Comparative Analysis Paper

Analysis

Comparative Analysis Paper

University of Phoenix

ENG120: Business Literature

Comparative Analysis Paper

Poetry has become a form of art that is increasingly being used in the business world today by many organizations as a learning tool for growth and development. Through the analysis of three different works of poetry, the can be an examination of the relationship that is developing with the world of business and art within the work environment. ). Over the years, poetry has turned into a mechanism that can help to bring about change in the business world and in society. That in itself can be a powerful mechanism for many organizations to use as a guideline to follow. This paper will analyze three poems, “Me and My Work” by Maya Angelou, “Factory Jungle” by Jim Daniels, and “Share-Croppers” by Langston Hughes. Giving examples of various poetic techniques and the ways in which they relate to workplace themes will do the analysis.

In Langston Hughes, “Share-Croppers,” the poem is written from the viewpoint of a slave, which is a very interesting viewpoint to take. Although the poem is short, the words of the poem are very compelling. It leads the reader to read the verses again and again. The words are poignant and they make the reader think of stories about slavery that have been passed down over the generations about the hard labor that the slaves endured with little to no rewards. “ When the cotton’s picked and the work is done, Boss man takes the money and we get none.” (Hughes, p 222). Just by reading Langston Hughes’ poem, one could see that he had a deep concern for depicting American Negro life through the use of the dialect and the terms he used where were an important part of his writing style. In the poem, the language he used puts you back in the era in which it was written, a time after emancipation when most southern blacks were forced to become sharecroppers and were enslaved by debts as tenant farmers. From the content of the poem, Hughes shows a brief glimpse into what it was like to be a black sharecropper in the south. The poem gives the vision of the hurt of trying to make a living in a thankless and non-rewarding job, only to have what the sharecroppers worked so hard for be taken away. “Leaves us hungry, ragged, as we were before. Year by year goes by and we are nothing more…” (Hughes, p 222). The sharecroppers are left hungry and torn, but not broken in their spirits, because life goes on.

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In the next poem, “Factory Jungle,” the language Jim Daniels uses paints a picture of a factory worker feeling free as if in a jungle swinging freely through the trees without a care in the world. Daniels uses his words as metaphors to bring the reader into his “jungle”. “Thin light through the factory windows, the sun on its way to the time clock” (Daniels, p215) is reminiscent of the vines hanging down from the trees in a jungle. Keeping in the theme of being in a jungle, the author uses a reference to a mad elephant and what it could do to a hand, which refers to biggest press in the plant and how much damage it would do or injuries it would cause if one of the workers were to have their hand caught in that press “I stand behind the biggest press in the plant….Thinking about what that mad elephant could do to a hand” (Daniels, p215). Whenever one thinks of the Jungle, Tarzan instantly comes to mind. I have watched the old Tarzan movies of the past and when I saw Tarzan swinging on those vines through the trees and I thought, “That must be an exhilarating feeling of freedom.” The author used that same correlation of swinging through the plant, then ripping off his coveralls then pounding his chest and yelling like Tarzan, now that is being free! (Daniels, p 215).

Maya Angelou is another great story teller who uses her lyrics to start a movement of feelings to the reader. Maya Angelou has mastered the art to storytelling to an unbelievable level of perfection. Her poetry is always an inspiration. In this particular piece, “Me and My Work,” she brings her readers into the life of a proud, hard working family man who does not have much, but struggles to get by, and to meet the needs of his family. I believe she makes it possible for a reader to see through her eyes the items of importance in this poem. I did not see any metaphors or symbolisms in this poem, just a good story-line that I can relate to, especially when I think about how my parents struggled to make ends meet, and to make sure my siblings and I had what we needed.

According to David Whyte, “There is no better way of getting you into the gravity well of a great question than a good poem. You could spend 45 minutes talking your way around the houses to get into the first rung of the ladder, and a good poem will take you right to the center of things” (Essex and Mainemelis, p 158). Reading these poems is definitely a learning experience. Just by analyzing the poetry and how it applies to the corporate America, allows one to gain a vast amount of knowledge as well and trigger one’s thinking cap. An author has the ability to direct one’s attention is any directions by using various poetry techniques.

References

Angelou, Maya (1990). “Me and My Work.” In S.E. Murphy, J.G. Sperling &

J. D. Murphy (Eds.). The literature of work (p. 234). Phoenix, AZ: University of Phoenix Press.

Daniels, J. (no date). “Factory Jungle.” In C. LaRocco, J. Coughlin (Eds.). The art of

work, an anthology of workplace literature (p. 215). Cincinnati, Ohio, South-Western Educational Publishing.

Essex, E. & Mainemelis, C. (2002, June). Learning from an artist about organizations: the poetry and prose of David Whyte at work. Journal of Management Inquiry, 11(2).

Hughes, J. M. L. (1942). “Share-Croppers.” In S.E. Murphy, J.G. Sperling & J.D. Murphy (Eds.). The literature of work (p. 222). Phoenix, AZ: University of Phoenix Press.