gods bits of wood Essay

The article begins by describing the average factory worker as well as some basic observations about day to day factory life.

It was the fire, that caught America by surprise, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. Killing 145 workers, the workers were young immigrant women looking for jobs, some even as young as 13 were employed. Usually the workers would work 12 to 14 hour shifts a day, 6 days a week, getting payed only four to five dollars a week. The company was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. The book “Uprising” by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a historical fiction that teaches students about how working in a factory was. This book is about these three young girls named Yetta, Bella, and Jane began to realize the factory owners were cheating them and not paying the right amount they were told. So they went on strike and kept fighting for what they believed

The workers in the cities worked for very long hours in awful conditions, which stressed problems in the basic infrastructure of Russia and its underprivileged economic. Russia was in a mess: there was social unrest as workers grew increasingly angry with their atrocious working

“People were forced to work in harsh, dangerous conditions in order to be able to provide for their families” (Document 8). Although most people were grateful to have a job, the conditions that they were forced to work for in order to provide for their families were unfair to them, and their families. Just because they obtained a job one day, doesn’t mean they would have it the next day, for example, if an employee was sick, or injured and had to miss a day of work the employee wasn’t guaranteed to continually have the job after they finally recovered. “I am at work in a spinning room tending four sides of warp which is one girl’s work” (Document 1) working conditions such as these are very harsh for the employees, not only do they have to keep up with the work of four people. Not only do the employees have to keep up with the sea of work, they also have to attempt not to get injured with the very harsh conditions lots of employees did in fact end up with serious injuries. “5 in the morning till 9 at night…” (Document 7) Those were the harsh working hours according to twenty-three year old Elizabeth Bentley. Long hours such as those were very common for factory workers, which made life hard for employees. Not only was harsh working conditions bad, but also the worst consequence that came about through the Industrial Revolution was child

The working conditions of the new arrivals were hardly any better, as employees of factories were often overworked, underpaid, and penned up in dangerous conditions. Perhaps the horrors of these conditions can be highlighted by the devastating 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. Tragically, over one hundred young women lost their lives in the fire, as there was no way to get out, and the doors were locked, trapping the women inside. Safety was not the only problem, as workers initially were not given the right to organize into unions, essentially doomed to the repetitive motions of factory operation. This meant that they had no way to protest against child labor, wage slavery, and unhealthily long working hours. Eventually, with their growing clout and ever-present industrial dependence on their labor, workers organized and demanded reform along all aspects of hazardous working conditions.

The workers are under so much pressure and are expected to work and give so much that they don’t even want to skip a day of work because they don’t want to be seen “slacking” and be behind and earn nothing, as Lyddie once thought, because she used to fear going out sick and falling behind in her production and having her pay drop (stated on page 100). They are given breaks that are not nearly as long as they should be, and they are so void of energy that they can’t do things that are actually enjoyable for them (such as Lyddie not reading her book). The factories are too worried about getting more work done and profiting that they don’t pay attention to the workers’ needs. Plus, for the amount of time that they work and how much stuff they get done, they don’t get paid nearly as much as they

“...which was why the machines were speeded up and why the girls hardly dared take time off even when they were feverish…” pg.100. The girls became ill while working in the factory but didn’t take time off because they needed the money and when the machines speeded up they could make more pieces which made more money.

They spend 12 to 14 hours each day shut up in a low-ceiling rooms they are all sickly and emaciated, their bodies thin and frail, their limbs feeble, their complexions pale, their eyes dead. This is the horror that Flora Tristan witnessed; people were working more than half a day with no food, clothes, and the working conditions were full of toxic air and other harmful substances. Her standpoint in this statement can be said as being non-biased as she is a socialist and thus, she cares (Doc. 7). People reacted violently to these conditions, which forced the government to pass the Ten Hours Act, which limited the number of hours a worker could work to ten hours a day. This resulted in better condition of the workers. William Abram, a journalist and historian, noticed, the condition of the factory laborers has been vastly improved (Doc. 10). This shows the result of the reaction of the people. The point of view of William Abram is factual and accurate as he is a journalist and a historian, and his work is to provide people with the truth. As witnessed by Frances Kemble, actress, poet, and dramatist, people were [s]houting No Corn Laws when she arrived in Manchester during the inaugural of railway. This shows the reaction to the wages that workers got before some reforms in Manchester (Doc. 4). Document 10 also states that the [w]ages thanks

