Alexander Diaz
411 Journal 1
A Slave to the Passions
- How does Terkel characterize and or/question the “nature” or the “reality” of work? Keep in mind how he talks about worker’s roles, experiences, values and purposes. Include at least one human example from your selected interview.
Terkel characterizes the reality of work as this place we go everyday where we seek to validate ourselves somehow while simultaneously trying to earn a living. These two reasons drive us to get up and go on our grind every day. We want to feel like we make a difference, whether that comes from other people or from ourselves, it doesn’t matter. We want to feel like we are making a difference when we step through those doors every morning. This can range from the smallest of jobs to the most stressful of jobs. Also we go for a paycheck. We need to put food on the table and provide for ourselves and our family. Terkel basically states that these two reasons are the driving causes of what we do and the reality of work in general. In policeman we can see a cop named Bob Patrick who lives to be a cop. Throughout the entire interview he explains the countless situations he has been in. But in the end there is one sentence that really sums it up where he says “I feel like I’m helpin people. When you come into a crowd, and a guy’s been hit by a car, they call you.” (Patrick). Here we see Terkel’s first point, having a job to find a meaning in one’s life. For Bob Patrick this meaning was to feel like he was really helping someone, which he was everyday.
- How do you see your generation’s precarious role in the work force as “disruptibles” (Snyder, 2016)? How might that term apply to your progress through a fieldwork and public writing course? What roles, practices, and identities do you imagine for yourself, and how to they reflect your history? You may also use a Terkel quote in response to this prompt.
I see my generation’s role in the workforce as disruptive pretty accurate. It is not because they do not meet Terkel’s reality of work, but because the road to get to a meaning and a paycheck seems to always have to be given and not earned to them. I don’t think that term applies to me at all within my work or my writing. I’ve never been one to cause trouble when something goes my way or break the rules for no reason. This would sound a little cliche but I’ve always aligned myself with my astronomical sign. A taurus is always steadfast in his own or her own beliefs. Like a rock I am unshakable, calm and cool during stressful times. These reflect my history well because in the past this type of personality has always gotten me far, including getting me through the ratline. Bob Patrick said in the beginning of the interview “If I couldn’t be a cop, I don’t think I could be anything else.” Even after all he has seen, all of the dead bodies, all of the injuries, seeing his friends die, he still liked being a cop. I think that defines how one’s identity can really reflect their history.