Blue Collar Brilliance By Mike Rose

In any successful work of non-fiction, authors employ the use of rhetorical analysis to articulate their main points and ideas. Mike Rose’s essay, “Blue Collar Brilliance,” focuses on the fact that looking down on blue-collar workers is a common occurrence in America and people fail to understand how a person can be intelligent if they had dropped out of school. Throughout the essay, he refutes this notion and explains why blue-collar intelligence may be different from the intelligence gained by years of schooling but it is of the equal stature, since it helps them in their occupation. Rose uses pathos and other rhetorical devices to inform the audience of his belief: blue-collar workers are under appreciated and overlooked as many people fail to see the difficulties and cognitive demands involved in their daily routines at work.

During Mr. Rosenberg’s leave we learned different dramatic elements such as script analysis, stasis and intrusion, dramatic conflict, etc. This helps us to understand the different elements so one day when we have to apply the elements we will already be mindful of them. Additionally, we also learned about the beginning of theater dating back to ancient Greece and their different ways of displaying theater.

In 1999, American author Bobbie Ann Mason wrote the short story “Being Country” to satirize the notion that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Mason, who was the main character and narrator of her own story, was very unhappy with her life on the farm, as demonstrated through the discontented, critical tone of her narration. She insisted a countrywoman could only have an impact on the world if she took initiative and questioned her womanly duties.

In “Blue Collar Brilliance” Mike Rose starts of by telling us two stories, one about his mother and the other about his uncle Joe. They worked what people would call blue collar jobs; everybody usually perceives blue collar jobs as grunt work which doesn’t take much intelligence to work. However Rose disagrees with that notion; Rose describes to us in detail how his moms’ intellect in the restaurant work field kept the place calm, efficient and balanced. He also told us a story of how his uncle Joe worked up the ranks of the auto industry after dropping out of school in the ninth grade. One of Rose’s main points in “Blue Collar Brilliance” is that intelligence isn’t always measured with grades and tests and, that blue collar jobs take just

In the article “Blue-Collar Brilliance”, Mike Rose’s main focus was to convey that there are forms of intelligence than just being intellectual. Rose, suggest that a broader perspective of education allow us to expand our understanding of what intelligence is. Rose explains what our culture views as intelligence: “Our cultural iconography promotes the muscled arm; sleeve rolled tight against biceps, but no brightness behind the eye, no image that links hand and brain” (Rose). In making this comment, Rose urges us to take a step back and to look society’s perception of blue-collar work as not as demanding or requiring as much brain powering as white-collar work. Often people do not realize that a person who has a blue-collar job is just as

There are many different types of jobs in the world; some of which people feel are better than others. Factors like the amount of money and amount of education affect the stereotypical perception about certain jobs. There are two different types of work, blue-collar and white-collar. Blue-collar jobs are seen as the “working class”. The “Working class” refers to low-wage workers that are void of a college education, who struggle to get by economically. It is also perceived that the “Working class” is lazy, unproductive failures who have limited upward mobility, or relics of earlier era of industrialization. It’s important that people realize the amount of skill level it takes to do different types of jobs, and although pay may not reflect the effort or the soft and technical skills needed, or physicality that is respective for those jobs; these jobs should be viewed respectfully. Jobs like cashiers and waitressing have a bad reputation, but they take a certain skill level that people have to develop just like any other white-collar job. People skills, public speaking, ability to sell items on the menu, multi-tasking, and so much more are necessary to be a success in this type of career choice or job. Matthew Crawford talks about this in his book, along with Mike Rose, on how there is a lack of appreciation and respect for the skill set it takes to do blue collar jobs, and how the stereotypically stigma couldn’t be further than the

In the article, "Blue Collar Brilliance" Mark Rose shows his thought that hands on employments shouldn't be seen as foolish. Society characterizes knowledge in view of grades and IQ tests, however numbers doesn't characterize the workers in the fields. Rose points out that his mom's employment as a waitress and his uncle's occupation in the paint-and-body office are two individuals with a less education is skillful in their job by gaining hand-on experience and knowledge.

