Christopher Poz

Professor Lasley
English
10/17/19
Rhetorical Analysis
In It’s Time for Class: Toward a More Complex Pedagogy of Narrative, the author Amy

Robillard argues that narratives should remain a form of writing that schools should utilize

because they help provide meaning to students, especially students of working-class

backgrounds. Robillard states her argument by providing detailed reasoning and by providing

her own narratives that carry emotional weight but also give meaning to her ideas of the different

perceptions of time, socio economics, and institutional power structures.

Robillard begins her essay with a narrative about her mother who does not like wasting

times. She writes, “My mother is never late for anything. In fact, she’s infuriatingly early for

doctor’s appointments, movies, personal dates. When my siblings and I were kids, we heard over

and over again, “Hurry up. You don’t wanna be late” (Robillard 74). The main idea of this

narrative is time. Robillard’s narrative reveals how time was always an important factor in her

life when she was growing up. She provides this point to explain the idea that different people

have different perceptions of time. Her narrative allows readers to get a sense of where she is

coming from in terms of her argument while also getting the idea out. She further explains her

point by providing another narrative that exemplifies how time is different for different people.

Robillard writes, “I know that my mother’s conception of time served her well in those jobs,

particularly the factories where she had to punch in and out each morning and afternoon” (84).

Robillard gives this personal example of her mother to reveal how time is especially important

for working-class people. She uses this narrative to make this argument because socio
economics is one of her main ideas. However, she also provides narratives of her sister to reveal

another perception of time other than one of which sees it as important. She writes, “Before she

could buy the Pinto, though, my mother would drop her off at work at least twenty-five minutes

early. This is Sue, the one who’s going to be late for her own funeral” (80). Robillard provides

this example to reveal someone who does not care for time as much as a working-class person.

This narrative is effective because it strengthens her argument about the different perceptions of

time. Robillard uses narratives of her own life, mostly from the past, to reveal what time means

to her and her family, but she mostly provides the narratives to reveal how time is seen

differently by different people, especially of different classes where time is more important for

people of working-class backgrounds compared to those with wealth.

Another main point that Robillard tries to get across is that socio economics play a big

part in schools and universities and most of the time, people of lower-class backgrounds have

more difficulties at school, and for this argument, she provides effective reasoning as she argues

why narratives have different effects on students of different socio-economic statuses. To

explain this, Robillard argues that narratives help students of working-class backgrounds because

it allows them to better understand themselves and feel more comfortable with telling their

stories. She writes, “Stories are constructs, and the stories we tell ourselves about our social

class standing betray the way we want to be seen and understood” (83). Robillard reveals why

narratives are important and seen differently among the different social classes. Robillard also

uses personal narratives to demonstrate how her own experience with socio economics took a toll

on how she viewed herself among her class. She writes, “I hesitate to call mine a working-class

background because my father died when I was four and my mother didn’t work until I was in

high school” (83). Robillard uses a narrative to reveal how she felt about class which is in line
with her argument that class is difficult to talk about but is made more valuable through

narratives. When talking about class and narrative, she writes, “In some ways, this task I’m

undertaking—reflecting on my class positioning and arguing for the value of narrative—is a

luxury because my childhood, though in some ways bad enough to be worthy of attention, was

not, from the looks of things, all that bad” (83). Robillard proves her point here by

understanding her own past after having provided a narrative about her class. Robillard uses

reasoning and some personal narratives to reveal the importance and relevance of narratives

among the different social classes.

Robillard provides reasoning and personal narratives again to describe institutional power

structures. She provides a narrative of how she felt under the power of her job. She writes, “I

was a salaried employee. I was persuaded by co-workers to take long lunches (a challenge to my

preoccupation with being on time), and eventually I became comfortable with not watching the

clock. I usually left at five, but when I didn’t, it didn’t really bother me the way it did a year and

a half later when I returned to the company as an hourly employee” (85). Robillard provides this

narrative to give an example of an institutional power structure and how she fell under one.

Robillard provides reasoning as to what the institutional power structure does among the classes.

She writes, “The social structure of the working class is such that there is no sense of stability.

There is a general, vague feeling of having no control, of uncertainty” (85). Robillard describes

how institutional power structures hold those of the working class in a difficult position because

of how vulnerable they are. Robillard provides her narratives and reasoning to argue that

universities set a certain view of students at the school, which affects those of lower classes. She

writes, “This helps to explain why we work so hard to affirm our students’ race and gender

identities in the writing classroom. They’re pretty much stuck with them. But when it comes to
affirming our students’ social class, we’re a bit more hesitant” (88). Robillard provides this

reasoning to demonstrate how universities also have power over students, but students of

working-class backgrounds are more negatively affected. Robillard describes institutional

powers structures by using personal examples and giving reasoning to argue why narratives are

still needed in composition classes.

Robillard uses personal narratives to strengthen her argument by revealing personal and

emotional details of her past to bring about her main ideas. She also provides effective reasoning

for her arguments after her narratives. Robillard provides narratives of the different views of

time in her family to explain the different views of time by different people. When describing

socio economics, she writes about her own experiences with class and how it mostly affects

students of lower classes. She provides her own example of a time an institution had power over

her, and she then explains how the power structures work. Robillard’s use of personal narratives

and reasoning strengthen her argument of why narratives are still needed in universities and how

the ideas of the different perceptions of time, the different social classes, and the institutional

power structures all play a role in explaining why narratives are important.