54 Hour Week/ Low Wages
Fred Ellis, 1885-1965.
Crayon, ink, pencil and opaque white. Published in the Daily Worker.
LC-USZC4-6598
© Robert Ellis.
ARGUMENT:
A: Forcing an overwhelming amount of hours and insufficient wages on workers
B: provides unfit labor conditions in society
Reason: because poor working conditions and under compensation lead to the death of a meaningful and provident life.
IA: Whatever provides unfit labor conditions in society also leads to the death of a meaningful and provident life.
AUDIENCE/GOAL:
His audience is the government and the working class of the early 20th century in the United States. Even though the drawling depicts mine workers, the majority of the working class at the time suffered from being underpaid and overworked, not to mention that many workplaces had harsh environmental conditions. Ellis' political cartoon was targeted to those suffering such conditions at the time as a means of giving them a voice. It was also a forewarning and plea to government officials that something needed to be changed.
HOW THE ARGUMNENT IS MADE:
Ellis uses a combination of pathos and ethos to reach his audience. Using ethos he depicts working men of the day, particularly mine workers, as small and helpless in the face of the towering Death above them, who holds their "54 hour week" and "low wages" like their death sentence. In so doing, he forms a relationship with them by saying "I know what you face every day". Using pathos, Ellis portrays Death as a gargantuan task master, unable to be dominated by his subjects. Instead of depicting an actual mine, Ellis' Death seems to be shepherding the workers into what looks more like a slaughter house labeled "Mines". It is as if he is saying that the end result is inevitable. Ellis' drawing is a hyperbole, and clearly not an accurate depiction, yet this works to his advantage and shares the message he desired.
EFFECTIVE?
I believe it is. Ellis' depiction of Death is the most effective element. It takes up the majority of his cartoon and is the immediate attention grabber, gruesome and unavoidable.
A: Forcing an overwhelming amount of hours and insufficient wages on workers
B: provides unfit labor conditions in society
Reason: because poor working conditions and under compensation lead to the death of a meaningful and provident life.
IA: Whatever provides unfit labor conditions in society also leads to the death of a meaningful and provident life.
AUDIENCE/GOAL:
His audience is the government and the working class of the early 20th century in the United States. Even though the drawling depicts mine workers, the majority of the working class at the time suffered from being underpaid and overworked, not to mention that many workplaces had harsh environmental conditions. Ellis' political cartoon was targeted to those suffering such conditions at the time as a means of giving them a voice. It was also a forewarning and plea to government officials that something needed to be changed.
HOW THE ARGUMNENT IS MADE:
Ellis uses a combination of pathos and ethos to reach his audience. Using ethos he depicts working men of the day, particularly mine workers, as small and helpless in the face of the towering Death above them, who holds their "54 hour week" and "low wages" like their death sentence. In so doing, he forms a relationship with them by saying "I know what you face every day". Using pathos, Ellis portrays Death as a gargantuan task master, unable to be dominated by his subjects. Instead of depicting an actual mine, Ellis' Death seems to be shepherding the workers into what looks more like a slaughter house labeled "Mines". It is as if he is saying that the end result is inevitable. Ellis' drawing is a hyperbole, and clearly not an accurate depiction, yet this works to his advantage and shares the message he desired.
EFFECTIVE?
I believe it is. Ellis' depiction of Death is the most effective element. It takes up the majority of his cartoon and is the immediate attention grabber, gruesome and unavoidable.
