Blog Assignment #10: Work Comparison

For the sake of this assignment, I'd like you to practice the point-by-point comparison structure we talk about in class in order to talk about similarities and differences you find in how TWO of these 3 short stories talk about work:

"Orientation" by Daniel Orozco

"A & P" - John Updike

"Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville

I'm not interested in a comparison in plot, as obviously the plots are very different. Instead, I'm interested in the author's treatment of a theme: work.  What kind of arguable claims or underlying messages are these two authors building regarding that theme? What does each author want his reader to understand about what it means to work?

In answering these questions, I'd like you to offer a total of 3 paragraphs. Each paragraph should follow this structure:

1. Write a topic sentence that identifies the nature of your comparison. What is being compared?
2. Make a claim about what "Orientation" does and provide textual evidence as proof. Quote. Supply parenthetical page numbers for where you found the data.
3. Make a claim about what "Bartleby, the Scrivener" does and provide textual evidence as proof. Quote. Supply parenthetical page numbers for where you found the data.
4. End the paragraph by talking about the significance of the comparison. Try to answer: So what? and What's the effect of that?

If it's helpful, you might think of your comparisons as a means of answering one or more of the following questions:

What do these stories tell us about the role of a boss or manager?
What are we meant to understand about interactions between co-workers?
What do these stories say about productivity or lack of productivity?
What do these stories say about the value of a job for the individual?