. . I never dared to speak to anybody, because if I did I would be whipped” (Markel 134). After Markel ensnares the reader’s attention, he begins to recount Mary’s childhood story by describing the events that led her to being put in the care of her adoptive mother, Mary McCormack, the woman who was eventually charged with assault and battery for the horrible acts she inflicted upon little Mary Ellen. Markel uses Mary’s backstory as almost a prop for him to further exacerbate the lack of child protection laws and social welfare that was available during the late 1800s, as Mary was bounced around from parent to guardian, to an orphanage and then eventually to a Manhattan couple who adopted her. “Even the hard-boiled investigators assigned to Mary Ellen’s case . . . was shocked and became inspired to do something” (Markel 135). After thoroughly explaining the disheartening story of little Mary, Markel progresses through to tell the upside of the story. That upside being the legal battle which Mary with the help of lawyer Elbridge Gerry, and Henry Bergh fought hard to win for both Mary and all of the children in the nation who
. . I never dared to speak to anybody, because if I did I would be whipped” (Markel 134). After Markel ensnares the reader’s attention, he begins to recount Mary’s childhood story by describing the events that led her to being put in the care of her adoptive mother, Mary McCormack, the woman who was eventually charged with assault and battery for the horrible acts she inflicted upon little Mary Ellen. Markel uses Mary’s backstory as almost a prop for him to further exacerbate the lack of child protection laws and social welfare that was available during the late 1800s, as Mary was bounced around from parent to guardian, to an orphanage and then eventually to a Manhattan couple who adopted her. “Even the hard-boiled investigators assigned to Mary Ellen’s case . . . was shocked and became inspired to do something” (Markel 135). After thoroughly explaining the disheartening story of little Mary, Markel progresses through to tell the upside of the story. That upside being the legal battle which Mary with the help of lawyer Elbridge Gerry, and Henry Bergh fought hard to win for both Mary and all of the children in the nation who