The Writer’s Role: Participating in a Group

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 Analyze 
Use the basic features.

Thompson acts as both a participant and an observer: He does not watch lettuce cutters from the sidelines but works among them for two months. His informal interviews take place during work or on breaks (even at the homes of his coworkers during the weekend). Nevertheless, there is a significant difference between a two-month experiment and a personal account written by a lettuce cutter like Mateo after a lifetime on the job. A profile writer may participate but is always an outsider looking in.

ANALYZE & WRITE

Write a paragraph or two analyzing Thompson’s use of the participant-observer role in “A Gringo in the Lettuce Fields”:

  1. Skim the text, highlighting each time Thompson
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    • reminds readers of his status as an outsider (for example, when he refers to a coworker as a “near-stranger” [par. 1]);
    • tells readers about something he thinks will be unfamiliar to them (for example, when he explains that people do not “‘pick’ lettuce” [par. 6]);
    • calls attention to his own incompetence or failings (for example, when he describes his first attempt to cut lettuce [par. 8]).
  2. Why do you think Thompson tells us about his errors and reminds us that he is an outsider? What effect are these moves likely to have on his audience?
  3. How do the writers whose profiles appear in this chapter use their outsider status to connect with readers? What are the advantages, if any, of adopting the participant-observer role (as Thompson does) instead of the spectator role (as Cable does)?

    Question