Serving In Florida Rhetorical Analysis

Although Barbara Ehrenreich does not directly state her purpose, she wrote the excerpt “Serving in Florida” to share an experience she had and explain how it is relevant to her readers. The author writes to raise awareness about the economic issues that many American families face as part of the “working poor” socioeconomic class. This article was intended for an audience of educated, financially stable readers with the time and money to buy and read books. Ehrenreich’s story is about how she quickly adjusted from her comfortable life as a writer for a famous magazines to a member of the working poor class at a diner named Jerry’s. This is a very unique experience and not many have the opportunity to see how the “other half” live, whether it be the wealthy living like the poor or vice versa. To her readers, she is a just a “regular person,” but this story allows her to share a part of our American culture which many will likely ignore. …show more content…
The economy seems to be rigged against the poor and even a required pair of pants will have to be properly budgeted. When further explaining her economic situation while in Florida, she states that the “tips average only 10 percent” but “gas is eating up $4-$5 a day.” This recurring problem which involves only a few dollars shows that something is wrong with the economy; a working member of society can not afford to travel to work each day. Although Ehrenreich wants people to understand this problem, she does not propose any solution to the problem. She does not mention any specific forms of legislature which could save these hard working people from a seemingly inevitable fate; even if her readers are likely able to vote, she does not advise them what to vote