Misery Lane By Von Drehle

Prologue: Misery Lane The prologue sets the scene with an image of the Charities Pier in Manhattan in the aftermath of the fire, which was also known as Misery Lane, as it was where bodies were put when disasters occurred (Von Drehle, 2003, p.1). The author describes the scene of bodies, onlookers, family members searching for their missing loved ones, and a brief description of the fire that brought them all together. It seems people’s reaction was primarily shock, grief, and curiosity. As I was reading, I was thinking that I could understand why people flocked to the fire, because when disasters happen it’s hard not to look on in horror or do what you can to help. However, I didn’t understand the morbid curiosity of the onlookers during …show more content…
The fire was the deadliest disaster in New York history until 2001 (Von Drehle, 2003, p.3). Workplace accidents were commonplace, so that part was not surprising as there were no strict regulations for workplace safety at that time. He made the case that it was so compelling and pivotal because of the influx of immigrants, the rise of progressivism, chains of unanswered disasters, and strikes which were resisted. The Triangle factory was at the heart of one of those strikes, and the owners of the Triangle led the movement of manufacturers to resist the strikes. A year later, the Triangle went up in flames. I can see how the combination of these things set the tone for dramatic changes in the …show more content…
I wouldn’t consider myself to be as radical in thought as she was considered at that time, but if I lived in her time, I may very well have been as well. I can identify with her in that if I were a woman, I would want to have the same opportunities and equal pay as men. That’s still something that our society is struggling with today, and we’ve made significant progress since Clara’s time, but we still have work to do as well. I think her advocacy for unions as the best way to address problems was accurate. The only way to get attention of the public, employers, and the government to initiate change with a mass of people. Up until the Triangle fire, endless lobbying for change and continuous disasters did nothing to sow the seeds of change and reform for workers. As for those who opposed her, I found the story regarding the strikebeaters on a mission to target her unsettling. I read about strikebeaters in the textbook, but reading about them in the narrative the author offered put their actions in a different perspective. It’s sad the extent the people opposing her would go to to try to deter or quiet the strikers, to hire outside thugs to beat them. In Clara’s case, her beating only spurred her on, and she used her injuries to her advantage in making her case. This is another thing I compare to what we’ve seen recently in the 2016 election, intimidation and violence in attempt to quiet the