What Work Is Jim Grayson Analysis

1537 Words4 Pages

If you’ve worked in your life then you know that working takes effort, dedication, and hard work. Work for many can also be a struggle just like it was for the main character in “What Work Is” by Philip Levine and for Jim Grayson’s in his interview in “Working” by Studs Terkel. Both the man in “What Work Is” and Jim Grayson are struggling with their experiences with work. The man in “What Work Is” cannot find a job and his brother is overworked, Jim Grayson has a job but it 's very tedious and he doesn’t spend much time with family. Work is a struggle as proved by Philip Levine and Jim Grayson, they conveyed this by using ethos, pathos, and logos as well as literary elements and techniques. Jim Grayson and Philip Levine both realize that …show more content…

Jim has a young son and a wife but “ My alarm clock goes off in the mornings when I go to school. I come back home...put on some other clothing. I go to ford and spend the night there”(Terkel 227) His schedule is so packed that he goes from school straight to his job. We guess that time does not allow much interaction between him and his family. He probably misses them but it is a sacrifice he must make in order to provide for his family. Jim struggles balancing the important things in his life. Now Philip Levine uses pathos in “What Work Is” because the main character misses his brother. He does not see him and he imagines him in other people. He does not remember the last time he told him he loved him …show more content…

Both Jim and the main character of the poem need a job. They need a job in order to survive. Jim has to endure hard labor and the man from the poem has to wait in line for a job for hours. That is why the man is struggling because he knows that there aren’t any jobs available but he so badly needs one. It is logical that they need the money, they need food and a home. If they have a family they have to support them, they have to take care of all their needs especially if they are young children. Working is struggling but not working also causes a struggle. Either way work is necessary to

Open Document