Surplus Value

Question 1

Impact of Industrial Decline

Answer 1

-Highlights the collapse of Michigan’s manufacturing industry

-Shows how skilled workers are discarded once they are no longer “useful” to capitalism.

-Symbolizes the decline of American industrial identity.

Question 2

Role of the Brother-in-Law

Answer 2

-Represents the neglected working class affected.

-Shows the emotional and physical toll working an industrial job.

-Shows that the industrial system values productivity over humanity.

Question 3

Critique of the American Dream

Answer 3

-Hard work doesnt guarantee success and stability.

-Capitalism exploits workers for little in return.

-American Dream is a myth.

Question 4

Environmental Commentary

Answer 4

-Suggests environmental breakdown through decay and abandonment.

-Nature has been damaged.

-The long-term environmental cost of economic growth.

Question 5

Narrative Structure

Answer 5

-Shifts between past and present to contrast industrial success and decline.

-Brings reader into emotional reality of post-industrial life.

-Lost of identity and purpose.

Question 6

Title Significance

Answer 6

-Workers generate value that they don’t receive.

-Theme of exploitation.

-Makes the poem political and social.