Clara has had enough of the conditions in her sweatshops and decides that speaking up to the boss is insufficient. She joins a union and fights for rights. Resultantly, she concludes that her life-long doctor dream will be set aside. This new young activist is no longer a submissive girl with a dream, but now she develops into an assertive young woman and can make a difference because of her avid determination. “How can I leave this fight/ flit off to college/ when so many still suffer/ when I can still feel tension/ like mercury rising/ a wisp of hope/ beginning to drift/ skyward?” (160) Instead of getting out of these petrifying conditions and fleeing to medical school to embark upon a whole new life and satisfy her visions, Clara stays
