Module 11: Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy

Module 11: Informational Books

Book Summary

This week one of the books I read was Flesh & Blood So Cheap by Albert Marrin. It is about the fire in 1911 at the Triangle Waist Company, a blouse sweatshop in New York City’s garment district. The fire killed 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women. The book also chronicles the garment industry of the time as well as the labor reforms that took place after the deadly fire.

APA Reference of Book

Marrin, A. (2011). Flesh & blood so cheap: The Triangle Fire and its legacy. New York, NY: Alfred A Knopf.

Impressions

Albert Marrin is a professor of history at Yeshiva University in New York. He has written many juvenile nonfiction books and won many awards, including the National Humanities Medal (http://bit.ly/AMarrinYeshivaU; http://albertmarrin.com/index.php?id=47). I learned a lot from reading his book. I had only heard about the Triangle Fire after the news of a garment factory in Bangladesh that collapsed in 2012, killing 134 workers, which occurred only five months after a fire in another Bangladesh factory killed 112. Some media were drawing comparisons to the Triangle Fire and the need for labor reforms.

Marrin’s book was really interesting, accurate and I liked everything except for a brief part at the end, where Marrin kind of trivializes the suffering of labor industry workers in developing nations in an attempt, I assume, to show both sides, i.e. industry isn’t evil. He was essentially saying that, yes, sweatshops subject workers (including children) to horrible conditions and extremely low wages, but they are actually the best paying jobs in countries like Bangladesh. I do understand this perspective, but I worry that he just kind of left it at that. Nonfiction, especially when created for children, must be as unbiased as possible, but I wish Marrin had followed up with a more critical look at labor rights and international industry. Just because the international garment industry is helping the Bangladesh economy doesn’t mean we can’t also learn about the part we play in the wealthy and powerful West in contributing to the poverty, suffering and exploitation of developing nations.

I really like this interactive documentary from The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2014/apr/bangladesh-shirt-on-your-back) because they bring up the point that, yes, Bangladesh is “winning” by having the garment industry in their country, but they are also losing because every year, even after the building collapse in 2012 that the media paid attention to for about a week, people are still suffering and dying in Bangladesh factories. We do a disservice to our youth if we don’t get them thinking about the bigger picture and their place in it.

Professional Review

At the core of this landmark look at labor history is the detailed drama of the notorious 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 146 workers died. Most of the victims were immigrant women between the ages of 14 and 23 who were burned or suffocated behind locked doors or who perished when they tried to escape the flames by jumping from windows. Their catastrophic deaths lead to changes in U.S. working conditions and fueled a campaign for union rights. This volume's excellent early chapters focus on the personal histories of the victims, many of whom were Russian Jews and Italian Catholics, and examine why their families left Europe, the passage to America, and life in New York City's tenements. Following chapters delve into the horrifying factory conditions that led to the fire. The highly readable book design features black-and-white photos on every double-page spread as well as newspaper accounts and biographical profiles, including those of leading protesters, such as Jacob Riis and Rose Schneiderman. Marrin further expands the discussion with disturbing contemporary parallels to underground sweatshops today. Sure to spark discussion, this standout title concludes with source notes and suggested-reading lists that will lead students to further resources for research and debate.--Hazel Rochman

Reference

Rochman, H. (2011, April 1). Flesh & blood so cheap: The triangle fire and its legacy. [Review of the book Flesh & blood so cheap: The triangle fire and its legacy, by A. Marrin]. Booklist, 107(15), 63.

Library Uses

From Grade 8 ELA Common Core Standards for reading informational texts, writing, and speaking and listening.

Most of those who perished in the Triangle Fire were Jewish and Italian immigrants. Why? Have participants research the lives and struggles of these two groups around the turn of the 20th century. Topics for discussion: where did immigrants work and live? Which groups immigrated in greater numbers and why? What were the working and living standards they usually encountered?

Retrieved from: http://asset.studysync.com/library/759/lesson_plan.pdf