The capitalists and their industries greatly affected many citizens and even their own workers by dehumanizing them. Men would stand outside of factories for days, even weeks, waiting for the chance to get a job. The head of the industries would use this to their advantage by picking the strongest men and paying them a low amount of money and when they become injured or useless, they just hire someone else. The food industries were horrible with how they took care of their workers and their products. “For it was the custom, as they found, whenever meat was so spoiled that it could not be used for anything else, either to can it or else to chop it up into

Marie-Joseph Angélique, a black slave in 18th century Montréal accused, tried and hanged for arson, but gives insight into the entire African slave trade and brings to the forefront the thousands of African slaves here in Canada, a fact that has been “bulldozed and ploughed over” (P 7)1, while we ridicule our southern neighbours for their involvement in the very same industry. It is also a useful tool in the study of everyday life during this time period in New France, including their personal interactions, economic pillars, cultural beliefs, and overall social structure.

She explains Marx’s argument that capital penetrates and transforms every aspect of life (Brown, 2003, p. 19). Capital remakes everything in its image and reduces every value and activity to its cold rationale (Brown, 2003, p. 19). Essentially all is subject to the relentless submission of the state and the individual, the church and the university, morality, sex, marriage, and leisure practices to this rationale (Brown, 2003, p. 19). Thus liberal democracy especially for women has been compromised and undermined. Within the film, several women who were interviewed mentioned about the rise of union activism. Once you were unionized you were guaranteed benefits and more pay. However to ensure this cold rationale of capital as Marx stated, governmentality was achieved as one African American women, Margaret Wright, described she had gotten increased work hours making it harder for her and many other women to participate in union meetings. In the government’s eyes, unionism was equated with freedom and therefore seen as unpatriotic.

That being said, the worker's problems did not end once they found steady employment. Employers were harsh and unforgiving in how they treated their employees. For example, if an employee was one minute late they were penalized an hours pay. If they were 20 minutes late they forfeited their employment. Worse yet, if they were injured or hurt on the job the company takes no responsibility and the worker is forced to recuperate on their own time without pay (i.e.; when Jurgis sprained his ankle and had to recuperate at home for 3 months). The final insult to the workers was that even if they were always on time, worked hard and maintained their health they could lose their job due to the

     The working conditions for these immigrants at the meat packing plants were appalling and displayed how badly in need of a change they were. Workers in the factory that did unskilled labor would be paid only somewhere between a mere fifteen to twenty-five cents an hour. They would have to work from early in the morning until it was dark at night, with only a half hour break for lunch. They had no choice but to accept whatever position

The hunger visible in their children eyes did not cause them to despair and lose their resolve, rather it helped to develop unity amongst them as they faced this hardship together. For instance, when Ramatoulaye killed the ram Vendredi, the meat from its bones was distributed to all those in need. So when the French soldiers came to collect her for breaking a law, they did not face one lone woman but an army of women prepared to fight. Consequently, the soldiers were driven away. This first victory showed the women the strength they had as long as they worked as a united front.

The increase in industrialization opens up the job market of labor which induces an increase in workforce. Through the fact that “Tokyo is bigger than Kumamoro,” industrialization is taking over rapidly (16). Coming from a traditional Japan, Sanshiro cannot keep up with the fast pace of industrialization. Industries increase the use of machinery which creates the demand of products at a higher pace. This creates conflict between the proletariats because more people are losing jobs. This leads people joining forces to create union groups to express their anger. “Some walked along looking at the sky, others at the ground. All wore shabby clothing. All lived in poverty. And all were serene” (62). The working classes who lose their job due to the increase of machinery are angered by these rich owners. Although Marx predicts that the workers do not have appropriating properties and that they will destroy the properties of bourgeois, this won’t happen is because they are destroying their assets.