This textual analysis will define the first-person testimonial ethos of the working classes through the experimental experiences of Barbara Ehrenreich’s in Nickel and Dimed. Ehrenreich provides a ethos-based theoretical evaluation of the working classes through by pretending to be a member of the working class, and also by providing a testimony of her experiences in this working environment. This testimonial defines the historical perspective of Ehrenreich’s own economic awareness of poverty, yet also within the social and class-based lessons that she learns about the working poor from direct experience. Ehrenreich learns gratitude and compassion for the working poor, which also exposes the unethical and immoral aspects of capitalism in the United States. In essence, a textual analysis of the testimonial ethos of the working poor will be defined in Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. Ehrenreich wrote this book to perform a first person experiment on the working conditions of women in the lower classes. More so, Ehrenreich sought to redefine her won experiences as a woman from the middle upper classes/upper classes in order to better understand what women in the lower classes have to endure with low paying jobs. However, Ehrenreich focuses on the larger struggles of the working classes in addition to her own experiences as a woman, which broaden the overarching argument related to myths about the “laziness” and “unskilled” aspects of low-income labor in the United States. Barbara Ehrenreich’s credibility as a witness to the circumstances of the working poor defines the ‘ethos” of her rhetorical argument, as she pretends to be a waitress in order to experience the struggles of low income workers: I mutter about being woefully out of practice as a waitress, but he’s already on to the uniform: “I’m to show up tomorrow wearing black slacks and black shoes; he’ll provide the rust-colored polo shirt with “Hearthside”, as we’ll call the place (Ehrenreich 16).
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In this text, Ehrenreich is describing the details of her own confusion and lack of experience as a waitress, but the manager disregards this fact as part of the jaded and callous behavior of the restaurant culture. In this way, Ehrenreich is actually becoming a member of the working poor as part of her experiment with the daily struggles of these people. This defines the ‘ethos” of Ehrenreich’s rhetorical argument, since she is maintaining the validity of her argument as a witness to the testimonials of life as a waitress. Ehrenreich provides a historical context in the analysis of economic theories, such as those described by John Maynard Keynes, on the disruptive “booms and busts” of the capitalist system on the working classes. In this manner, Ehrenreich’s (2001) own post-graduate education (as a member of the middle-upper classes) provides her with the historical aspects of “logos” to reinforce her own evaluation of the conditions of the working poor: To paraphrase Keynes: in the long run, we’ll all be broke, at least those of us who work for low wages and live in exorbitantly overpriced motels (170). Historically, Keynes was a major economic theorist that sought to alleviate the conditions of poor, which Ehrenreich acknowledges as part o her argument about the massive inequality that exists between the middle classes and the working poor in the United States. These are important aspects of Ehrenreich rhetoric that provide some marginal examples of logos to compliment her arguments based on …show more content…
Ehrenreich defines the testimonial ethos by advocating the validity of her data by being a first-hand witness to the struggles of the working poor in the United States. These testimonies define Ehrenreich’s attempt to inform the reader that low-income workers have to deal with highly repetitious roles at work, the threat of injury, and the despair of low-income wages that make it nearly impossible to maintain a standard of living. Ehrenreich invokes statistical data and historical awareness of economic theory, which also adds a bit of logos to the logic of her argument, which is also reinforced by her won personal and social revelations about emotional suffering and class divisions in these working environments. These aspects of first-person testimonial imply an successful experiment in Ehrenreich’s ability to transform herself into a member of the working poor. Certainly, a textual analysis of Ehrenreich’s testimonial ethos defines the differing aspects of social, historical, and personal feelings that attempt to inform the reader of the grim realities of daily life in this type of labor
In this text, Ehrenreich is describing the details of her own confusion and lack of experience as a waitress, but the manager disregards this fact as part of the jaded and callous behavior of the restaurant culture. In this way, Ehrenreich is actually becoming a member of the working poor as part of her experiment with the daily struggles of these people. This defines the ‘ethos” of Ehrenreich’s rhetorical argument, since she is maintaining the validity of her argument as a witness to the testimonials of life as a waitress. Ehrenreich provides a historical context in the analysis of economic theories, such as those described by John Maynard Keynes, on the disruptive “booms and busts” of the capitalist system on the working classes. In this manner, Ehrenreich’s (2001) own post-graduate education (as a member of the middle-upper classes) provides her with the historical aspects of “logos” to reinforce her own evaluation of the conditions of the working poor: To paraphrase Keynes: in the long run, we’ll all be broke, at least those of us who work for low wages and live in exorbitantly overpriced motels (170). Historically, Keynes was a major economic theorist that sought to alleviate the conditions of poor, which Ehrenreich acknowledges as part o her argument about the massive inequality that exists between the middle classes and the working poor in the United States. These are important aspects of Ehrenreich rhetoric that provide some marginal examples of logos to compliment her arguments based on …show more content…
Ehrenreich defines the testimonial ethos by advocating the validity of her data by being a first-hand witness to the struggles of the working poor in the United States. These testimonies define Ehrenreich’s attempt to inform the reader that low-income workers have to deal with highly repetitious roles at work, the threat of injury, and the despair of low-income wages that make it nearly impossible to maintain a standard of living. Ehrenreich invokes statistical data and historical awareness of economic theory, which also adds a bit of logos to the logic of her argument, which is also reinforced by her won personal and social revelations about emotional suffering and class divisions in these working environments. These aspects of first-person testimonial imply an successful experiment in Ehrenreich’s ability to transform herself into a member of the working poor. Certainly, a textual analysis of Ehrenreich’s testimonial ethos defines the differing aspects of social, historical, and personal feelings that attempt to inform the reader of the grim realities of daily life in this type of labor