Tag Archives: Robert Shelton (Sugar Factory)

2 Jobs at Sugar Factory, and a Lump in the Throat

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The writer does give us very much of Robert Shelton’s personal history, but it’s extremely important here as it gives us, the readers, an idea of where he’s coming from and ultimately, his intimate connection with the Domino sugar factory. His personal history is a nice touch to this article, it makes it very personal and real.

The narrative is essentially Shelton’s relationship with the factory and its neighborhood, and how much everything has changed since he started working there, culminating in the now abandoned factory housing a huge sculpture, indicative of the artsy population that has taken over the neighborhood.

The lead, “Robert Shelton had never seen the floor of what he always called the sugar house until the day this spring when he returned to the Domino refinery.”, is a great sentence that leaves the reader begging for more. “Who is Robert Shelton, why has he never seen the floor of the Domino refinery, and what is his place there?” is what I’m wondering when I read this lead. It’s not a hard news lead that reveals all the important information at once, but works well in this piece.

The nut graph doesn’t appear until much later, “He was talking about “A Subtlety,” the massive sculpture by the artist Kara Walker, a sugar-coated homage to African-American slave women and to the slave laborers who built the 19th-century sugar trade.”. The author explains essentially why we need to read about Robert Shelton and the refinery, with his point of view being slightly Shelton’s side, as a reader, I found myself rooting for Shelton.

 

2 Jobs at Sugar Factory, and a Lump in the Throat

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In the article, “Two Jobs at Sugar Factor, and a Lump in the Throat,” the writer does give us a little more than Robert Shelton’s personal history. She tells us a little about the history of the sugar factory and its status before proceeding to summarize Robert Shelton’s work history and his addition to the factory. The writer starts the narrative of Robert Shelton’s life by starting with where he grew up, and then going on to describe the evolution of his work history. The writer works primarily around Robert Shelton’s career as opposed to his personal life and experiences since those tie in more directly to the factory and its current events.

The nut graf of the article is the seventh paragraph at the bottom of the first page of the article. I feel that the writer feels that even though a job at the sugar factor was not glamourous, since she notes the “clumps [of sugar] at least a decade old” on one of the metal beams, she feels that the workers there had a rich experience in that people such as Robert Shelton still have fond memories of working there and have built relationships with their supervisors and coworkers.

2 Jobs at Sugar Factory, and a Lump in the Throat -Catherine Ochoa

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Does the writer give us more than Robert Shelton’s personal history?

The writer definitely gives insight as to what being a worker at the Domino Plant was like in this article. The writer uses Mr. Shelton’s perspective and own life experiences to create a compelling story about what many people are feeling now that the famous sculpture will be taken down, and the plant itself is changing. I feel like there was a nice balance between Mr. Shelton’s perspective and the history of the Domino Plant as well as how it’s changing.

Describe the narrative of this profile, the arc of the story.

The narrative of this profile is found in Robert Shelton’s story working at the Domino Plant. This article is written so that we can see his experiences at the plant through his eyes. It gives a great timeline and shows the developments that have occurred at the plant. The arc of the story can be found when he begins to talk about the sculpture and how he remembers it, as well as what it means to him that it will now be removed along with the plant that will eventually close as many of the others have done.

What do you think of the lead?

I felt that the lead really set the scene for what we were about to read about the sugar factory. It was interesting to start off with Robert Shelton’s experience working at the plant many years ago, to show just how much has changed. It definitely caught my attention and I was very interested throughout the entire article.

Where is the nut graf?

I believe the nut graf begins in the paragraph with “in a borough convulsed by change…”

What about the author’s point-of-view?

I felt like the author lets this article showcase Robert Shelton’s experience at the Domino Plant, and she agrees with how he feels. Yee understands how Shelton feels since she decides to include the hardships he faced, as well as the positive situations. The author writes about the sugar factory for what it is, something that is changing due to the time that has passed.