Analysis Of Mike Rose's Blue Collar Brilliance

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In his 2009 article "Blue-Collar Brilliance," author Mike Rose explores and dispels the intellectual assumptions levied on the blue-collar working class by our society. With his insight into the service and production industries, he highlights the often overlooked physical and mental demands these workers must overcome to become successful in their respective fields. His writing illustrates how we often correlate low-wage and labor positions with an inferior intellectual ability. Rose asserts that "We reinforce this notion by defining intelligence solely on grades in school and numbers on IQ tests." (279) He employs anecdotes of his mother's work as a waitress in a restaurant and his uncle as an assembly line foreman to reveal the underlying