In the book Factory Girl by Barbara Greenwood, the fictional character Emily Watson experiences real world challenges of life in the early nineteen-hundreds while working in a shirtwaist factory as a young girl. Her struggling family also deals with hardship when staring into the face of poverty. The purpose of this critical review is to argue and assess the morality of the conditions the working poor had to endure.
When the Watson family runs out of money, Emily’s father moves west to try to find a well-paying job. He sends money for a few months, but when the letters unexplainably cease to arrive, the family becomes desperate. Emily is forced to leave school at twelve-years-old and look for work. She finds a job at the Acme Shirtwaist …show more content…
Emily’s mother has two sick babies at home to take care of and cannot afford medication for them. She reaches out to the church for help, but they turn her down because they do not attend church. However, going to church is virtually impossible because Sunday is the only day Emily has off and can help with laundry. Ernie, Emily’s little brother also is trying to help by garbage picking and scavenging for coal. It is even possible he begins to steal. Ernie starts selling newspapers, but gets assaulted after selling on a street a bigger boy has claimed. If the family is late on rent one time, they are evicted. The only food they have to eat is cabbage soup, and Emily must travel two blocks to obtain water. The Watson’s are constantly worrying about paying rent or where their next meal will come from. No one deserves to live in this way. The rich get richer and allow the poor to become poorer. Families like the Watson’s desperately need help, but there are no programs to help them. The belief “I am my brother’s keeper” is one that completely exemplifies good ethics. It is the responsibility of all people to take care of those who need help. This includes the rich and the government. Emily and her family are working tirelessly to get by, but they are just not making ends meet. It is simply immoral that they cannot
When the Watson family runs out of money, Emily’s father moves west to try to find a well-paying job. He sends money for a few months, but when the letters unexplainably cease to arrive, the family becomes desperate. Emily is forced to leave school at twelve-years-old and look for work. She finds a job at the Acme Shirtwaist …show more content…
Emily’s mother has two sick babies at home to take care of and cannot afford medication for them. She reaches out to the church for help, but they turn her down because they do not attend church. However, going to church is virtually impossible because Sunday is the only day Emily has off and can help with laundry. Ernie, Emily’s little brother also is trying to help by garbage picking and scavenging for coal. It is even possible he begins to steal. Ernie starts selling newspapers, but gets assaulted after selling on a street a bigger boy has claimed. If the family is late on rent one time, they are evicted. The only food they have to eat is cabbage soup, and Emily must travel two blocks to obtain water. The Watson’s are constantly worrying about paying rent or where their next meal will come from. No one deserves to live in this way. The rich get richer and allow the poor to become poorer. Families like the Watson’s desperately need help, but there are no programs to help them. The belief “I am my brother’s keeper” is one that completely exemplifies good ethics. It is the responsibility of all people to take care of those who need help. This includes the rich and the government. Emily and her family are working tirelessly to get by, but they are just not making ends meet. It is simply immoral that they cannot