Imagine being repeatedly assaulted and battered. Now imagine that the person inflicting the abuse was a parent, a guardian, or even a sibling. That is what many children world wide deal with everyday, and before Mary Ellen’s Story brought attention to the widespread abuse that takes place behind closed doors, many children were repeatedly beaten and no repercussions were dealt to their abusers. This was what Howard Markel called, “ . . .the days when beasts of burden enjoyed more legal protection than children.” Luckily, today there are laws in place which punish those who abuse defenseless children and Mary Ellen’s Story, by Howard Markel chronicles the story that exposed this need for child protection laws worldwide, through its: structure, quality, and applicability of the information Markel
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. . 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