Employmentand Education

In the modern world, the competition for limited resources such as the house for expansion, talented workforce, employment opportunities and markets for the produced goods and offerings have increased more than ever before. This has made the world to appear like a jungle, the place only those who have the necessary survival and aggressive skills can are deemed to grow and develop. One of the strategies of bettering the competitive skills of an individual is education, and this is why most parents, governments and non-governmental groups are determined in enhancing universal schooling to all. However, despite this, there are extremes of poverty levels that cannot permit a child to attain basic education, even if he or she is interested in learning. In connection to this, Charles Murray phrased and explained a rhetoric question in his article concerning what is so bad about being poor. He use a number of rhetoric strategies trying to explain to his readers concerning what being poor entails. In addition to this, Barbara Ehrenreich also used a number of rhetoric strategies in his article, serving in Florida, in order to convince her readers concerning what life is like for the working poor in America. This paper pays high attention to the analysis of why the rhetorical strategies used in ‘what is so bad about being poor?’ article are more effective than the rhetoric strategies used in the article, ‘Serving in Florida’.

Summaries of the Articles

1st article-What is so bad about being poor?

In this article, the author attempts to establish why people rarely want to share their perceptions about being poor where they have, in one time or there other, been poor. Murray reveals that people fail to understand the meaning of the term poverty, and this is the core reason why most individuals would not want to be at any given time being associated with poverty. Poverty does not mean being malnourished, being destitute or being ill-clothed, but beginning a position of struggling to achieve some luxuries such as basic education, nice apartments, cars, and living with those who share similar economic features. In order to illustrate this, the author engages his readers into a thought experiment, in which he providers the readers with numerous contrasting situations and rhetorically asked them to choose between the tow.

2nd article-Serving in Florida

In this article, the author, Brabara Ehrenreich took the bold step of abandoning her middle class home and go round the town taking low paying jobs such as waitress and house cleaner, with the aim of establishing the firsthand experience that the working poor goes through in their working environments. As a waitress, she recounts how surveillance by men and women who held assistant manager posts was being done with the aim of monitoring her from theft, drug abuse and sloth. She noted the manner in which the newly promoted employees changes in the name of serving the corporate, creating poor working conditions for their former workmates. In addition, the article explores the gossip that is propagated by the workmates, discussing the personal livelihoods of others such as place of resident, rent, and relationships.

Types of rhetoric presented in each article

Charles Murray`s article on ‘what is so bad about being poor?’ is more effective since it embraces the use of both demonstrative and deliberative types of rhetoric, while the other article to a large extent focuses on judicial type of rhetoric. In most cases, deliberative rhetoric entails a writing that tries to persuade the reader to take or not to take an action. For example, in his thought experiment, Murray asks his reader to select whether he or she would like to leave his or her child under the care of a couple that have money but does not value neither education nor integrity or responsibility as primary values, or the reader would leave his or her child to a couple that has little money but works hard to make sure that the child gets basic education and teaches the child about being responsible and maintains integrity values. The author then responds, “Which couple do you choose? The answer is obvious to me and I imagine to most readers” (Charles 32). The core purpose of the author`s response in this case is to convince the reader to go by his answer. In addition, the deliberate rhetoric always focuses on things that are going to happen, and this is in contrary to the judicial rhetoric, which does not only focus on things that have already occurred, but also on accusations. This can be clearly identified from the author`s narration of how the assistant manager, Phillip used to hold meetings with the employees. For example, during the meeting that Phillip informed them about the report of some drug activity, the author claims that, “Just four days later, we were suddenly summoned into the kitchen at 3:30 P.M” (Barbara 37).

Consecutively, in the first article, the author has greatly used demonstrative rhetoric in order to portray to his readers the clear picture of the situation or environment that he intends to put across. For example, when he argues that most individuals confuse between subsistence and sub-subsistence, the author claimed that, “So an apartment with cockroaches, broken windows, and graffiti on the walls may be thought of as barely subsistence level, even if it has running water, electricity, heat, a television and a pile of discarded fast-food cartons in the corner” (Charles 34).

Rhetorical strategies contributing to the effect of the article

In the first article, pathos and logos are the main rhetoric strategies that are contributing to the effect of the article. Logos encourages the persuasion of the reader through reasoning. For example, the author asked a rhetoric question concerning why most individuals may not opt to leave their children under the care of wealthy parents, and instead go for the poor parent. In order to establish this, the author embraces reasoning in order to persuade his readers. He claimed that, “Perhaps you want the child to become a reflective and responsible adult, who values honesty and integrity” (Charles 33). The author extends the reasoning trend by asking, “Why is honesty good? Why is being reflective good? You want your child to be happy” (Charles 33). On the other hand, the first article is also effective since it focuses on convincing the reader of the article by creating an emotional response. For example, when the author asks a rhetorical question on whether one can leave his or her child to a rich or poor parent, he emphasizes by saying, This is your own child you are talking about, whom you would never let go hungry even if providing for your child meant going hungry yourself” (Charles 32). On the other hand, the second article focuses on ethos, especially in terms of the poor working conditions of the employees, the use of drugs, and gossiping (Barbara 36-38).

Conclusion

It is, therefore, evident that the rhetoric strategies used in the first article are more effective compared to those which have been used in the second article. Moreover, the more effective the author embraces the use of rhetorical strategies in his or her work, the more he or she manages to influence the student to critically read the work.



Works Cited

Barbara Ehrenreich. Serving in Florida. PP. 36-41.

Charles Murray. What`s So Bad About Being Poor? PP. 26-35.