Ruiz, Brianna
English 115
Professor Overman
October 19, 2012
Glass Roof
People should be able to look upward and never be placed in a rut. Whether they are barely starting out or even at the top of the employee pyramid, they should have the opportunity to advance forward. If someone strives to advance in their company, business, franchise, etc. then they should be given the opportunity to climb upwards. False hopes of advancement should not be handed, whether long-term or short-term, so that the individual can decide whether he or she is wasting their time.
Not too long ago a friend of mine was working hard to get a promotion at his job. He is an employee at an international marketplace and is currently employed as a bagger. A bagger, as the title suggests, stands at the end of the register and put the customers’ groceries in plastic bags. On occasion he or she will carry the grocery bags to the customers’ vehicle if asked and then return to their post. In his eyes, it is the lowest position within the company and he has been a bagger for two years. That being said, he had been trying for months to level himself up and obtain a more ‘valuable’ position. When this thought first occurred to him, he went to ask his manager about it, about the things he could do (if any) to be promoted from bagger. His manager approved of his ideas to move forward, encouraging him to do his job diligently. Give your all when bagging and make the customers comfortable. Arrive early if you can and stay late to close shop. Take care of anything you see out of place without being asked. Don’t complain. Be polite and respectful. These were the tasks required for him to level upward. Weeks passed and my friend kept at his job and more, always giving a hundred and ten percent. However, he saw no acknowledgement to his efforts from his manager. After another few weeks pass by he decides to ask his manager once again and show him his hard work. His manager agrees, yes he’s been doing well but it is not enough so far since he could drop his motivation once he receives a reward. So, after a little more evidence of his commitment he will be granted a promotion. As you could probably guess from Progression Exercise three, months after his reassurance he continues doing his best only to find that his efforts are futile. He never receives his promotion and eventually realizes that he is stuck being a bagger at this company as long as he stays there.
We both felt cheated, as the cheerleader to his efforts I felt like I had walked him to a desert. A barren desert that had consistently fooled our eyes with a mirage every chance it got. Feeling guilty for encouraging this useless endeavor, I apologized to him continuously for leading him to that point without first making sure there was something to gain. I asked him what other options were there for him now that he saw the truth and what actions he would take following this newfound information. He remained silent for some time after I questioned him, thoughtlessly looking out onto the street as if he were in some sad music video where the character contemplates life. After what seemed like a long moment of philosophical thinking, he turned to me and said he felt indifferent about the ordeal. Feeling like he should have seen it coming, he decided he was going to stay as long as he could and just search for a second job. When I asked him about this obviously confused he went on to tell me that he had not seen any one of his coworkers work for a promotion in the two years he had been there. He felt like maybe, just maybe his brain had blocked out that observation to blind him with hope and let him have a try at something he really wanted.
Looking back we realize he had wasted his time and that he soon found himself looking at a ceiling painted over numerous times. There was no transparent glass ceiling he could look through and admire the people above him no matter his efforts. This is the same for Mehri in Persepolis who at the age of sixteen falls in love with her somewhat wealthy neighbor despite her being a maid. The graphic novel, told from a young Marjane Satrapi’s view, illustrates the struggles throughout different groups of people as Iran fights in a war against Iraq. One of the major themes was the inability to escape your social class, in which Marji’s maid flirts with their neighbor whose social status is at Marji’s level, not Mehri’s. He is unaware of her social class though and after six months of mutual flirting, her sister falls for the same boy by catching a simple glimpse of him and sells Mehri out by telling on her sister’s flirtatious relationship with him. After Marjane’s father takes care of the situation he explains to a young Marjane on page thirty-seven that “you must stay within your own social class.” It is clear throughout the graphic novel that you are born into your social class and once there, there is no escaping it. No matter how many connections you have you can not climb the social ladder. There is no sympathy from family, friends, or relatives and the upper classes do not want to be with someone lower than them. Your fate is sealed as you are only allowed to associate, marry, or interact with the people in your same class.
Similarly to my friends’ situation, there was encouragement to advance in his field that were false. In Persepolis’ The Key, boys were handed plastic keys that had been painted gold and said to have been the key to paradise. These boys were not just any children though. These keys were only meant “for poor people” (102) who were “lucky enough to die” (99) on the battlefield for their country. For these innocent young boys the only escape to a paradise full of food, warmth, and women was to die in war. They were used, lied to and promised something that could not necessarily be fulfilled. They used death as another way to deal with the problem, like using cheap overproduced stock. Still, loads of these young boys went ahead and joined the army, almost striving to be greeted by death in the hopes of being greeted with happiness thereafter. However, unlike my friend who could quit and find another job or possibly return, these boys made a permanent decision. Unfortunately for both the boys and their parents, there was no going back from this decision. Once they left to go to “paradise” they could not return and their family was left to mourn at the loss of a loved one.
After contemplating the situation and turning it over in my hands with questions that were left unanswered, I realized I was like the soldiers who had led the boys to a false hope in Persepolis’ The Key. He had been a little boy I lied to and I had been the one to give him the key of illusion. After the trade he went off to work and was unaware that he had been exploded on site. We both were unaware. Upon realizing this, I felt really horrible. I am a person of proof before anything and should have guided my friend into collecting any information that he could about the nature of the marketplace’s system and the opportunities the employees had. “Oh well,” I told myself taking this as a lesson learned for the both of us. At least we still have other places for improvement and with that I reassured us both that things will look up in the future.
In all three cases, each situation had a consequence and an underlying rule that it seems only the adults were able to comprehend. In both stories within Persepolis it was the burden of forever living in your social status and being labeled by it that was conveyed to the reader. No matter how much they wished it, the dreams of being someone or with someone of higher class remained just that- a dream. With my friend it was the inability to become nothing more than a simple bagger and knowing that his efforts to climb up the employee pyramid are futile. The encouragement he was given were false and only for the benefit of the company, nothing more. He learned on his own that there was no benefitting himself. No matter how persistent he was of obtaining a promotion-any promotion possible- it was pointless and only a wasted effort. That is why as of now he is currently looking for a second job.
No matter the case, people should not be cheated of advancement. Everyone is entitled to some sort of promotion if they have worked hard enough, no matter what the situation is. They should be given the opportunity to move forward with themselves. If not, then they should be notified of this and let them decide on what they would like to do next in their career. The glass ceiling should be clear enough to see what is above them if they choose to climb the stairs of success, not be painted over and opaque. Higher positions and money well earned should be visible from the glass ceiling above your employment standing. No matter what, even if you are the head hancho or chief there is always room for improvement, therefore the ceiling should remain crystal clear. If you aren’t able to move forward then you should be able to leave and look for something better.
Works Cited
Marjane Satrapi. “Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.” New York: Pantheon Books, 2003. Print.
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