Youreaseventeenyearoldgirllivinginasuburban,Americantownin1954.

WorldWarIIhadendedabouttenyearsbefore,duringwhichthenumberofwomenin
theworkforcehadincreasedfrom27to37percent(AmericanWomen).However,once
thousandsofmenreturnedhomeafterthewar,Americawasbombardedwith
advertisements,televisionshows,andotherformsofmediathatportrayedtheAmerican
womantendingtothehomewhileherhusbandwentouttowork,promotingareturnto
rigidgenderroles(WomenandWork).
Thoughthecultureoftheeragenerallydissuadedwomenfromenteringthe
workforce,therewereselectjobssuchassecretariesorsalespeoplethatwereusually
acceptableforwomentooccupy(WomenandWork).Asayoungteenagegirlwithfew
futureplansbesidesfindingahusband,thenursingfield,madeupof94%whitewomen
in1954(DAntonio,Whelan),mayhaveseemedappealing.
Loungingaroundyourhouseonaweekendafternoon,youpickupyourparents
copyoftheSaturdayEveningPostandcomeacrossanarticleentitledNursesAreLucky
Girls.Splashedacrossthefrontpagearecoloredimagesofnursesenjoyingmidnight
snackswitheachother,socializingwiththeirdatesinsocalledBeauxparlors,and
givingshavestomalepatientsjustforfun(Perry118).Readingfurtherintothetext,
younoticehowtheauthoroutlinesthesocialactivitiesthatnursesengageinandthe
ampleopportunitiestominglewithdoctorsandcareforchildren.
Onlyabouttenyearslater,thingswerechangingsignificantlyforwomeninthe
onsetoftheAmericanfeministmovement.DuetoariseinAmericanexpectationsfora
middleclasslifestyle,aswellasasimultaneousincreaseintheamountofincomeneeded

toachievesuchalifestyle,itbecameunderstoodthatwomencouldoccupyjobsto
contributetothehouseholdincome(The1960s70s).Also,theintroductionofthebirth
controlpillintothemarketin1960enabledwomentopursueeducationandcareer
opportunitiesratherthanbecomerestrictedbytheburdenofchildrearing(Frink).
Asaseventeenyearoldgirlduringthiserain1963,insteadofdiscoveringthe
SaturdayEveningPostArticle,youmayfindapostcardsizedadvertisementinyour
mailboxforyourFree1stLessonOnNursing.Anurseinacrispwhitecollarand
traditionalwhitenurseshatsmilesatyoufromapinkandyellowbackground,witha
speechbubbledescribinghowyoucanearn$70.00asanurse.Afewparagraphsoftext
describehowonecanearnthisdegree,aswellasAmericasgreatneedfornurses(Free
FirstLessons).
Bothoftheseartifactsutilizeethos,logos,pathos,invention,andarrangementto
appealtotheideologythatwomenareincapableofexecutingintellectualmenswork,
thusencouragingyoungwomentobecomenursesinanactofcivicresponsibilitythat
wouldfulfilltheirgenderrole.However,NursesAreLuckyGirlsappeasesthe
commonplaceoftheerathatwomenmustrelyontheirhusbandsforalivingwhileFree
1stLessoninNursingrespondstoanemergingideologythatwomenshouldbeableto
supportthemselves.
NursesAreLuckyGirlstargetstheideologythatwomenremainrestrictedto
simple,lightheartedtasksthroughitsuseofethosandinvention.Forexample,it
describesinlengthhownursesspendtheirfreetimegoingtothemoviesandonbike
rides,orgoingtofootballgamesanddanceswithdoctorsandmalemedicalstudents

(Perry180).Bychoosingtofocusonthesocialaspectsofthecareerratherthanonthe
typesofproceduresthatthenursesperform,theauthordepictsnursingasanongoing
socialactivityratherthanarigorouscareer.Hisuseofinventionassertsthatnursingdoes
notexposewomentoworkthattheyareunqualifiedfor,butrather,amplifiestheir
opportunitiesforsocialactivitycommonlyassociatedwithwomanlyroles.
Furthermore,becausehedescribesthesesocialactivitiesasbasedonwhathe
learneduponavisittoNewHavenHospital,heestablisheshiscredibilityasareliable
source.Usingethosduringhisportrayalofnursingstrengthenshisargumentthatnursing
doesnotoverreachthatexpectedrolesofwomenbutinfactfulfillsthem,thus
constitutingasacivicact.
Free1stLessonsalsoaddressesthesocietalideologythatwomenareunqualified
tohandlethechallengingworkofmenthroughtheauthorsemploymentoflogosand
arrangementinclaimsthatnursingcanbehandledbyanywoman.TextsuchasTrainAt
HomeNoAgeLimit,NoEducationLimit(FreeFirstLessons)areboldedwithinthe
advertisement.Becausetheauthorchoosestoplacethesewordsatthebeginningofthe
text,sheusesinventiontoemphasizetheminimalrequirementsassociatedwithbeinga
nurse,suggestingthatnearlyanywomaniscapableofundertakingthiscareer.This
assertionthatnursingdoesnotrequireanyonetypeofpersonimpliesitssimplicityand
preventsitfrombeingperceivedasworktoocomplexforwomentohandle.
TheboldedphraseGraduateDiplomain10weeks(FreeFirstLessons)
employslogostodemonstratethatanimpressiveeducationaldegreecanbeearnedina
shortamountoftime,furthercontributingtotheideathatnursingshouldnotbe

