The Impact of Sweatshops

The article Where Sweatshops are a Dream focuses on impact of sweatshops in Cambodia.  The author of the article, Nicholas D. Kristof, is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and in his writing, focuses attention on global poverty, health and gender issues, and climate change. His wife is Chinese, therefore giving Kristof a connection to the Southeast Asian countries. The purpose of this article is to highlight that although people in developed countries have the notion that sweatshops are considered to have harsh and uncivilized working conditions, in countries such as Cambodia, laborers would prefer to to work there. Kristof states his purpose in a straight forward manner, it is easy to understand his opinions on sweatshops. The writer might have a potentially hidden agenda; for people to invest in better working conditions for sweatshops in lesser developed countries, allowing more people to be able to work there. In terms of the audience, the author is targeting people from more developed countries and perceives the reader as neutral, and assumes that he or she has at least a brief knowledge about poverty in Southeast Asian countries, in particular Cambodia. The topic of this article is mainly about how sweatshops do not exploit enough people, as the majority of the population in Cambodia lives in extreme poverty and survives by finding necessities such and food and clothing in the dumps. As developed countries continue progressing, it is often times forgotten that most people in peripheral countries live off less than one dollar a day. Cheap labor is often found in such countries, and therefore working conditions are harsh, especially those in sweatshops. However, compared to other ways of surviving, such as driving a rickshaw in the sun or living in the dumps.

A sweatshop in Cambodia

 The author uses a variety of logos, pathos, and ethos in his argument to persuade the audience. The author uses logic and facts when referring to President Obama and his attempts to create good labor standards through trade agreements.  He also claims that Cambodia has been working with factories to establish reasonable working standards and wages. Furthermore, Kristof exclaims the best way to help people in poor countries is to promote manufacturing in sweatshops. The author proves his credibility by using direct quotes from people scavenging for food in landfills. He also implies that it is unethical to allow people to continue working such harsh jobs when sweatshops and factories although harsh, give workers a better way of life. Pathos is seen in the article when the author talks about kids that haven’t been able to bathe since they were two, and mothers who dream their kids can work in the factories because of the dangers of finding food in garbage piles. Surely this stirs up the emotions of the audience.

The thesis of the author is that sweatshops should begin hiring more workers and expanding themselves to provide a safer way of making a living for thousands in Cambodia. The author organizes his argument by including evidence through facts and quotes, as well as a rebuttal followed by his own opinion on the benefits of sweatshops.  Kristof uses evidence mainly through observations and opinions by Cambodians themselves. The author’s style is quite informal, he refers to his owns thoughts and experiences quite a bit to express his point.

Streets of Cambodia

I think the author was successful in creating a clear and persuasive argument for the most part. However, I feel it would have been beneficial to add some statistical facts as well rather than just quotes and personal thought. Additionally, using some rhetorical questions would have increased the level of ethics in his argument.  In general, the author has several good points to support his argument and points out counter thoughts to his point of view and refutes them.

http://www.catholic.org/news/international/asia/story.php?id=54176  Sweatshop picture

https://daks2k3a4ib2z.cloudfront.net/56378cd5f60b35c75b48f114/56f540698c821b80677a5511_urban-poverty-cambodia.jpg   Streets of Cambodia picture

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/pages/nicholas-and-sheryl Information about the author

When the Violence in Television Comes Out

 https://collincomptwo.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/violent-media-is-good-for-kids/

The visual selected shows a picture of a young child with an angry disposition holding a knife in one hand and a girl in the other. The visual makes a powerful statement about the negative effect violent media has on kids, with the colors and words in the image, and expressions on the kid’s face.  The central image is of a kid with a very angered expression, and he seems as if he is trying to accomplish something. Most probably, he has gotten the ideas of using the toy knives and guns from being exposed to violent media. The black and green colors give a very negative emotion to the picture, and the green especially implicates a war likes scene. The child seems to be talking to someone through a microphone, and one can make an inference that the child could be using violent and harsh language. Along with visuals, the image contains words.

The child is wearing a shirt that says “SOLDIER”. These words suggest that the child considers himself heroic by using violence.  The visual is aiming to express that violent media can change a child’s mindset about violence, that killing is normal and could even be considered heroic.  Exposure to such violence could also change a child’s behaviors, as shown in the child’s expressions in the image.

Undoubtedly, the visual is effective because it uses a normal child to express how violent media can change someone for the negative. Knives and guns could become normal, and children, with violent media, become immune to the harshness of killings and violence.  The child in the image especially affects people because everyone at one point has been a child or a parent. 

About the Author

For anyone reading this blog who is interested in from whom these ideas are coming from...
Hello! My name is Hana Omar, I am seventeen years old and am a dual enrollment student from Peachtree Ridge High School. 
I was born in Austin Texas, and lived in NJ for ten years before moving to Georgia in 7th grade. 
I consider myself to have quite a unique background, although I was born in the US, my parents are third generation born Kenyans with Indian ancestry. My daily life is a blend of American, Kenyan, and Indian cultures, and besides English and Spanish, I can speak Kutchi, Hindi, Urdu, and tidbits of Swahili. 
I love traveling the world, and am blessed to have visited Kenya several times, India, Mexico, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand, London, and Turkey. 
I enjoy swimming, I play tennis, and have played the flute since the 4th grade, and was on the PRHS Marching Band for two years.
I am blessed with a wonderful family, two amazing parents, a brother, and plenty of aunts, uncles, and cousins that make my life worth living everyday. 
I enjoy spending time with family, reading, and of course sleeping :)
I am looking forward to where this blog takes me in my growth and development of English.