Article Critique on “Working Life of a Waitress”

Mike Rose’s story entitled “Working Life of a Waitress” is a clear discussion of the mother of the protagonist as a waitress. It was not a simple personification of being a waitress in a restaurant but a brilliant definition of a waitress, womanhood, and a worker. Based on my understanding in the whole story, the protagonist was mesmerized and grateful with the work of his mother. Though he knows how his mother suffer and struggle in her job, after interviewing her in a more elaborative manner, the narrator showed and illustrated how he is being happy of having a mother like his mother who can actually deal with many people at the same time with a poise and knowledge of what she is doing.

The conflict of the story is simple – the narrator’s eagerness of understanding the meaning and essence of his mother’s job. After reading this story, any person who would wanted to become a waitress or has a passion in it could relate in this story. They could also get many pointers that the narrator discussed within the whole narrative. It was not just a simple illustration of the life of the mother as a waiter but a description of passion and art of work. While the narrator described how a waitress should be in her work, readers could also feel and understand the essence and sacrifices of waitress as well as waiters in their job. By way of reading this story, readers could understand more the waitress and waiter’s vocation in a deeper sense that others should able to comprehend.

At the end of the story, like the readers, the narrator also understands all the factors and issues that may arise during the hours of working of his mother. He is now more aware of the things that surround his mother in a well-bred manner. It means that through the justifications of his mother in his interview, it can be seen that his mother is doing a great job despite of being a woman in the field of man’s territory.

Reference

• Rose, M. (2004). The Working Life of a Waitress. pp. 278-