Case Study Assignment: Guys Like That By Joyce Sutphen (Case Study Sample)

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“Guys Like That” by Joyce Sutphen
“A thematic case study: The World of Work” offers insights on the themes of work, money, and the economy as various songs and poems reveal them. Contrary to most cases where most of the songs and poems are directed to the relationships and love aspects. The study adopts a unique dimension in particular; this study identifies the case of “Guys Like That” by Joyce Sutphen. It is a critical representation of people with different living styles noting the existence of the social classes and the perceptions held by some of the people in the society. In line with this, the paper will discuss various aspects revealed by the “Guys Like That” poem in connection with the economics and political influences that encouraged the author into writing the poem.
“Guys Like That” is similar to a song “She Works Hard ForThe Money” by Donna Summer. The two adopts similar diction where the words reflect a scenario of people working hard yet they do not get as much as they deserve. At one point Sutphen states that people who drive trucks and take cattle to the slaughter are not worse as those guys who seem clean and cool. On the other hand, Donna states that some people seem to have everything (Metrolyrics Homepage 1). It is an aspect that contrasts the situation of the girl she is referring to that she worlds so had for the money. In the two cases, the songs tend to use the same tone. In that, there is a proper manifestation of depressing by Sutphen. She discourages women about those guys who seem clean and cool explaining that they only make deals that lead in making other people poorer. Donna employs depressing tone to point the sadness in the manner that the woman works hard yet she does not have much. Also, the tone of depressing is upheld in the chorus where it is repeated that one should treat the woman well.
In both cases, there is a proper manifestation of imagery depicted by the song and the poem. In the case of Sutphen, she creates an imagery of two guys. There is a rich guy who appears clean, have the best cars and the best things. On the other hand, there is a poor man who is dirty works in weird jobs such as driving a truck of cattle to the slaughter house. In the case of Donna’s song, it creates an imagery of a woman poor working in such jobs as a waitress in a hotel. She is lowly paid and largely offers service to rich people. These are the people that the author refers as to those who have everything. In the both case is similar imagery of two classes of people is properly manifested. Additionally, there are the cases of figures. Guys like that poem establish a character of two men who a woman focuses and tend to find who is suitable. Mainly, the two poems employ offer a proper sound approach. It is right to argue that the rhythm employed in the song is that which takes the direction of providing a story or presenting a scenario. The author reveals a storyline that is followed to signify life aspects of the characters adopted in the song and the poem.
It is interesting the way Sutphen manages to contradict the basic perception about people in the society. The poem assumes a proper beginning enabling the audience to grasp the scenario for its begging. It is built on the reality of life where there are people who tend to have the best in life while others enjoy what used to the best in the society. The author states that those people drive very nice cars (Stuphen 5). According to the author, these people do not think about marble floors or wine as many people think, but they think about ESPN and TiVo (Stuphen 10). In this context, the author means that these people are not serious or positively productive as they appear. Another aspect of shaping perception is raised in the case where she explains a scenario of such guys cooking book and moving money across the border (Stuphen 15). Hence, the poem could be used to signify that things are not what they seem to be or rather the judgment that may be given to the same thing is not the truthful or the real on. In that everything requires question. Furthermore, while those people who are engaged in such jobs as in slaughterhouse may be perceived as bad, the author signify that they are the best.
Moreover, the poem manifests of social classes in the society. Based on the Marxist arguments, the society as revealed in the poem contains people who are rich and those who are poor. It is shown form the begging that there are those who are the best cars while others are having a dented car century old. Rather it is an unjust society of people who are not working hard, and yet they have the best of the things that the economy can offer. In the scenario where the author argues that guys like that think about ESPN and TiVo, she implies that they are not interested in concrete things that would help the majority. Rater they are interested in their welfares to live a good life, simple and always entertaining. Subject to what they have some people in the society may judge them as cool and neat (Stuphen 15). On the contrary, the author signifies that those guys who drive trucks and appear dirty are better. Marxism focuses the society as unjust in the way resources are distributed forming a class o the capital owners and the workers (Burawoy, 252).
Furthermore, there is a conflict in the society where those who have want to continue getting more. On the other hand, the poor in the society continues to get poor. It is noted in the sixth stanza where Stuphen explains that guys like that make deals which make some people poorer and some rich (Stuphen 20). By pointing that some become poorer, it means that they were already poor. The aspects of capitalism and the exploitation of resources are attributed by disadvantaging others in the society at the expense of the few (Goldstein 123). Also, it is pointed out that the rich guys rob the poor on their electricity bill and at the pump. In this context, the author elaborates a scenario where people are not awarded properly for their works. It is th...