Module 8: Nonfiction – Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin.

Jenny Phengdara

Dr. Patricia Watson

LS 5623.20

15 July 2014

Module 8: Nonfiction – Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin.

1.  Marrin, Albert. Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its legacy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print.

2. Plot Summary – On March 25, 1911, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City bursts into flames with one hundred and forty-six people perished and many injured. The doors were locked to keep workers from leaving their posts because shop owners were more concerned with product output instead of the worker’s well-being. This even was one of the most leather workplace fires in American history until September 11, 2001.

Not only does this book cover the catastrophic fire, but it also showcases the undesirable workplaces in the early 1900s along with what is currently happening today with sweatshops, corruption, and the courage of others to stand up for what is right.

3. Critical Analysis – Flesh and Blood So Cheap is a nonfiction title about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that occurred on March 25, 1911. Its publication was meant to coincide with the fire’s centennial anniversary. It has won awards such as, “Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books” and the “School Library Journal Best Books of the Year.” Publishers Weekly says that “this powerful chronicle examines the circumstances surrounding the disaster and Marrin’s message that protecting human dignity is our shared responsibility is vitally resonant” (2011). I agree that the title goes in-depth with how immigrants from Europe flocked over to New York City with ideas of prosperity and freedom, but are then met with unsanitary conditions, expensive housing, and failing working conditions. Marrin is able to convey how unsettling the time was by explaining that “things got so bad that women in the wealthy Beekman Hill section of Manhattan complained about a manure pile twenty-five feet high” (2011). Granted, twenty-five feet of manure may seem outlandish, but with the city holding millions of people and no way of clean sanitation, it could be possible.

Marrin also includes side stories, personal stories, and photos in separate brackets within the text. This gives the events within the book a sense of realism. Instead of just spewing facts, Marrin gives visual learners a way to connect and with actual photos, and it can be an emotional experience after learning about what people went through to find work, defend themselves, or just survive in an unknown place. As mentioned in Literature for Today’s Young Adults, “Literary nonfiction combines factual information with emotional appeal” (292). Marrin understands how to write in a way that pulls the reader’s heartstrings. Especially when he describes the tragic fire in detail. “Cutters flung buckets of water at the smoking pot, without effect. Flames shot up, igniting the line of hanging paper patterns” (Marrin 2011). Readers will be able feel the frenzy that was placed upon the workers when the fire started and also the aftermath.

A negative part of this title is that it covered a copious amount of background story, from immigrants, aristocrats, and the mafia and readers will not find much about the actual fire until five chapters deep in the book. A Goodreads commenter, Jennifer, explains that “this book is more about immigration into New York around the turn of the century and the beginning of labor unions. You do not get information about the Triangle Fire until around page 100. This would be very frustrating to a student wanting to use this book for research purposes” (2014). I would have to agree. Although I understand that background information is needed to fully understand most situations, I felt that it carried on longer than needed. The chapter on the actual fire was brief compared to everything else.

In conclusion, it is amazing that one hundred years ago, companies were not required to conduct fire drills or install sprinklers because it was just too expensive. Doors were also locked to keep workers inside for maximum product output. While we have laws that protect workers from these kind of conditions, if people continue to work in illegal sweatshops, we have no way of guarding them from unsafe environments. Because the book is very descriptive of this event, it would be a wonderful addition to any library that would like to expand its collection about American history, immigration, or working conditions.

 

 

Works Cited

 

"Flesh and Blood So Cheap ." . Goodreads, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 July 2014.

<https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9414509-flesh-and-blood-so-cheap?from_search=true>.

 

"Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy." Amazon.com: Books. Publishers

Weekly, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.amazon.com/Flesh-Blood-So-Cheap-Triangle/dp/0375868895/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406428864&sr=8-

1&keywords=flesh+and+blood+so+cheap>.

Marrin, Albert. Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle fire and Its Legacy. New York: Alfred

A.    Knopf, 2011. Print.

Nilsen, Alleen Pace, James Blasingame, Kenneth L. Donelson, and Don L.F. Nilsen. Literature

for Today's Young Adults. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.