Explorative Essay
McCarty 1 Morgan McCarty Dr. John Murphy English 123-05 May 30, 2012 Fashion and The Concept of Work: An Exploration It is fact. The world progresses through the efforts of its inhabitants. This concept establishes work as an element of value. It is a value that measures and defines an individual 's worth in a contemporary economy. The abilities to perform a certain job requires a specific skill set or character type. This establishes the ideal that “you are what you do.” In today 's society, the value of work is compared between two types of labor: The efforts brought on by mental cognition, and work characterized by the utilization of physical craft. There is debate questioning the worth of one type of labor above the other, though the answer develops within the idiosyncrasies of a society. In regard to today 's society, specifically that of the western tradition, jobs that entail a specific knowledge basis are put under a higher regard than that of skilled manual labor. Is this the path to better way of life, or just a comfortable one? In my own explorative journey through this topic, I hope to gain insight and enlightenment into my own career decisions and struggles between the benefits of craft and my curious attraction to cognitive work. In order to do this I must begin with an explanation of my unconventional upbringing. I am the middle child of a family of six children. If there is any common trait among middle children, it is their constant feeling of neglect, especially in a family of eight. This has lead me to be a person of selfdependence. My parents both followed medical paths, my mom being a labor and delivery nurse, and my father being a graduate of Princeton and having a successful career as an Oncologist. You would
McCarty 2 expect a child of these means to follow in the same path of academia, but I have always been the child destined to follow a path of creative means. On numerous accounts my mother would jokingly remark “Morgan, well, she has
McCarty 2 expect a child of these means to follow in the same path of academia, but I have always been the child destined to follow a path of creative means. On numerous accounts my mother would jokingly remark “Morgan, well, she has
Citations: 1. Pirsig, Robert M. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence . Twenty-Fifth Anniversary ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. Print. 2. Thomas-Bailey, Carlene. "Top 10 tips for a career in fashion." Guardian. 29 April 2010: n. page. Web. 30 May. 2012. .