Analysis Of Limbo By Alfred Lubrano

In the excerpt Limbo written by Alfred Lubrano, there are crucial elements that show the author’s sense of identity. In this essay, I will critically analyze the differences between blue-collar and white-collar mindsets/belief system using facts from Limbo. There are three characteristics of a blue-collar mindset. The first mindset of a blue-collar worker is aggressiveness. In the excerpt there are many examples that show the aggressiveness that comes with people who have grown up in a blue-collar household. A quote from the excerpt says, “Here’s the dilemma: you come from a culture in which the boss is the common enemy and you’re expected to be loyal to your fellow workers.” The author is showing the mindset of blue-collar workers. This …show more content…
The three characteristics of a white-collar mindset are self-oriented, civil, and verbal. The self-oriented mindset comes from the idea that white-collar mindsets are there for themselves. Blue-collar workers are family oriented, while white-collar mindsets are self-oriented/motivated. An example from the excerpt would be when the author says, “And success is measured not by the secure stasis and comfortable consistency your parents struggled for but by the constant movement upward.” This quote explains how in the white-collar environment they are focused on getting higher in their workplace, and are self-motivated. They do not necessarily care about their coworkers in the way the blue-collar workers do. White-collar workers are also more civil. By this, I mean that a white-collar worker will not make a scene if they are in the wrong. They are not aggressive like blue-collar workers. This is because the mindset of a white-collar worker is to be more preserved and more professional. The last characteristic of a white-collar mindset is verbal. Previously I talked about the aggressiveness that comes from a blue-collar worker mindset. White-collar workers are less physical, and more verbal. If a dispute or argument were to happen in a white-collar work place, they would use words in a subtle manner to get their disagreement across instead of pushing someone against the wall. There is an example from the author, about himself, in Limbo that says, “My blue-collar persona shoved my white-collar self into a corner in a meeting with a top editor”. This quote was after telling the story when his editor did not give his wife credit. This shows how that even though a person might be a white-collar worker, their background of growing up in a blue-collar household might show up in their white-collar