Prompt:http://sharepoint.mvla.net/teachers/HectorP/Language%20and%20Comp%20AP/Documents/Resource%20AP%20Prompts/Ellen%20Goodman,%20Company%20Man%201995.pdf
Ellen Goodman, a columnist, explores the harsh reality of big business in her critical piece titled “The Company Man.” By telling the story of a robotic business man indifferently pursuing higher corporate success. Her subject, Phil, embodies the corporate world as she acerbically outlines the bottomless pit that it can become. Through the rhetorical Goodman effectively paints the picture of a man who “worked himself to death.” In lines six and seven, she states that “He was a perfect Type A, a workaholic, a classic, they (his family and friends) said to each other and shook their heads.” …show more content…
Rather than simply stating that Phil had died of a “coronary thrombosis,” Goodman says, “He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. in the morning,” thus firmly planting the seed in the reader’s mind that work caused his death. Goodman then dismisses all notions of sympathy by stating that neither his family or friends were surprised with the news. Goodman revisits this beginning in line thirty-two with her description of Phil’s relationship with his family. Beginning with his wife, Helen, who had “given up trying to compete for with his work years ago, when the children were still young.” With this, Goodman further downplays any lingering sympathy toward Phil while simultaneously flooding the reader with reasons to feel sympathetic toward his family with lines such as, “‘Missing him all these years,’ she must have given up part of herself which had cared too much for the man,” before delving into his relationships with his children. Goodman adds layers to the sympathy by describing the poor relationships he had with his children. For example, Goodman paints the picture of Phil’s oldest son needing to ask neighbors about his father since he barely knew him. Goodman supporting her cynicism through Phil’s family and friends further establishes …show more content…
For example, she repeatedly tells the reader she would take an alternate angle than the formal obituary. The first sentence of the piece, “He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning,” reappears three different times with only minor wording changes. The words “finely and precisely” as well as the specific time reflect Phil’s work: fine and precise. The theme of hard work appears in every paragraph, unequivocally leading him to his death. Sometimes she directly states it, such as in paragraph four where Goodman lists Phil’s work habits while other times, it acts as an underlying motive, such as in lines forty-five through fifty where he neglected his family because of his work. Goodman incorporates business to drive home her point about corporate America in the final three paragraphs. The sentence, “At the funeral, the sixty-year-old president told the forty-eight-year old widow that the fifty-one-year old deceased had meant much to the company,” Goodman creates a business-like mood with the repetitious ages. She further develops this mood with the fact that the widow couldn’t show bitterness towards the president because he had to straighten out the finances and stocks. Goodman then states that “Phil was overweight and nervous and worked to hard,” ironically referring to the previous sentence with worrying about business while not at
Ellen Goodman, a columnist, explores the harsh reality of big business in her critical piece titled “The Company Man.” By telling the story of a robotic business man indifferently pursuing higher corporate success. Her subject, Phil, embodies the corporate world as she acerbically outlines the bottomless pit that it can become. Through the rhetorical Goodman effectively paints the picture of a man who “worked himself to death.” In lines six and seven, she states that “He was a perfect Type A, a workaholic, a classic, they (his family and friends) said to each other and shook their heads.” …show more content…
Rather than simply stating that Phil had died of a “coronary thrombosis,” Goodman says, “He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. in the morning,” thus firmly planting the seed in the reader’s mind that work caused his death. Goodman then dismisses all notions of sympathy by stating that neither his family or friends were surprised with the news. Goodman revisits this beginning in line thirty-two with her description of Phil’s relationship with his family. Beginning with his wife, Helen, who had “given up trying to compete for with his work years ago, when the children were still young.” With this, Goodman further downplays any lingering sympathy toward Phil while simultaneously flooding the reader with reasons to feel sympathetic toward his family with lines such as, “‘Missing him all these years,’ she must have given up part of herself which had cared too much for the man,” before delving into his relationships with his children. Goodman adds layers to the sympathy by describing the poor relationships he had with his children. For example, Goodman paints the picture of Phil’s oldest son needing to ask neighbors about his father since he barely knew him. Goodman supporting her cynicism through Phil’s family and friends further establishes …show more content…
For example, she repeatedly tells the reader she would take an alternate angle than the formal obituary. The first sentence of the piece, “He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning,” reappears three different times with only minor wording changes. The words “finely and precisely” as well as the specific time reflect Phil’s work: fine and precise. The theme of hard work appears in every paragraph, unequivocally leading him to his death. Sometimes she directly states it, such as in paragraph four where Goodman lists Phil’s work habits while other times, it acts as an underlying motive, such as in lines forty-five through fifty where he neglected his family because of his work. Goodman incorporates business to drive home her point about corporate America in the final three paragraphs. The sentence, “At the funeral, the sixty-year-old president told the forty-eight-year old widow that the fifty-one-year old deceased had meant much to the company,” Goodman creates a business-like mood with the repetitious ages. She further develops this mood with the fact that the widow couldn’t show bitterness towards the president because he had to straighten out the finances and stocks. Goodman then states that “Phil was overweight and nervous and worked to hard,” ironically referring to the previous sentence with worrying about business while not at