May 2016 Paper 1 Exemplar 2

“I Am the People, the Mob” is a poem written in 1916 by Carl Sandburg.  The poem revolves around the idea of the people revolting against higher powers in order to claim their importance and standing in society.  Themes of revolution and conflict run rampant through the lines and the almost ominous tone reflects this.  In contrast, “The Pitchforks Are Coming…For Us Plutocrats” is an article published in Politico Magazine in 2014 written by Nick Hanauer talking about the revolution of the middle classes and how it will mean a decrease in personal wealth for the .01%ers.  The first person narrative and casual register reflect the tone of the article as a piece written to inform and persuade as Hanauer tries to get others to see his point of view.  Both texts focus on the same central issues, but differ greatly in other ways.  Sandburg’s poem was part of his collection, Chicago Poems, and as such would have a wider audience as the poem would be in print and be linked to Chicago itself.  Nick Hanauer’s article, however, directs his writing to a certain demographic, which is already a limiting factor but then is further limited to readers of Politico Magazine.  Through the warnings and threats to come, the distancing in texts and the tone of each text, the individual purpose of each text is achieved.

Both texts, “I Am the People, the Mob” and “The Pitchforks Are Coming…For Us Plutocrats” issue a warning – whether subtle or overt – as to the consequences of inequality.  In the poem, Sandburg employs a variety of choices in order to create a subtle warning with the words.  The statements of the power of the people in terms of how present they are in everyday life as “the working man, the inventors, the maker of the worlds food and clothes” suggest the dependency on the people that Sandburg refers to.  Use of synecdoche here allows the different roles of the working middle class to represent them as a whole and Sandburg allows this to create the sense of collective voices despite the first person speaker.  The speaker of the poem is the people – the mob themselves and by doing this, he adds importance to the words.  The importance of the people is also highlights as Sandburg references great leaders such as Napoleon and Abraham Lincoln and takes responsibility for their creation as “the Napoleons come from [them” and the Lincolns.”  The effect of the declarative statement adds importance to the class that is often disregarded despite being the ones to provide great leaders.  Sandburg highlights their importance so that the value of the people will be recognized rather than people “sneering” as they say “The People.”  The capitalization of “The People” serves to add weight to the words and turn them into a title rather than a label.  The title is fully brought out through the final line as the people are referenced again, but this time in a way that suggests they’ve visit as Sandburg warns that when “The People” stand up and remember, a revolution will occur in 1916.  There would have been great dependence on people working in primary sectors and as such, great importance in their jobs.  This would however be workers in lower classes confined in their stations of life while wealthier people looked down on them.  This dependence and treatment can be seen where Sandburg mentions the workers and also the ones that sneer in order to show the way the people were important.   

The article by Hanauer, however, is mainly concerned with self-preservation.  Deserting himself as a “proud and unapologetic capitalist” Hanauer sets up his character as one more worried about staying a “zillionare.”  The threat and warning is more overt here due to the candor with which he writes as she speaks about “pitchforks” coming due to the increase in inequality.  His reason, though selfish, allows him to state the need for a decrease in inequality so that the rich stay rich.  He addresses his words to his “fellow filthy rich” in order to inform them of what rising inequality means in terms of the way it will lead to a revolution and rob them (the rich) of their money.  The use of an informal register also allows him to simply state his thoughts and it is seen when he mentions the way pitchforks are coming while mentioning the threat of a “revolution.”  Written in 2014, the article uses references and allusions to stories and ideas that are popular amongst societies such as the iphone as well as mentions of companies such as “Amazon” to ground the readers.  He shows the reader how rich he is by adding points of comparison and this allows him to gain more importance so that his message is clear. 

Both texts use personal pronouns in their pieces, but use them to different effect.  The use of “I” in the poem does not add a sense of separation and instead unifies the people he refers to in the text.  The “I” becomes a symbol for the speaker who is the voice for “the people – the mob – the crowd- the mass.”  By doing this and creating a single voice, Sandburg lets the message be stronger as it allows for unity and solidarity as they fight a common enemy.  By coming together they become stronger and the use of dashes adds to that as the different names given to them are then depicted to be interchangeable.  The names are also all collective names that suggest a largeness in the group bringing to mind the idea of strength in numbers.  This image is once again reinforced as even “Death comes” and the people “forget.”  By suggesting they “forget,” the connotations of the word allows readers to realize that even death cannot harm them and it reiterates their powers.  As such, in 1916, the creation of classes would have formed communities that were stronger as a collective.  The use of this distancing works to create a line between “The People’ and the ones that look down on the people.

Distancing in the article, however, causes readers to become one of the zillionaires as they read the article addressed to them as if their very being was connected to their money. The first line is addressed directly to the readers and that draws them in, including them into the discussion about inequalities. As the article is one that aims to persuade and inform, it is clear that the easy tone is one to build up a rapport with the reader in hopes of making them agree.  There are references to problems only the rich would face as Hanauer writes about how while “people like you and me” are succeeding, the country falls behind.  The use of the collective statements causes readers to agree as he closes the distance between writer and reader and therefore allows them to be closer to the topic.  In that way, repeated reference to readers, along with the casual tone, creates the sense of friendship in the article and as such allows for an easy persuasion of the readers to see his point of view.  Given that the article is written in a political magazine and is fairly modern, the colloquialisms strengths his argument as Hanauer establishes to readers that he is someone just like them.

Lastly, the use of tone in “I Am the People, the Mob” and “The Pitchforks Are Coming…For Us Plutocrats” allow the purpose of each text to be fulfilled.  Color imagery is the poem allows for a vivid image of the power of “The People” as Sandburg references their power by suggesting the blood they can spill if they choose to.  Specific diction choices such as “seed growing” and “prairie” allow for illustrations of the great potential in the country and more.  This power adds to the solemn and omniscient tone of the poem as the people’s knowledge is shown when Sandburg makes use of hyperbolic questioning in order to make readers think before stating all the different roles people play in society.  They are all encompassing and that is conveyed through the way the people are the “the audience’ and also the “Napoleons.”  The use of the dashes in the poem causes the addition of the rhythm and by doing so the ominous tone is highlights as the poem becomes sort of a chant.  The anaphora of “the people’ that is repeated multiple times adds to this as the symbol of the people as the ones to fight back is emphasized and reiterated over again.

In comparison, the article ‘The Pitchforks Are Coming…For Us Plutocrats” utilizes a much friendlier tone that works towards building on the air of friendship being slightly superficial as well.  The first paragraph of the article uses logos to establish Nick Hanauer as a man to be trusted as he uses the facts and figures to add to his accomplishments.  Hanauer also makes sure to use definitive statements as they create the sense of knowledge and power as if reflected by the image of him on the headline of the article that displays him as he stands in a pose meant to show dominance and display him as a man of power.  The background of the image behind him is of the city skyline and adds to the topic of money.  The slight patronizing tone is built up through the way he explains solutions and problems as though he has all the answers.  All of these effects work towards him trying to finally achieve his purpose and his initial aim of self-preservation.  His patronizing tone is also added to by his use of the specific word “pitchforks” which has connotations of a primitive group of people and puts him in a place of higher power. 

In conclusion, both “I Am the People, the Mob” and “The Pitchforks Are Coming…For Us Plutocrats” discuss themes of inequality and its eventual consequence, but they do it through different ways and by opposing points of view.  The poem is from the point of view of one of the “people’ while the article is from the point of view of someone from a higher class.  Finally, differences in the context and tone add to the purpose of each text in how each is received by their respective audiences.