Analysis Essay
In the excerpt from "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich, Ehrenreich uses irony and complex syntax in situations with her manager to convey her critical tone towards the way management acts and controls employees.
Ehrenreich uses irony as a way to point out the flawed idea of managers. A manager's job is "to monitor my behavior for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse"(22). Ehrenreich describes this as a manager's job: just to watch other people work. She criticized managers by writing that "managers can sit-- for hours at a time if they want-- but it's their job to see that no one else every does, even when there's nothing to do". This irony that the managers, who just sit and yell at others to not sit around, are the higher paid and essentially the "bosses" at a restaurant or business. She shows that servers do not receive the credit of working hard because these managers are in charge of making them work hard. When the restaurant had rumors of "drug activity" it was actually Stu, the assistant manager, who was "the drug culprit" and "that he uses the restaurant phone to order up marijuana..."(24). Stu is the assistant manager which makes him second in command and is in charge of controlling the workers. The manager announced to the employees that they were to be a "drug-free" workplace. Ehrenreich's description of this situation shows that the management acts above the employees but they can be drug culprits. She brings to question whether or not they should be the people in charge.
Ehrenreich uses complex syntax to add the most information about management to criticize the way they run businesses, particularly her restaurant. Ehrenreich describes that she is "glad that this part of the kitchen is so dark because I find myself blushing as hard as if I had been caught toking up in the ladies room myself: I haven't been treated this way-- lined up in the corridor, threatened with locker searches, peppered with carelessly aimed accusations--..."(24). Continually adding more information about the uncomfortable situation, Ehrenreich shows the way management makes her feel. She shows that management makes her feel low, like a middle schooler, and embarrassed.
Barbara Ehrenreich has a critical tone towards management which she conveys using irony, in situations involving management, and her complex syntax used when describing management. Her tone is negative towards people of management, which is brought out in her excerpt from "Nickel and Dimed".
Ehrenreich uses irony as a way to point out the flawed idea of managers. A manager's job is "to monitor my behavior for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse"(22). Ehrenreich describes this as a manager's job: just to watch other people work. She criticized managers by writing that "managers can sit-- for hours at a time if they want-- but it's their job to see that no one else every does, even when there's nothing to do". This irony that the managers, who just sit and yell at others to not sit around, are the higher paid and essentially the "bosses" at a restaurant or business. She shows that servers do not receive the credit of working hard because these managers are in charge of making them work hard. When the restaurant had rumors of "drug activity" it was actually Stu, the assistant manager, who was "the drug culprit" and "that he uses the restaurant phone to order up marijuana..."(24). Stu is the assistant manager which makes him second in command and is in charge of controlling the workers. The manager announced to the employees that they were to be a "drug-free" workplace. Ehrenreich's description of this situation shows that the management acts above the employees but they can be drug culprits. She brings to question whether or not they should be the people in charge.
Ehrenreich uses complex syntax to add the most information about management to criticize the way they run businesses, particularly her restaurant. Ehrenreich describes that she is "glad that this part of the kitchen is so dark because I find myself blushing as hard as if I had been caught toking up in the ladies room myself: I haven't been treated this way-- lined up in the corridor, threatened with locker searches, peppered with carelessly aimed accusations--..."(24). Continually adding more information about the uncomfortable situation, Ehrenreich shows the way management makes her feel. She shows that management makes her feel low, like a middle schooler, and embarrassed.
Barbara Ehrenreich has a critical tone towards management which she conveys using irony, in situations involving management, and her complex syntax used when describing management. Her tone is negative towards people of management, which is brought out in her excerpt from "Nickel and Dimed".