Where Sweatshops Are A Dream

Where Sweatshops are a Dream

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Where Sweatshops are a Dream

An American journalist named, Nicholas D. Kristof authored an opinion article in the New York Times, which was entitled as “Where sweatshops are a dream.” The article was published in the year 2009. In this particular article, the author has talked about the importance of working in the sweatshops for the poor population of Phnom Penh, which is one of the most deprived areas of East Asia. The sweatshops are considered an exploiting mean of production, in which the labor force is not provided with better facilities, and they are also exploited by making them work for the long hours. However, the population of the area is so much poor and deprived that they dream of working in the sweatshops. They consider it a big opportunity of making a difference in their lives. The author may have utilized the rhetorical sources like ethos, pathos in order to motivate the target audience; however, it actually depicts the poor conditions in which humanity is forced to survive (Kristof, 2009).

The author has talked about the poor conditions in which people of Phnom Penh are forced to live their lives. He has explained in his article that the poor people of the area dream of working in the sweatshops, instead of living their lives sorting the waste and dumps of the society. The author has utilized the metaphors in the article in order to shed light on the severity of the condition. He mentioned that “The miasma of toxic stink leaves you gasping, breezes batter you with filth, and even the rats look forlorn (Kristof, 1).” The author stressed that the area is full of filth which has polluted the air and the people are forced to breathe that same air. Moreover, the children in the area work hard to find the recyclable glasses in the dump and sale them in order to earn some money.

The author has used the rhetorical elements in his article to get the attention of his readers. He incorporated pathos by mentioning the details about the struggle of children to find recyclables. The author has also incorporated ethos in the article by providing the details about a little girl who lost her hand, as the dump truck passed over her. The area is so much full of filth that the dump trucks are not able to differentiate between filth and a living person present in that filth. In addition to it, the author has used the element of logos by stressing the fact that more and more sweatshops should be established in the area, in order to provide an opportunity of improving the living standards for these people.

The intended audience of the article by the author was Obama and his government, who were working for the rights of the labors. The author tried to get the attention of the government towards the point that they should establish the production companies in the poor areas like the one described in the article because it is the sole opportunity of progress for that population. The people do not want to spend their lives while sorting the dump; however, there are not enough sweatshops which would employ them. The author has perfectly organized the information and presented the evidence as well, which adds meaning to his claims (Snyder, 2010).

Kristof has presented the details about the unhygienic conditions in which the people of East Asia are forced to live their lives, due to poverty. He has used the elements of ethos, pathos, and logos in his article to make it more impressive and impactful for the readers. Moreover, he has addressed the government of Obama to take a stand against the issue and play his role in improving the situation.

References

Kristof, N. D. (2009). Where sweatshops are a dream. The New York Times, 15.

Snyder, J. (2010). Exploitation and sweatshop labor: Perspectives and issues. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(2), 187-213.