Blue Collar workers as the fundamental that makes up America. One such man, author Mike Rose a professor at UCLA, who wrote "Blue-Collar Brilliance," published in a reputable magazine in 2009 in the American Scholar, what Rose argues, is that blue-collar workers often overlooked. In effect, that the establishment of where you work acts as an institution of learning and those without a formal education have valuable types of "brilliance." Rose argues his claim by using pathos, logos through personal stories, credentials, and comprehensive counterarguments.

Over many centuries, society tends to frame the obscene differences to antagonize and alienate each other whether it's about a political or religious view, social reasons, or financial situations. In “Blue Collar Brilliance”, Mike Rose provides an invigorating story to persuade his audience to understand that having a blue collar job compared to a white-collar job does not determine how smart someone is. Rose uses anecdotes, rhetorical question, and logos to show that blue-collar workers learn just as much without a formal education.

In 2009, Dr. Sylvia Earle wrote The World is Blue to educate and alert the reader about human impacts on marine ecosystems. Through this book she conveys her passion and methodical arguments concerning the importance of the conservation of the ocean, which encompasses approximately 80 percent of the earth’s surface. Dr. Earle states “the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume” (17). This statement emphasizes the significance of the ocean, not only for marine life, but all life forms on earth. The book implies that currently in today’s world, the conservation of the ocean requires a global effort to reduce human damage from the past generations. Using facts gleaned from credible scientific resources, she defines the problems of overfishing, bycatch, and pollution. By analyzing human impacts on marine ecosystems, Dr. Earle determines successful and unsuccessful solutions to these problems and suggests various ways individuals can change their lifestyles to reduce impact on the environment as a whole.

The stereotypes our society associates with certain languages, dialects, careers, styles and preferences then translates into stereotypes against working class people, often regarding them as less intelligent, inferior, and lazy (Barone, 1999). In a study purposed to examine the psychology associated with classism, Langhout, Rosselli and Feinstein (2007) found that fifty-eight percent of those they interviewed endorsed at least one type of citational classism. Identifiably, I can relate to the casual dismissal of the term “dumb redneck,” a reference to an activity that culturally relates to a truncated dialect and a rural point of view. Even more damaging, I have been guilty of dismissing the term “nigger rig,” a reference to a task accomplished in a make-shift fashion with the only materials at hand. These attitudes illustrate that class privileges are perceived upon the basis of the group quality: the upper class is more civilized, more gifted and more intelligent; the lower class is not as deserving because of their apparent inferiorities (Barone, 1999). In sitcoms especially, the working class is portrayed as unintelligent, and those in poverty are often viewed as criminals (Yeskel, 2007). Following the patterns of racial discrimination, these stereotypes covertly disguise the differences in socioeconomic class as the natural order of society.

In the Story everyone is truly equal. The people such as the handicappers hid their identity so they would not be judged by the way they look. The point of the handicappers was to prevent judgemental comments. They hid their identity to prevent judgemental comments but, why hide your identity, there is no need for you to do that if everyone is made equally.

Although the visionary singer, song writer, Lou Reed, gained his fame in the 70’s, he reached the highest peak of his career with the album “The Blue Mask,” in which he explored the elements of human flaws. With this album, he stripped down from his dramatic work in the 70’s and explored new techniques along with his small, tight-knit band. “The Blue Mask” received excellent reviews from critics and consumers because it allowed listeners to have a personal connection with Reed and showed them a different side apart from the public persona. Overall, the achievements and praise were well deserved for the hard work he and his band put in.

Three texts that describe transcendence is John Donne “Batter My Heart” for its transcendence in the ways of perfection through religion. The knowledge-based transcendence of Shelley’s Hymn to Intellectual Beauty. And the sweet Keats idea of transcending past time through the arts.

C. Wright Mills defines the meaning of work for white-collar workers. A white-collar worker is an educated person who performs non-manual, professional, managerial, or administrative work. He states “ White Collar stands, after sixty years, as the most comprehensive work that American social science has produced in the study of the new middle class. “ classifying white collar workers as the new middle class full of intellectuals in intermediate positions, to what he describes as the “enormous file” of clerical labor. C. Wright Mills connects the meaning of work for white-collar workers to the types of leisure activity they pursue. Modern white-collar workers attach an extrinsic value to their wage work because they work to live. Jobs have lost their intrinsic value due to the emptiness that comes with the job. For example, white collar workers are subjected to manipulations and control of their superiors thus in return; they lose their creativity and freedom of action.