Goodman S Irony Showcases the Lack of Importance Which One Individual Has to a Company

In a piece entitled “The Company Man,” Ellen Goodman uses a methodical and almost

“corporate” tone to describe the life and death of Phil, a cog in the machine, a typical businessman working himself slowly into the grave.

Goodman’s irony showcases the lack of importance which one individual has to a company as a whole.

One of the primary rhetorically effective methods Goodman uses in her essay is repetition, employed with the emphasis of Phil’s death and various points on his life.

Goodman also frequently uses numbers in the place of words to give her piece a further tone of corporate austerity and efficiency.

In order to interest her reader in Phil’s family, career, and life overall, she employs extensive irony, repetition, and use of numbers to give readers the feel of a corporate memo, and properly convey the true irony of corporate life. Ankush R., Matt G., Jordan S.

“The Company Man” Rhetorical Analysis

Intro:

In “The Company Man,” Ellen Goodman attacks, through an ironic and impersonal tone, the inhuman nature of the business world, and stresses that family is much more important than working hard for a company.

First Body Paragraph:

Throughout the piece, Goodman maintains a sardonic tone through her impersonal, repeated description of Phil, placing emphasis on ideas that help satirize his lifestyle.

Second Body Paragraph:

Similarly, throughout the piece, Goodman incorporates varying syntax as she reveals a lack of passion for Phil’s legacy.

Conclusion:

In “The Company Man,” Ellen Goodman employs an impersonal, sardonic tone that, along with repeated descriptions of Phil and varying syntax, demonstrates her disdain for the American business world as a work-obsessed, unfeeling society. “The Company Man”

Blurb: In “The Company Man,” Ellen Goodman satirically examines the life of Phil, a workaholic who prioritized work and thus developed an impersonal relationship with his family.

Body Paragraph 1: One way Goodman conveys her attitude toward Phil is through the diction that presents a dark and harsh image of Phil.

Body Paragraph 2: Not only does she present a dark tone, Goodman also uses punctuation and syntax to emphasize her sarcasm and irony.

Body Paragraph 3: In addition to the syntax, Goodman also includes many details to invoke pity for Phil’s family and thus presents a colder image of Phil. Bhoomi, Robin, Alexa, and Kim

Introduction: In her essay The Company Man, Ellen Goodman evokes pity for the workaholic, Phil, but also demonstrates her disdain for what the “Important People” or corporate America has turned him into.

Paragraph 1: Through repetition and effective diction, Goodman establishes the character of Phil and his family.

Paragraph 2: The overall order and structure of the essay mimics that of an obituary to establish empathy for Phil and his stringent ways.

Conclusion: The way Goodman portrays Phil, in The Company Man, emphasizes the faults of the American corporate system. 1. Precise numerical figures and repetitive dictionemphasize the cyclical invariability of an unfulfilling life and the cultural obsession with the lure of material comfort.

2. Goodman not only mocks the concept of suffering for the sake of wealth, but also highlights the want for familial relations and friendship in modern society