She Works Hard For The Money, By Donna Summer

It has been said that if someone works really hard and pushes oneself to become more than what one is, then he/she will make something out of his/her life. This statement is not always true though, because it depends on the person who is attempting the task. One would find just as many people who would agree with this point as to those who would oppose this view. For example, take these two works by two completely different authors, “Woman Work” by Maya Angelou; which tells of a women’s many tasks that she must complete, but unfortunately she has nothing to call her own, and the song “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer, which is about a women who works extremely hard every day just to make ends meet, but she will never give up. Both

of these works use literal sense and diction to portray the message of two different women’s mindset to the definition of hard work; on the other hand these two works also differ with their uses of the rhetorical situation.
To start with, when a reader mentally interprets these two works, “Woman Work” by Maya Angelou, and the song “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer one can clearly decide that both women have the same attitude when it comes to defining hard work through the authors use of literary sense. For instance, in the poem “Women Work” the author uses the literary sense of a woman who has multiple tasks in which she needs to accomplish by the lists of items in which she needs complete, “I’ve got children to tend/The clothes to mend/ The floor to mop/The food to shop” (Angelou 1-4), however, all she really just wants to do is stop and take a break from all of these chores. Even though the woman does want to stop, she pushes herself to complete the entire tasks. Although the woman states “Sun, rain, curving sky/ Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone/ Star shine, moon glow/ You’re all that I can call my own” (Angelou 28-31), this shows that although the woman has nothing to call her own she still never gives up, and that shows her determination to never give up even when the work in long and hard. The second example of hard work can be found in the song “She Works Hard for the Money”, in this song Donna Summer the singer states, “she works hard for the money” (Summer 1). These five simple words practically spell it out for the reader that the woman, in which the song is sung about has a strong work ethic. It is implied by the writer that if she works hard for the money, then the money she earns is because of her strong work values. As proven above, the reader can tell that in both of these works the author’s use of the literal sense that these women do have the determination to work hard to complete the tasks set before them. They exemplify the definition of a hard worker.
Another way the authors portray the mindset of hard work in these two women is through the use of diction.

“Woman Work” by Maya Angelou uses southern slang in her poem through words or phrases such as: I gotta clean up this hut, then the chicken to fry, and the tots to dress. These words give the reader a little bit of insight into the character’s life. Through these words the author is able to portray that the woman not only talks about all her chores but she actually does them. The same is true for the song “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer where her character’s country diction uses the word honey. This word gives the reader a feeling of a waiter coming up to you and asking with that sweet little old lady voice “what would you like to drink honey”. This leads the reader to believe that the lady is very sweet and caring, and all she wants to do in life is to provide for all those she comes into contact with and to provide for herself. Even though these works do share the same type of diction, they use them both differently to get their points

across.
In spite of the two works sharing similarities, they do differ when it comes to their uses of rhetorical situations.

For instance in the poem “Woman Work” by Maya Angelou the rhetorical situation is coming from the character herself. The role that this plays shows that the woman is strong and has a good work ethic. However, it is very specific since it is coming from her. Through this the reader can see and feel her struggles as the character/narrator describes them. In the song “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer she takes a different approach to get her point across to the reader about the women’s mindset on the definition of hard work. In this song the rhetorical situation is coming from outside the person. The reader learns from the speaker’s perspective about this woman instead of it coming straight from the character. As the reader can see, the authors take two different approaches when it comes to getting the women’s values concerning the definition of hard work across to the reader. Needless to say, in the end they still portray the same

message.
To end with the poem “Woman Work” by Maya Angelou and the song “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer both use literal sense, and diction to portray the message of two different women’s mind set on the definition of hard work. On the other hand, these two works differ with the use of the rhetorical situation. Even though the two authors uses completely different approaches to support their main point, which is a woman’s strong work ethic.