Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Studs Terkel's narratives
Studs Terkel portrays two types of people in his two narratives. The steelworker, Mike Lefevre works because he loves his child while the mason, Carl Bates, works for the love of his job. I was curious which one everyone thought was a “higher” reason to work. Perhaps each approaches work from a different way and a synthesis is best. I would like to point out that Lefevre’s work centers on providing for others, and Bates’s love for his job could be applied to any job, including that of worshiping God which is the primary job that the Belmont Abbey monks perform. Have fun!
4 comments:
I do not think I can determine which type of work i better or "higher." It all dependson the person and what will satisfy them. For many, their children are their lives and providing for them is the most satisfying thing they can do. For others like the Monks, the most fulfilling job is one of worship. I guess what I'm trying to say is that both reasons to work are of equal importance. What it comes down to is whether or not people enjoy their job.
Did anyone notice the difference in the levels of education that each man had? I think it is interesting to note that it appears as thought Lefevre had the lesser education and was less satisified with his job. Is there a connection between the level of education and satisfaction with one's job?
I actually found these two narratives similar in some ways. It seemed to me that both workers were stessing that they wanted to feel like they were a part of their work, not just a man putting something in a machine. The first narrative seemed to emphasize that the worker did not want his son to fall into the same rythm of work he was, where he felt like he wasn't really a part of the work. The second narrative simply seemed to emphasize that one's own work gives a man better satisfaction in the end, because the worker knows that he, himself, has formed it with his own hands.
A person's satisfaction in one's profession rests soley upon if that person is able to see their finished product or not; it depends if the worker can see the fruits of their labor, not the level of education. The steelworker cannot see the end result of his work and loathes his job. However, the mason takes pride and enjoys his work because he is able to see the end result.
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