Considering that there are assortments of books, narratives, and articles written on practically every subject on earth, it is always up to an author to make their work worth reading. This is achievable through the use of literary devices and the clever use of structural elements as depicted by Barbara Ehrenreich in her excerpt “Serving in Florida”. As displayed by Ehrenreich, authors of articles use these devices to display their effectiveness. Ehrenreich has successfully employed a variety of structural elements to depict the horrid situations of laborers all over America.
One of the most outstanding ways that Ehrenreich successfully makes the article readable is through the adoption of literary devices, especially vivid imagery. The use of vivid imagery allows the audience to have an in-depth understanding and to get empathetic over the particular aspect being described (the conditions at the work place). Ehrenreich begins by describing her work place saying “picture a fat person’s hell… chicken-fried steaks, fudge-laden desserts” (Ehrenreich 135).
She even goes ahead and describes the horrid conditions of her work place saying “put your hand down any counter and you risk being stuck to it by the film of ancient syrup… ” (Ehrenreich 29). This kind of imagery is useful in giving the audience a firsthand feeling on the situation at this eatery. Throughout the writing, there are varying syntaxes in sentence structure pushing away the imminent boredom that may appear when a reader cannot relate the writing to any existing situation and increasing emphasis.
The narrative, although speaking of different situations, becomes interesting and exciting as it is presented in a unique way. In her defense of not intervening in the case of George being accused of stealing, the author uses a syntactical sentence saying “on the contrary, something new-something loathsome and servile- had infected me” (Ehrenreich 41). Syntaxes in sentences go hand in hand with diction, as they help in creating emphasis. For instance, in the quote, the author has to stress on the thing that has affected her by explaining the extent of its effect through the use of words such as loathsome and servile.
In the description of the eatery, she explains the severity of the deplorable conditions saying “but there is always some vital substance missing – soap, paper towels, toilet paper – and I never find all three at once” (Ehrenreich 29). This shows the despicable situation at the work place that is synonymous to the life of most American laborers. For most authors, different tones convey varied meanings in a variety of situations, and this excerpt displays the tones of anger and sarcasm.
In this case, Ehrenreich uses particular words arranged in a specific way to bring out the tone to allow the audience to understand the pain of her experiences. From the very first page, it is easy to tell that Ehrenreich does not like the place and that is why she does not have anything positive to say. From adopting syntactic writing for purposes of emphasis, she uses phrases such as “human discomfort” (Ehrenreich 29) and “admonishes us” (Ehrenreich 29). The choice of sentence arrangement is cleverly chosen to avoid the subject-verb-object agreement.
In describing the despicable state of the kitchen, she says “Sinks everywhere are clogged” (Ehrenreich 29). This depicts anger and also draws emphasis on the kitchen making it easier for the audience to reflect on the situation. In explaining her situation further, Ehrenreich does not stop at sentence structure but additionally adopts the use of metaphorical language to allow the reader to make a comparison of a familiar situation to an unfamiliar one. For instance, she explains the discomfort of the kitchen as “is a cavern leading to the lower intestine that is the garbage and dishwashing area” (Ehrenreich 29).
It is quite possible for the audience to relate the dirt and muck of the lower intestine to the immense revulsion found at this eatery. Physiologically, lower intestines are responsible for carrying already made stool ready for expulsion. It is quite sad to imagine such an area being the same place where dishwashing occurs. Through this, Ehrenreich has successfully allowed the audience to understand the nature of the unfamiliar dishwashing area to the familiar lower intestine. In her use of other literary devices, Ehrenreich also cleverly brings out her feelings through her pathos.
In this way, Ehrenreich employs pathos to further evoke a particular feeling or emotion in the audience. For instance, in her description of the extreme poverty Ehrenreich says “… though no one, I notice, ever brings up anything potentially expensive like shopping or movies” (36). In as much as she is describing the simple nature of the party and the kind of people that surround her, the sentence helps in evoking deep feelings of pity. It is quite possible to understand the extreme nature and her hatred of the poverty around her, and she manages to relay this impact through the use of pathos.
Ethos, another structural element evident throughout the excerpt is exploited for purposes of helping the audience get inkling into the aspects of particular characters. In this way, the audience could choose whether to like or hate the character. For most authors, ethos goes further by creating a particular rapport between a character and the audience. Ehrenreich describes her relationship with George depicting him as “the nineteen-year-old, fresh-off-the-boat Czech dishwasher. We get to talking” (37).
It is not just his naivety due to age that makes the author like George, but also from the fact that he is an immigrant and his admirable character. Her attitude towards George is the rhetorical ethos in the excerpt, and it also creates a rapport between George and the audience. In as much as this is fiction, the author through her undercover investigation uses logical appeal to bring out the struggles of laborers in modern day America as they receive minimum wage. For purposes of credibility, the author goes further than simply writing a piece.
As she writes down the daily happenings at Jerry’s, the author gives a clear cut explanation of the situation showing the audience that she knows what she is talking about. For instance, she compares the insanitation at the eatery with the suffering of Susan McDougal. This historical comparison is not only a literal device (metaphor), but it shows the logical reasoning of the author. In addition to this, the author goes ahead and gives a description of how the poor earnings at Jerry’s are minimal thus useless. Perhaps this was a rhetorical cry to the government and the society to fight the vice of poor working conditions and payment.
That this may not be considered a complete narrative or a sequel to a story makes this excerpt a cleverly written and creative way of using various structural elements to display a variety of meanings. The author has employed pathos, metaphors, ethos, logos, syntactic sentences, vivid description and particular tone producing phrases to convey her exact feelings on the eatery named Jerry’s. Through the use of these devices, it is possible to comprehend the reasons why the author hates Jerry’s. The clever application of these tools also helps convey a particular message to the audience.