Free Book Review About Triangle Questions

Prologue: Misery LaneI believe that Drehle makes a very compelling case for the fire being important for changing labor laws in New York City. It is clear that something disastrous like this had to happen, with such a high shock value, to spur people to action and address the rampant inequalities and poor conditions that were present in those times. Chapter 1: Spirit of the AgeI could not imagine myself in the same position as the women in these factories, having to deal with such harsh conditions. Clara Lemlich and her colleagues are heroes who should be admired for the steps they took to try to improve conditions for women in these professions. I very much identify with her and her dedication to making large companies accountable for their workers and actions. She had formidable opponents in the patriarchal, misogynistic environment of New York politics, particularly the manipulative Charles Murphy. Chapter 2: The TriangleThe owners of the Triangle Factory are incredibly analogous to executives and management of big companies now – they favor bigger profits over treating their workers well. They also fear unions, because organized labor gives them less power to do what they want. Chapter 3: UprisingI fully agree with and admire Lemlich for the strike she led. I feel it was incredibly necessary to give women the rights they desperately wanted, and I would have joined her if possible to stick up for their rights. The participation of rich women in the strike was also heartwarming, as it became an issue of gender rather than class – women stuck up for their right to be counted equally. Today, I don’t think rich women would get as involved because they would be too invested in maintaining the status quo.   Chapter 4: The Golden LandWhile I completely sympathize with the horrible circumstances immigrant women faced before coming to America, young Russian and Jewish women also had it hard here. Sexism was still alive and well in America, and so they had to work just as hard to earn their keep and maintain their dignity. In the same position, I would have done what they did and kept my head down to avoid trouble, because I would not feel I had the ability to make those kinds of changes for myself. Chapter 5: Inferno
I am not surprised by how the fire broke out, and Drehle’s description of the fire is harrowing. The reaction of the fire department to the fire was admirable enough, as they did what they could do, but I think they felt just as helpless as everyone else. Chapter 6: Three minutesIt’s absolutely terrifying to think about how far the fire spread through the building, but given the managers’ desire to maximize profits with little regard for employee safety, I am not surprised as the negligence of fire safety that was shown. Chapter 7: FalloutThe public reaction to the fire was immense, and the deeply emotional Jewish funeral demonstrated the impact this event had on the immigrant community of New York City. Prosecuting the owners was the right thing to do, and showcased a newfound desire to look out for workers’ rights, when up to that point people thought of immigrant workers as disposable. Chapter 8: ReformFrances Perkins is a hero who chose to continue the work of people like Clara Lemlich; her choice to fight for social reform was the right thing to do, as the result would be to prevent anything like the Triangle fire from happening again. I do not think I could have the same commitment to the issues as she had, but I definitely feel passionate about them. The social legislation adopted by New York in the wake of this event was wholly necessary to protect the workers. Chapter 9: TrialThe prosecution was just in charging the factory owners for negligence, and the jury’s verdict of not guilty is somewhat disappointing. While the fire was not directly their fault, they were indirectly responsible due to negligence, and so they should have faced some kind of punishment.
EpilogueThis book has opened my eyes to a lot of details about the history of American workplace social reform, and I am convinced by Drehle that the Triangle fire was the catalyst for a lot of progressive social changes in American history. I do think the Triangle fire warrants attention, and that the same things happen in America and around the world even today. Sweatshops are still a phenomenon, and tragedies like that garment factory collapse in Bangladesh two years ago are evidence that reforms still need to be made.