147 Dead Nobody Guilty Analysis

The article “147 Dead, Nobody Guilty” published by The Literary Digest magazine explores the tragic accident which happened in the factory of the Triangle Waist Company in 1911. The Asch building appeared to be on fire, while the workers were trapped inside. As a result of the accident, 147 persons, mostly women and girls, were killed by a fire. The owners of the Triangle Waist Company, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, who went on trial for manslaughter were not found guilty of the tragedy. Considering the fact that this accident was not the only case of murder in the industry, the press opposed the injustice of the jury’s verdict (“147 Dead, Nobody Guilty”). Since the event was open to the public, the Triangle accident and the following media coverage have challenged gender roles in the society and influenced the women’s movement. Unlike many other industrial accidents, the Triangle Fire has attracted a lot of attention due to the publicity of the event. The fire covering the most of the Asch building along with the police and firefighters sirens has drawn a large crowd observing the scene. Many of the people present were the families trying to identify the victims. In the aftermath, people could still observe the consequences of the fire, as the …show more content…
The majority of the reports portray women’s actions as helpless and ineffectual. For example, the Chicago Sunday Tribune describes every woman's attempt to escape the burning building as a dramatic, heartbreaking failure, which makes them look as weak and defenseless creatures (Argersinger 76-79). The Rosey Safran’s account of the women’s frantic fear and confusion, along with their tragic inability to save themselves emphasizes the fragility and feebleness of a female even more (Argersinger 85-86). The media uses such emotional and moving language to induce a stronger response from the reader, and thus gain more