Introduction
Mike Rose’s essay, Blue-Collar Brilliance, illustrates why blue-collar employees should not be labeled as incompetent or uneducated. He mentions his mother, Rosie Rose, and his uncle, Joe Meraglio, as personal examples to demonstrate that blue-collar employees put in a lot of effort and should not be stigmatized in society. It is essential because “this is a model of the mind that is worthy of a democratic society” (Rose). His mother worked as a waitress in coffee shops and restaurants, while his uncle began his career at General Motors on the assembly line. The essay shows how blue-collar professions need a lot of thought and arduous effort and how intellect should not be measured by school grades or IQ testing.
Blue-Collar Workers
Rose outlines how present culture regards intelligence as one of the most crucial aspects. “Intelligence is closely associated with formal education – the type of schooling a person has,” he adds (Rose). High grades in classes and examinations and a high degree of achievement are what Americans consider intelligent. “Our cultural iconography promotes the muscled arm, sleeve rolled tight against biceps, but no brightness behind the eye, no image that links hand and brain”, and it is an illustration of what blue-collar professions are like (Rose). It is apparent that American culture views blue-collar professions as mindless physical chores. Through his mother’s and uncle’s occupations, he is able to demonstrate that these assumptions are incorrect.
He begins with a dramatic story about how he grew up in Los Angeles, watching his mother work in restaurants all the time. Rosie Rose, his mother, dropped out of school in seventh grade to assist raise her family and provide them with educational chances. Although one may believe that someone who has not had a formal education is incompetent, Rosie proves different. “A waitress acquires knowledge and intuition about the ways and the rhythms of the restaurant business… she knew the average time it took to prepare different dishes” (Rose). Rosie was very adept and astute when memorizing and handling several tables in a restaurant. These tasks, which many people dismiss as employment for the uneducated, need a great deal of thought and management.
Joe Meraglio, the author’s uncle, dropped out of school in the ninth grade to work and subsequently joined the Navy. Joe had worked for General Motors for over 33 years, first on the assembly line and later as a foreman. “Joe constantly faced new problems and became a consummate multi-tasker… maintaining a cool head under the pressure of grueling production schedules,” Mike Rose indicated (Rose). This shows the reader that a job that people consider easy actually requires a lot of skills and intelligence. Joe was also learning while doing his work, which is worth highlighting. He had created a paint spray nozzle, reduced energy expenditures in bake ovens without compromising paint quality and had no professional training in equipment. Joe was a bright and intelligent individual continuously hampered by mental and physical limitations due to his lack of formal schooling. He is a model blue-collar worker who is both successful and intelligent.
Mike Rose implements a rhetorical approach in this piece by employing an excellent start that is descriptive and thorough. It is worth noting that his mother is a wonderful example of what a blue-collar job requires. The writer says: “She walked full tilt through the room with plates stretching up her left arm and two cups of coffee somehow cradled in her right hand” (Rose). Readers discover that even the blue-collar employees display a high degree of knowledge through this detailed explanation of his mother’s employment as a waiter at several coffee shops and restaurants.
Mike Rose masterfully exposes the widespread abuse of the term intellect, particularly by academics, politicians, and the white-collar sector, notorious for labeling blue-collar people as illiterate and inept. He is completely opposed to this approach, which is why he decides to draw on his uncle Joe’s experiences as a foreman who dropped out of high school in the ninth grade. The author notes that “people are few and are typically accounts of hardship and courage or the achievements wrought by hard work” (Rose). He argues that even hairstylists, plumbers, waiters, and carpenters utilize some strategy to accomplish their daily tasks efficiently. Blue-collar employees build social intelligence by collaborating with others to solve problems at work, and their intelligence develops when they interact or go about their everyday activities. When it comes to education, the author employs the approach of being impartial. He appreciates it but does not sympathize with those who dismiss others as intellectually inferior.
Conclusion
Preconceptions and disparities between working classes abound in today’s society. “And we employ social biases pertaining to a person’s place on the occupational ladder. The distinctions among blue, pink, and white collars carry with them attributions of character, motivation, and intelligence” (Rose). Society has prejudices and makes assumptions about people depending on their occupation. Many limiting elements, such as linguistic and mathematical skills, work vocation, and IQ testing, are used to characterize intelligence. Blue-collar employees, on the other hand, should not be dismissed as uneducated. Although their professions appear to be meaningless at first glance, there is a lot of labor behind the scenes.
Work Cited
Rose, Mike. “Blue-Collar Brilliance.” The American Scholar, 2009.