Comprehension (A)
We, unlike people almost everywhere else in the world, tend to define and judge everybody in term of the work they do, especially work performed for pay. Charlie is a doctor; Same is carpenter; Mary Ellen is copywriter at small ad agency. It is as if by defining how a person earns his or her rent money, we validate or reject that person's existence. Through the work and job title, we evaluate the worth of the life attached. Larry is a laid off auto worker; Tony is retired teacher; Sally is a former showgirl and blackjack dealer from Vegas. It is as if by learning that a person currently earns no money at job-and maybe hasn't earned any money at a job for years - we assign that person to limbo, at least for the present. We define such non-employed persons in term of their past job history.
This seems peculiar to me. People aren't cast in bronze because of job they hold or once held. A retired teacher, for example, may spend a lot of volunteer time working with handicapped children or raising money for Loyal Order of Hibernating Hibiscus. That apparently doesn't count. Who's Tony? A Retired teacher. A laid-off auto worker may pump gas at his cousin's gas station or sell Encyclopedia on weekends. But who is Larry? Until and unless he begins to work steadily again, he is laid-off auto worker. This is the same as saying he is nothing now but he used to be something: an auto worker.
There is a whole category of other people who are "just" something. neirod To be "just" anything is worst. It is not m recognized by society as having much value at all, not now and probably not in the past either. To be just anything is to be totally discounted, at least for the present. There are lot of people who are" just" something. "Just" a housewife immediately and painfully comes to mind. We still hear it all the time. Sometimes women who have kept a house and reared six children refer to themselves as "just' a housewife". "just" a bum, "just" a kid, bag lady, old man, student, punk are some other. You can probably add to the list.
Questions:
i. Write down the summary of the passage and suggest a suitable title.
ii. Interpret the expressions "laid-off auto worker" and "Loyal Order of Hibernating Hibiscus" in the context of the passage.
iii. Analyze the societal tendency to define individuals based on their employment status and how it impacts their perceived value in society.
iv. Explore the idea presented in the passage regarding the societal perception of individuals who are "just" something and the implications of such categorization.
v. How the societal expectations and judgments related to individuals, especially concerning their work and employment status effect a person?
vi. How can the experiences described in the passage be applied to real-life situations, particularly in understanding the societal tendency to categorize individuals based on their work and the potential impact on their sense of value and identity?
