Why we work by andrew curry essay

Running Head: COMPARISON BETWEEN “I HEAR AMERICA SINGING” AND “WHY WE WORK”

COMPARISON BETWEEN “I HEAR AMERICA SINGING” AND “WHY WE WORK” 5

Comparison between “I hear America Singing” and “Why we Work”

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Comparison between "I hear America Singing" and "Why we Work."

The “I hear American singing” is a poem written by Whitman, and it is concerned with the workers in the United States. The why we work is also a story that was featured in one of the magazines also involving the employee's conditions in the United States. The writer Andrew Curry is a famous story writer in the United States, and he used this to write about what the employees of the United States of America were facing. Whitman, on the other hand, is a famous poet and it is known for the precise skills he shows in his writings. The two books are similar to some extent, and different because they are different genres and that they have been written by various writers make the two works to be different.

The two works are similar in that both are focussed on the workers in the United States. Whitman using the poem writes about how the workers in different professions sing their individual songs based on their profession. The song carries a hidden meaning about the working conditions of the employees of the United States that Whitman is trying to pass across (Whitman & Tracy, 1991). In the poem the repetition about the songs that the different people are singing attempts to emphasise the message that the writer is trying to pass across. The story by Curry also is based on the lives of the American workers. The author brings out the depression and the struggle that the employees in the industries found in the United States experienced.

The struggle that the workers experienced is not set off well in the poem by Whitman. The poem being a short prose is not in a position to put out the message that the writer tries to bring out. The story by Curry clearly explains the struggle experienced by the workers and he bring out the details from the working hours to even the financial crisis that they experienced. The poem can only be understood by the poets or people who are interested in such writings while the story can be fully understood by anyone who is in a position to read.

The literary styles that have been used in both works are different, and there exist some which are similar. There is continuous prose in both the poem and the story. The fact that one is a story and the other is a poem the structure and the styles are different. The poem is organised into stanzas while the story is organised into paragraphs. The lines used in the poem are short as compared to those employed in the story. The poem has additional styles like the use of repetition, alliteration and the use of rhythm which are characteristic of a poem while the story makes less use of such vices as the meaning in the story is supposed to be laid bare so as to make it easy for the reader to interpret and understand.

There is the use of irony in the poem where the writers show a joyful attitude in the lives of the workers in the United States. The irony comes in where the writer brings out the joy in the singing of the workers, yet they are in misery. The workers are hoping for a better future in their places of work and probably by them singing the songs expresses the hope that they are waiting upon. The story, on the other hand, has no rhetoric and irony as the message that was intended to be passed to the readers of the story (Curry, 2003). The writer brings it clearly to the readers that the working conditions of the workers were pathetic and they were hoping that by the industrial revolution that took place, the working condition would be improved but this was not the case. He explains the crisis that the workers had to undergo that they rarely had time for their families and those close to them as they had to work for long hours so as to earn more to be able to sustain their families.

The theme in both the story and the poem are the same as they talk about the conditions of the workers and the introduction of the white collar jobs (Curry, 2003). Both works are centred on this idea as during that time it was the topic that had caught the attention of the people living in the United States. This is what prompted the two writers to write on such an idea. Work had become a frustrating part of the Americans, and they had expressed this through several means, and thus the writers after having heard from the grievances of the workers and other individuals decided to write on such as by this they would be able to impact many. Through the critical works, the concerned parties would be affected and be in a position to act so as to change the outlook of working in the United States.

In conclusion, the two works by Andrew Curry and Walt Whitman have similarities and differences, and this is attributed to the fact that the individuals who wrote the two are different. Both works are based on the theme of hardships at the workplace though the manner in which it has been portrayed in both works is different. Therefore both authors have achieved their goal of letting the masses know of the problems that the workers in the United States faced and probably what could be done so as to improve the working conditions in the country.

References

Whitman, W., & Tracy, L. (1991). I hear America singing. Philomel.

Curry, A. (2003). Why we work. US News & World Report, 134(6), 48.