SOAPSTone Analysis:
Gail Collins wrote the article entitled, "What Happened to Working Women?". Collins wrote this article to express the concerns that the United States is "back tracking"; "Everyone else is continuing to rise and we've declined" (Collins 1), "...the United States used to be seventh. And now we're 20th" (Collins 1). Also, by her being a woman, she may have felt the need to write this article because it falls under feminism--just a tab bit. This article is geared towards Americans/ United States's citizens because we are the contributors to its economy. It is quite obvious to assumed that the audience are Americans/ citizens of the United States because the article compares Japan and the United States, even through it sounds so broad. The purpose of this article is "ginning up the American economy" (Collins 4) and "helping working mothers stay in the labor force" (Collins 4). Generally, the article focuses on women being in the labor force (primary) and comparing/contrasting the progression between Japan and the US (secondary). Collins writes in a critical tone that analyzes the progression of the United States throughout the article, "Japan now has a higher proportion of working women than we do" (Collins 1), "Japan's on the uprising and we're still going down" (Collins 1), "Everyone else is continuing to rise and we've declined" (Collins 1), "....the United States used to be seventh. And now we're 20th" (Collins 1), "Japan, where 64 percent of working-age women are employed, compared to 63 percent in the United States" (Collins 3), and "....the United States....did not guarantee workers paid maternity leave" (Collins 3).
Rhetorical Analysis of Diction:
"It reduces family standards of living and puts a crimp in the economy" (Collins 2).
Crimp means having a limit or an adverse effect(s) on something. Collins used the word, "crimp" to emphasis that if family standards of living are reduced than the economy will be heavily impacted. In other words, family standards of living has an effect on the economy.
Gail Collins wrote the article entitled, "What Happened to Working Women?". Collins wrote this article to express the concerns that the United States is "back tracking"; "Everyone else is continuing to rise and we've declined" (Collins 1), "...the United States used to be seventh. And now we're 20th" (Collins 1). Also, by her being a woman, she may have felt the need to write this article because it falls under feminism--just a tab bit. This article is geared towards Americans/ United States's citizens because we are the contributors to its economy. It is quite obvious to assumed that the audience are Americans/ citizens of the United States because the article compares Japan and the United States, even through it sounds so broad. The purpose of this article is "ginning up the American economy" (Collins 4) and "helping working mothers stay in the labor force" (Collins 4). Generally, the article focuses on women being in the labor force (primary) and comparing/contrasting the progression between Japan and the US (secondary). Collins writes in a critical tone that analyzes the progression of the United States throughout the article, "Japan now has a higher proportion of working women than we do" (Collins 1), "Japan's on the uprising and we're still going down" (Collins 1), "Everyone else is continuing to rise and we've declined" (Collins 1), "....the United States used to be seventh. And now we're 20th" (Collins 1), "Japan, where 64 percent of working-age women are employed, compared to 63 percent in the United States" (Collins 3), and "....the United States....did not guarantee workers paid maternity leave" (Collins 3).
Rhetorical Analysis of Diction:
"It reduces family standards of living and puts a crimp in the economy" (Collins 2).
Crimp means having a limit or an adverse effect(s) on something. Collins used the word, "crimp" to emphasis that if family standards of living are reduced than the economy will be heavily impacted. In other words, family standards of living has an effect on the economy.