Blog #5 - Seeing #2

In her essay This Land Is Their Land, Barbara Ehrenreich uses a variety of methods in her argument. Through the uses of satire, sarcasm, irony, and ridicule, she is able to support her argument and its serious nature.

One instance of sarcasm that Ehrenreich uses criticizes the rich's preference for scenery, even if it's for a few weeks out of the year. She writes that if the rich don't get views of "vast expanses of water" or "mountains piercing the sky" outside their homes or hotels, then they may have negative health repercussions. This paints scenic luxury as if it were a physical need for the wealthy, thus supporting Ehrenreich's view of them as "[hogging] all the good scenery."

Another use of ridicule in her essay is Ehrenreich's comparison of workers' daily commute and a vacationer stuck in traffic. This would be a nightmare to the vacationing upper class, but this is nothing for workers who travel several hours a day just to clean dishes and trim hedges. So because they are unaccustomed to this sort of travel, one should "shed a tear" for the vacationer when in reality, the tear should be shed for the workers. This paints the wealthy as impatient as well as self-important, for they too good for this type of inconvenience.

In the last paragraph of the essay, Ehrenreich uses both satire and irony to summarize her argument and make it seem as if America is made more for the wealthy instead of "you and me." As real estate and land are bought-up by them, Ehrenreich insists that the rich are claiming what should be everyone's "birthright" for themselves. This becomes apparent through her take on the line in "This Land Is Your Land" and how it probably wasn't meant to be sung by "hedge-fund operators." Instead, it would have been more fitting if the line were sung by a chorus of polo-wearing members of a country club with gulf clubs in their hands. Thus, it is this paragraph that gives the essay its title.

Family Guy - Morning Wood Academy