Writing Assigment

Where Sweatshops are a Dream

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Affiliation

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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. The author has talked about the importance of the sweatshops for the underdeveloped areas of the world, by presenting the example of Phnom Penh, which is among the most deprived areas of East Asia. The author has advocated the establishment of sweatshops in which areas, as an opportunity of progress for the poor communities, who are otherwise forced to spend their lives while sorting the dump. The author has utilized the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos in his article, in order to support his claims, as well as convince the reader about his opinion. The opinion article may have been an attempt by the author to advocate the establishment of sweatshops in underdeveloped countries; however, it has presented a clear picture of the deprived lifestyle of the poor communities of Phnom Penh, who spend their life on the dump.

The purpose of the author to write the opinion article is to shed light on the fact that working in the sweatshops is the sole opportunity of progress for the people of the deprived communities of underdeveloped countries. The intended audience of the article is the Obama government as well as the opponents of the sweatshops. The Obama government wants to close down the sweatshop while taking care of the rights of the labor force. The opponents of the establishment of sweatshops are of the view that the industry is a mean of exploiting the poor labors. The labors are not provided with a better working atmosphere. They have to work in congested spaces. Moreover, the labor force is exploited by making them work for long hours, and then not paying them accordingly.

The author has utilized the rhetorical elements of ethos pathos, and logos in his article, in order to shed light on the importance of sweatshops for the poor and deprived communities of the world. He has presented the point that working in the sweatshops is the dream of the people of Phnom Penh, which is a poor, as well as a filthy city. The poor population of the city, which is not able to get any other employment opportunity, has to live life by sorting the dump of the city. The author has utilized the element of pathos to shed light on the drastic conditions of the society, in which humanity is forced to survive. He mentioned in his article that “The miasma of toxic stink leaves you gasping, breezes batter you with filth, and even the rats look forlorn (Kristof, 1).” The author has tried to present the condition of filth, which not only impacts the living standard of the poor population but also endangers their health. Appealing to the emotions of the readers, he had discussed a little girl who lost her hand, when a truck passed over it in the filth. The truck driver was unable to identify a living person in the piles of filth (Kristof, 2009).

Kristof has explained in his article that working in the sweatshops is the dream of the poor population because they do not want to live their lives on the dump. They are ready to work in tough conditions; however, surviving the unhygienic conditions is a matter of life and death for them. Utilizing the rhetorical element of logos, and appealing to the logic of the readers, the author has presented the point that

“Talk to these families in the dump, and a job in a sweatshop is a cherished dream, an escalator out of poverty, the kind of gauzy if probably unrealistic ambition that parents everywhere often have for their children (Kristof, 1).”

He has explained in the article that he is not advocating the establishment of sweatshops, in order to promote the poor labor conditions; however, it is the sole opportunity for the people of poor communities. Their lives would be limited to the heaps of filth if they are deprived of this opportunity as well (Snyder, 2010).

The author has utilized the element of ethos in his article as well, in order to describe his authenticity. He explained that “My views on sweatshops are shaped by years living in East Asia, watching as living standards soared — including those in my wife’s ancestral village in southern China — because of sweatshop jobs (Kristof, 2).” He is providing the justification that he is not blindly supporting a point of just presenting a suggestion. He is arguing the point in his article, because of the fact that that he has closely observed that population while spending time with them. He has studied that population from a closer perspective and has reached the conclusion that sweatshops are an opportunity for them to get rid of their poor status and take the steps towards a better life (Snyder, 2010).

The article is an attempt by the author to advocate the importance of sweatshops in the poor communities of the world. Sweatshops are considered to be a mean of exploiting the labor force. However, utilizing the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos, the author has highlighted that people have to live their lives on the heaps of filth while searching for the recyclables, and inhaling the filthy breeze, which is much more exploitative than the sweatshops. So, the developed countries of the world should play their role in providing the opportunities of progress to such communities, by establishing the sweatshops there.

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.