Exposing the Risks of Fast Food Job Positions in Thomas Frank's “Home of the Whopper

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Around the US there are many jobs, some of which are fast food restaurants and entry level jobs that pay minimum wage .Thomas Frank published, “Home of the Whopper”, November of 2013 in Harper’s Magazine describing the strikes that went on in Durham, North Carolina where the employees are sick and tired with minimum wage. Thomas Frank uses “Home of the Whopper” to expose the different risks that could be faced while working at a fast food or entry level job.

Frank began the article by vividly describing the setting of the various restaurants in the local area of Durham, North Carolina. Since the area was meant to be driven through instead of walking , when one walked through the area, one will notice that the ground is filled with litter. He then stated that North Carolina was the least unionized state in the union and employees were not a custom to strikes.One of the stops made was in front of a cathedral where they were accompanied by a pastor who showed his support.

Fast food jobs are mainly known for entry jobs and for teenagers, but Frank saw the opposite in North Carolina. In North Carolina they went by the motto “a job is a job in times like ours regardless of qualifications and degrees”. Frank then states that the people who go by this motto doesn’t know that so much effort goes into keeping fast-food pay low.

Frank then introduces Eric Schlosser ‘Fast Food Nation’ (2001) which states that virtually no skills are required to work and the machines that cook are fool proof. Because the job has been deskilled the workers can easily be replace.

Frank closed the article on Boddie- Noell enterprises a successful restaurant selling cheap burgers after McDonald’s model. It is a family-owned business whose slogan is “We Belie...

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...because they would leave their jobs, close it down, and march across town. There was a woman who marched in a black dress and heels; she stated that she didn’t know that it would be so physically demanding. Frank also stated that at the protest the most visible organization at the rallies was not a union but a community organization called Action NC. Action NC is an organization that allows low to moderate-income communities to speak out publicly on differently issues and concerns they have.

Throughout Frank’s article on minimum wage and entry level jobs, he uses symbolism and amplification to convey his view on the protest in North Carolina and to expose the different risks that comes with working at fast food restaurants. At the end of the article Frank makes all his points clear. Frank makes it clear how minimum wage is causing dissatisfaction and vexation.

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