduate degree, avoiding drugs etceteras but shows no evidence that doing all of these things ensures the American dream. The argument in "Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer" lacks concrete facts from other sources.
Mackenzie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that the readings from last week have stronger arguments because they use personal experience to prove validity. I also think something that attracts us to last weeks reading was the use of personal experience to make us "feel" something. The reading was more engaging because we could put ourselves in the narrator's shoes unlike the readings from this week. In Cal Thomas's "Is the American Dream Over", Thomas throws out hasty generalizations throughout his writing without proving anything without concrete evidence. For example, he analyzes Bob Hervert's writing when he states, "Bob Hervert says: 'However you want to define the American dream, there is not much of it that's left anymore'" (558-569). Not only does Thomas use this extremely opinionated quote from Hervert but he has no concrete evidence to back it up and prove the points. When compared to the nonstop explanations and imagery used in "From Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich, it is obvious to me that Ehrenreichs argument is not only more appealing, but much more convincing.
I also agree that last week’s readings had stronger arguments than this week’s readings. What makes the arguments stronger to me is the way last week’s readings gave a more personal look into blue collar work. I could relate more to what the author’s argument was because I could think of someone I know and apply them to the experiences of blue collar work the authors wrote about in last week’s readings. It was hard for me to read along with “Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer.” I think what made it hard for me read was how bored I got with all the dates and percentages being used in the text. The text seemed to be longer than needed and in my opinion that makes the argument being made weaker. I wasn’t very convinced by the whole point of the argument because I couldn’t relate to the comparisons in percentages Reich was making throughout the text. “Is the American Dream Over?” had potential to make a very strong argument but it fell short by not providing substance the claims being made. I was interested in the text at first because of the promise it seemed to have in defending the argument of the American Dream being over but I was highly disappointed to turn the page and see only two paragraphs left in the text to support the argument. If only Thomas would have wrote as much as Reich and Reich as much as Thomas.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Mackenzie completely. Both essays this week are not as explanatory or effective as last week’s essays. This weeks essays, “Is the American Dream Over?” and “Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer”, hardly give any explanation or examples and if there are explanations there is no evidence to back the statement up. In “Is the American Dream Over?” by Call Thomas, he states that [the American dream today must be “better” than what our parents and grandparents experienced]. But who’s to say it has to be better. Through out this story Thomas continues to state claims without any facts to back up what is merely just his opinion.
ReplyDeleteLast weeks essays, “Nickel and Dime” and “Blue-Collar Brilliance”, explain how blue-collar jobs are very difficult and still require skill in some way. These essays are backed up with stories about other people telling their story on what it was really like to work in the blue-collar work field. I feel that last weeks essays were more effective because as college students and children that have watched their parents as we have grown up, most of us can relate to the stories in some way or another. Putting those personal stories in the essays, made us as reader, more attracted to the reading because it was something we could have an opinion on since we could relate. These stories may not be facts but you assume that they are facts because the situations in both stories are similar and are explained.
Mackenzie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you as well, in the fact that last weeks readings were much stronger arguments than the two we had this week. In “From Nickel and Dimed”, Ehrenreich was persuasive by using her own personal stories and showing the readers how she felt, generally making us feel something as well. She gave us examples of how blue-collar work is exhausting not only on someone’s body, but their mind as well. Ehrenreich stated, “No, we don't have sponge mops like the one I use in my own house; the hands-and- knees approach is a definite selling point for corporate cleaning services like The Maids.” This statement tells me that the work that the corporation makes the maids do is degrading to their self-image and hurts their body by being bent over in an uncomfortable position. In “Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer”, Robert Reich gives the reader facts with little backing them up. He doesn’t add much else, like his own experiences, into his writing and made me bored reading it. In Cal Thomas's "Is the American Dream Over", Thomas uses examples but doesn’t end up backing them up. He should have given us more of an explanation on why he decided to add the quotes and points he did. Thomas and Reich’s arguments weren’t nearly as effective as Rose and Ehrenreich’s arguments.
Cal Thomas’ “Is the American Dream Over?” presents interesting points about the American Dream. The American Dream to me can be defined as the traditional values and dreams for every American such as, the perfect family, the perfect jobs, and the perfect homes. I personally believe the American Dream is essentially over. There is no equality in our nation anymore, the wealthy control the majority of our nation’s wealth. In the essay Thomas states “America will never get its act together until we recognize how much trouble we’re really in…” (570). I couldn’t agree with this statement more. I feel as if we are living in a world where we are unable to see the severity of the state we are in. This article, in my opinion, presents a valid argument that is understandable to the reader.
ReplyDeleteIn Robert Reich’s “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” the argument lacks factual information to back up his claims. He claims that how your “job is classified depends on the function in which you perform it.” Incomes are becoming different in monetary value because of this. This is another article that is presenting the fact that the American Dream is over.
Altogether, I believe that the writings from last week seem to present stronger arguments. In “Nickel and Dimed”, the author was giving examples and personal experiences about how the dream is virtually over. “Blue Collar Brilliance” states that the American Dream is up to the individual. It is solely in the hands of the individual to create their own “dream”.
I think it is in overall agreement that last week’s readings were stronger and way more affective toward the viewer than this week’s readings. Ehrenreich’s “Nickled and Dimed” and Rose’s “Blue Collar Brilliance” served as great and also different views into the life and times of the blue collar worker. Each reading gave personal thought on the matter of trial and triumph which in turn lead to the viewer feeling closer to the reading material due to their testimonies. Yet the new readings from Cal Thomas's "Is the American Dream Over" and Robert B. Reich “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” are basically generalized supposable facts without any basis or backing. I agree with Nicholas with being truly unable to enjoy “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer”, being that it was overly done, long, and pact from bottom to top with information without bringing the point home to most readers (leaving the reader at a distance, not truly grasping the text). On the other hand "Is the American Dream Over" had good points, but like most I was left wishing he had went more in depth with his argument of the fading American Dream. Though he did make some good statements shining light on how America is becoming scares of actual dreams, we are in a down fall, where in the end the only language that matters is money and if you don’t speak it you get pushed to the wayside entirely. “we have become a hapless, cant-do society”(Thomas 569)
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