consideredmensworkbecauseitdoesnotrequireprolongedperiodsofstudying.
Becausethisartifactmakesasignificantefforttosootheconcernsaboutthedifficultyof
nursinginasocietyinwhichwomenwerebelievedtobeintellectuallyinferior,it
employslogosandarrangementtoportraynursingasacareerthatwillpreservegender
ideals,andthusconstituteasacivic.
However,themaindifferencebetweenthetwoartifactsbecomesapparentwhen
theauthorofNurses Are Lucky Girls utilizes arrangement and logos to express the
opportunities it provides for engaging with and potentially marrying successful young
men whom they can depend on for financial support. When the reader first opens the
page, they notice an image of women lounging on couches and cuddling up to a fireplace
with their doctor dates (Perry 118). The authors choice to display this as one of the first
images emphasizes that nurses have ample opportunity to socialize with intelligent, wellpaid men, implying that marrying early is one of the most important duties of women that
nursing fulfills.
Additionally, the author includes the statistic that more nurses get married per
capita than employees of any other career in the United States (Perry 180), thus utilizing
logos to signify to what extent nursing enables women to marry early. His use of this
statistic indicates how important it was that a woman find a husband to rely on during
that era, and suggests the prevalence of the view that women were unable to live on their
own. By recognizing that women should marry early because they are incapable of
supporting themselves, the author provides and arranges evidence to convince his
audience that nursing satisfies this commonplace.

Incontrast,theauthorofFree1stLessons,utilizespathosandinventionto
addresstheemergingideologythatwomenshouldpossesstheresourcestolive
independentlyinamodernizingsociety.Byincludingtextdescribinghowyoucanenjoy
steady,wellpaidwork,andcanfeelconfidentinalwaysearningagoodincome
(FreeFirstLessons),theauthorimpliesthatoneofthegreatestbenefitsofnursingis
themonetaryempowermentthatitprovidesforwomen.Heruseofinventiontoinclude
thisasoneofhermajorargumentssuggeststhatbeingfinanciallyindependentwas
becomingmorecommonlyacceptedforwomen,thusqualifyingnursingascivicbecause
itfacilitatedthisindependence.Furthermore,bydescribingthesenseofconfidencethat
nursescanfeelbyearningtheirownincome,theauthorappliespathostoenhancethe
appealofservingasanurse.Theauthorsutilizationofinventionandpathoschallenge
thetraditionalexpectationthatwomendependonmentoearnmoneyforthehousehold,
renderingitselfascivicbecauseitenableswomentofulfilltheirmodernizingexpectation
thattheybeablesupportthemselves.
Bothartifactssoughttoconvinceyoungwomenthatnursingwasaciviccareer
becauseitpreventedthemfromundertakingstrenuouswork,andenabledthemtofulfill
theirsocietalpositioninrelationtomen.However,Free1stLessonsandNursesWere
LuckyGirlswerewrittenintimesthatreflectedslightlydifferentgenderideologies,
affectingtherhetoricalargumentsmadebyeacharticle.NursesWereLuckyGirls
demonstratedhownursingenabledsocializationandflirtationtoportrayhowitwascivic
inasocietythatvaluedhighlythetraditionalrolesofwomen.Free1stLessons,while
alsodepictingnursingascivicbecauseitpreventedwomenfromcrossingboundariesinto

challengingcareersundertakenbymen,demonstratednursingscivicnaturebecauseit
allowedwomentofurthertheirownadvancementinasocietywheretheyhadmore
potentialtobeunmarried.Thesimilaritiesanddifferencesoftheseartifactslend
understandingtothesubtletransitionsandoverlappingofsocialcontextsduringthese
timeperiods,andclarifywhateachsocietyconsideredtobecivic.
Bibliography:
Perry, George S. Nurses Are Lucky Girls. Saturday Evening Post. 20 February 1954:
226. Print

Women and Work After World War II. Public Broadcasting Service. WGBH
Educational Foundation. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

Patricia DAntonio, Jean C. Whelan. Counting Nurses: The Power of Historical Census
Data. National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubMed Central. 01 Oct. 2010.
Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

The1960s70sAmericanFeministMovement:BreakingDownBarriersforWomen.
Tavaana.CollaborativeforCivicEducation.2015.Web.14Oct.2015.

BrendaFrink.ThePillandtheMarriageRevolution.TheClaymanInstituteforGender
Research.29Sept.2011.Web.14Oct.2015.

American Women in World War II. History.com. A+E Networks. 2010. Web. 14 Oct.
2015.

Free First Lesson on Nursing. The Young Doctors #3. July 1963: 1. Print.