In "producing something," workers elevate their status in life by justifying that their work is meaningful not only to them, but to society, for they contribute to the economic machinery of capitalism everyday.

The following passages from various interviews in "Working" demonstrate the concepts of "producing something" and "making sense" as the avenues through which workers momentarily suspend or escape their marginalization in American society:

The *****in' world's so *****ed up, the country's *****ed up. But the firemen, you actually see them produce. You see them put out a fire. You see them come out with babies in their hands. You see them give mouth-to-mouth when a guy's dying. You can't get around that *****. That's real. To me, that's what I want to be.

"I worked in a bank. You know, it's just paper. it's not real. Nine to five and it's *****. You're lookin' at numbers. But I...
[ View Full Essay]