Analysis Of Working Women And The Triangle Fire By Elizabeth Burt

“Working Women and the Triangle Fire” by Elizabeth Burt begins by providing detailed information about hard-working, exploited women in the labor force. The article describes previous attempts of women factory workers to organize to protest injustice, and also explains that “the press had sporadically covered these attempts” (Burt 190). Next, the author provides specific examples of the work of journalists who wrote about frustrated women workers, but states that these articles mainly appeared in the women’s sections of newspapers. Workers had the most success by participating in labor actions (Burt 190). The article describes that when the press covered most labor movements, focus was placed on negotiations, violence, or the character of the

The NYT, which was typically “pro-business, anti-labor”, provided “remarkably colorful” coverage, including detailed and emotional accounts of the fire, interviews, a list of victims, statements from Blanck and Harris, and striking photographs (Burt 194). NYW and NYEJ both typically had “pro-worker, anti-big-business” stances, and they provided dramatic coverage of the event (Burt 193). NYW printed many pictures from the fire, used one of its own reporter’s eye-witness account, and blamed the irresponsible city government (Burt 195-196). NYEJ called the deaths murder, explained the ongoing exploitation of women in factories, and criticized that an exit was locked (Burt 196). CT graphically described the dead, included interviews with witnesses, and called the city of Chicago to action to prevent a similar tragedy (Burt 195-197). Burt concludes by describing how the newspaper coverage of this fire raised awareness of labor issues (Burt

For example, they both identify the lack of writings and research into the topic they discuss and give context before summarizing the event. Both articles effectively fulfill their purposes by clearly stating their purposes and providing sufficient evidence and analysis. It can be difficult to compare these articles, because their focuses vary in specificity. However, the broad focus of “And All Who Jumped Died” allows it to fully and descriptively discuss the event, which is one of the reasons it is more effective than “Working Women and the Triangle Fire”. Additionally, the shocking description of the triangle fire provided by “And All Who Jumped Died” builds suspense and captivates readers. This article presents the events of the fire like a story and exposes injustices surrounding the fire to spark outrage among readers. Even the title creates interest in the subject matter, and the article includes eye-catching subtitles such as, “The day it rained children” and “The waning flames of morality” (Pence et al. 406-412). “Working Women and the Triangle Fire” has some organizational issues, while “And All Who Jumped Died” has a clear, readable flow. Finally, the conclusion of “Working Women and the Triangle Fire” was somewhat weak, while “And All Who Jumped Died” concluded with a strong call to action for