The Company Man Ellen Goodman Analysis
Work Replacement Needed
“He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning.” The promise of reward for all the hard work and extra hours is wasted on a shortened life barely lived. Every day turned into a blur, barely distinguished from the next. In “The Company Man” by Ellen Goodman, she used a variety of rhetorical devices to tell how she feels Phil, and other working class Americans, work too hard and end up sacrificing their lives, hobbies, and families for a chance at success and how the ideology of big companies ruin the lives of their own.
Goodman utilized numerical diction throughout the story. Goodman demonstrated numerical diction with a phrase like “fifty-one years old,” and that he worked “six days a week,” on a “four-day week.” Goodman did this to convey how Phil’s life was all facts and statistics with little meaning outside of work. All aspects of his life were considered work, even “ a monthly golf game,” was an obligation that needed to be accomplished. He cared so much about his job and getting things done that he took for granted the simple things that should have brought love and happiness into his life. The numbers were the motivation and key principles in his life rather than his family, friends and …show more content…
He strived to be and work like “the Important People,” even though Phil was “one of six vice-presidents,” who could possibly be “moved to the top spot.” The author did this to show how little he meant to the company and how easily forgotten and replaceable he was. Phil’s “dearly beloved” children were like him to the company, easily dismissed and forgotten. Goodman never addressed Phil’s children by name only things like “eldest” and “the boy.” The author used the generic terms of the children to demonstrate that the ideology of the company had made him think his work and the amount of hours he put in were more important than his
“He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning.” The promise of reward for all the hard work and extra hours is wasted on a shortened life barely lived. Every day turned into a blur, barely distinguished from the next. In “The Company Man” by Ellen Goodman, she used a variety of rhetorical devices to tell how she feels Phil, and other working class Americans, work too hard and end up sacrificing their lives, hobbies, and families for a chance at success and how the ideology of big companies ruin the lives of their own.
Goodman utilized numerical diction throughout the story. Goodman demonstrated numerical diction with a phrase like “fifty-one years old,” and that he worked “six days a week,” on a “four-day week.” Goodman did this to convey how Phil’s life was all facts and statistics with little meaning outside of work. All aspects of his life were considered work, even “ a monthly golf game,” was an obligation that needed to be accomplished. He cared so much about his job and getting things done that he took for granted the simple things that should have brought love and happiness into his life. The numbers were the motivation and key principles in his life rather than his family, friends and …show more content…
He strived to be and work like “the Important People,” even though Phil was “one of six vice-presidents,” who could possibly be “moved to the top spot.” The author did this to show how little he meant to the company and how easily forgotten and replaceable he was. Phil’s “dearly beloved” children were like him to the company, easily dismissed and forgotten. Goodman never addressed Phil’s children by name only things like “eldest” and “the boy.” The author used the generic terms of the children to demonstrate that the ideology of the company had made him think his work and the amount of hours he put in were more important than his