The Rhetorical Analysis Of Blue Collar Brilliance By Mike Rose

The Rhetorical Analysis of “Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose

It’s easy to form an opinion on a topic you are passionate about, but when a writer causes you to think about something you never thought about and form an interest, then they have done their job. In “Blue Collar Radiance”, Mike Rose talks about blue collar workers and how they manage to work well despite their lack of education. His use of pathos was the heart of the piece.

By looking at the title you cannot really tell what the purpose of the article will be about but it does seem positive. At the beginning of the essay Rose starts off with the story of his mother. You would never think that he is using her story to stand of for blue collar workers as a whole. His purpose is

to prove that education isn’t everything and that you can still survive day to day life. People who didn’t finish school are not dumb. He’s trying to prove that blue collar workers are not less of a person. “Rosie took customers’ orders; pencil poised over pad….remembering who had the hamburger, who had the fried shrimp, almost always getting it right.” This excerpt is used to show that his mother had great skills and basically mastered the job of waitressing. He later tells how she quit school in the seventh grade which lead him to introduce his uncle who also quit school. Joe, his uncle goes from working on the railroad to the Navy, then the railroad again. Eventually, he starts to work with his brother as an assembly line worker and works his way up to become the supervisor of the paint and body department. This confirms his belief that education isn’t everything.
Being raised by Blue Collar workers probably gives him another reason to be so passionate. Even though Mike was not the best student in his early life, he still managed to get on the right track and become a Professor at UCLA. In his field of work, he probably has come across people or colleagues that have an opposite view of blue collar workers. People like his colleagues are his audience or possibly he could be talking to the students deciding whether or not to further their education, showing that there is still work without a college education.
This is definitely not a logical piece. It is smart, but caters most to the emotion of its readers. The use of his mother’s story stirred the pot a bit. While trying to relate her story to his point you can tell that he starts to reminisce about his childhood. He looked up to his mother. Using his memories and personal connections helped him connect to his audience. Even though the emotional aspects of this article helped his article, they also could affect the reader’s opinion on the topic negatively because maybe they could describe his piece as too emotional.
Rose is the Professor of Education and Information Studies at UCLA and he was raised by BC workers, so he has a taste of both worlds. He is very creditable based on his profession and childhood. With his parents he learned to appreciate blue collar workers and with his job as a professor he is able to learn how his co-workers feel about blue collar workers.
There weren’t many problems with his essay, but while trying to prove his point he assumed that everyone viewed blue collar workers negatively. Assumptions can be a downfall, but as you see this was a personal matter and it is easy to attack when something is close to home.
If this essay had of been impersonal then it would not have been as effective. He made a connection to his reader and I’m sure some people probably thought about their similar situations. Making a connection makes me feel as if the writer knows what he or she is talking about and can write from a place where writers with no connection cannot.