Franklin's Struggles: Working at a Fast-Food Restaurant - Essay Sample

Introduction

The plot of this work is basing on a college student, married at a tender age and has a child. He, Franklin, works in a fast-food restaurant to support his wife and child. Previously working at a computer job, he now applies to work at the restaurant without his father's knowledge. In the narrative, he describes his view of his co-worker and his perception of them from their character. Not proud of the job, on a few occasions, he finds himself explaining to other people why he is working at the restaurant regardless of everything.

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Evidence From the Narrative

The first instance is when Franklin is walking home, and a friend through the windows says "Joey, I didn't know, you worked here! How's it going?" "Good, good. Just flipping burgers." "Hey, you've got to do what you've got to do" [p 27]. He explains that the job is just temporary and the only available job in town. To affirm this, he says that he explains that he has to work at night because he watches his son during the day as his wife goes to college. He does this to reassure himself that what he is doing is right and probably to justify it to the friend who is asking.

While working at Wendy's, Joey in the bathroom meets a stranger at the sink while washing hands. The stranger starts the conversation, "Have you ever thought about college?" [p 27] he asks. Joey responds, "Oh yeah, I'm just working here until my wife finishes" [p 27]. He exclaims by himself that the stranger looked down on him as a victim of a wasted life. Franklin's response was to show the stranger that he is okay with the job and doing it for the right course. He feels like he deserves more, simply because he has the qualifications but settles for less due to circumstances. Franklin, at the back of his mind, explains it to himself why he is working there, regardless of not doing it verbally to the stranger in the bathroom.

On the third occasion, Franklin calls his Dad at night, as expected his Dad asks about school, his son and work. His Dad is in awe when he hears that Franklin works at Wendy's and left his previous computer job. "What? Who?" he says [p 29] on realizing his son works at Wendy's. Franklin explains why he got a job at Wendy's, "I needed a job I could do at night." More silence. "It's not so bad." Still silence. "I work from nine p.m.to one A.M. a few nights a week" [p 29]. He further tries to justify his job and the logic behind him working there amidst other compelling reasons.

Conclusion

The writer tries to create an imagery of what modern society entails and the pressure born out of it. The satisfaction in the contemporary world lies in landing a dream job as an end rather than a means to an end, as seen in Franklin's case. Franklin occasionally shows dissatisfaction in the job he does from the low wages, and he tries to bargain for a higher hourly wage. Further, on an instance, he tries to justify why he is on the job, to a random stranger in a bathroom. Thematically the narrative outshines the hardships a modern-day youth and struggles at an early age in life.