Prithee English texts, and the difference between the two terms has been debated by scholars. Scholars such as Roger Brown and Albert Gilman have suggested that "prithee" was an ingroup indicator. Other scholars suggest that it is simply the more deferential form. The relationship between the two is complicated by the phrase "beseech you", which was used in the same time period and was clearly the form used most deferentially. Although the closest Modern English equivalent of "prithee" is "please", the two terms presume different attitudes within the addressee. While "please" accompanies a request addressing itself to the positive desire of
What Work Is brother is at home recovering after a hard night of labor. This means that the brother can not find time to practice singing opera which is what he most wants to do. If he were a member of the upper class he would not have to expend himself at the cost of his education just to survive. It can be seen as one way the working-class upper-class struggle is defined. Secondly the narrator, who waits in line to see if he can get a job that day, is at the mercy of the upper-class manager who decides who can work