In the article “Blue Collar Brilliance,” Mike Rose comprehensively elaborates the relationship between intelligence, work, and social class. The author starts the article by offering real-life examples of close family individuals who were involved in blue-collar jobs. Rose further presents his arguments logically by supporting them with examples. Notably, the writer has not strategically positioned the thesis of the essay. It takes much of one’s time to figure out the thesis of the article. However, despite failing to position his thesis strategically, Rose logically composed the essay with several real-life examples to support his arguments.
Notably, the author covers the topic extensively by analyzing various professions. For instance, through his mother’s profession, Rose depicts how she attained an opportunity to learn and eventually boost her intelligence. However, as far as her environment could offer a chance to learn, she could not be much intelligent. This is because, intelligence is associated with formal education, and her mother quit school in the seventh grade. This is further replicated on his uncle, Joe, who also dropped out of school in the ninth grade. He could also incur a lot of challenges in his workplace, especially regarding multi-tasking. However, with the working environment problems, Joe managed to improve his intelligence and eventually the performance. Through his example, Mike Rose affirms that intelligence is associated with formal education.
In conclusion, despite not positioning the article's thesis appropriately, Rose examines the aspect of blue-collar brilliance in an effective manner. Through several real-life examples, the author depicts how intelligence is associated with formal education and can be affected by one’s working environment. The working environment offers one a chance to learn and make use of his/her intelligence, especially in overcoming various challenges.
