FLESH & BLOOD SO CHEAP: THE TRIANGLE FIRE AND ITS LEGACY

Marrin, Albert.  Flesh & Blood So Cheap:  The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy.  New York:  Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.  ISBN 978-0-375-86889-4.

 

Plot Summary

Flesh & Blood So Cheap:  The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy relates the tragic events on March 25, 1911, when a fire ripped through the factory filled with workers who were trapped inside.  It remained the most horrific workplace catastrophe in New York's history until September 11, 2001.  Flesh & Blood So Cheap also describes the uphill battle immigrants face and the inhuman working conditions they were, and still are, forced to endure.

 

Critical Analysis

Much could be said about the respect given to the writings of Albert Marrin.  The National Humanities Medal Award was given to Marrin in 2008 by the President of the United States.   Marrin was credited by the President "for opening young minds to the glorious pageant of history."  He has received many awards and honors including the James Madison Book Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Washington Post Non-Fiction Award for an outstanding lifetime contribution that has enriched the field of children's literature. 

In writing Flesh & Blood So Cheap:  The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy, Marrin draws from several valuable resources which are too numerous to list.  He utilizes multiple endnotes in each chapter to further solidify the accuracy of his research for this book. 

Flesh & Blood So Cheap contains a table of contents with the following:

• Prelude  From the Ashes

1. Huddled Masses
2. Into the Magic Cauldron
3. Flesh and Blood So Cheap
4. An Overflow of Suffering:  The Uprising of the Twenty Thousand
5. The Third Gate:  Fire at the Triangle
6. A Stricken Conscience
7. The Price of Liberty

• Bibliography
• Notes
• Picture Credits
• Index

The index is quite extensive with a multiple-page listing for various terms which would be of interest to the reader.  The book is designed in a way that the reader could start on any chapter and read the chapters in virtually any order.

The photographs, which were on at least half of the pages in the book, were the most impressive thing about Flesh & Blood So Cheap.  All of the photographs were black and white; however, considering the time period recorded in this book, the non-colored pictures were to be expected.  The captions and historical tidbits given with each photograph allowed the reader to glean a tremendous amount of knowledge without even glancing at the text.

Marrin gives many historical facts in the book.  The life of a sweatshop worker was constantly in danger.  "In 1911, for example, over 50,000 people died on the job -- that is, about 1,000 each week, or 140 a day, every day."  The conditions were so poor, even the consumers suffered the consequences.  "Infected workers coughed constantly, spewing the disease-causing bacteria onto the garments they were making.  In that way, tuberculosis spread from the worker to the consumer."  If the working conditions weren't bad enough, those who fought for better pay and conditions faced even worse repercussions.  Sweatshop owners, who were immigrants themselves, hired gangsters to control their workers and strike fear into their hearts.  "For example, they charged four dollars to blacken a person's eyes, ten dollars for breaking a nose, twenty-five dollars for a stabbing, and one hundred dollars and up for murder."  It is facts like these which cause the reader to understand the pitiful plight of the immigrant sweatshop workers.

The climax of Flesh & Blood So Cheap is the graphic description of the events of The Triangle Fire where 146 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish women, perished on March 25, 1911.  Marrin concludes his book with a comparison of The Triangle Fire to the KTS Textile Mill Fire in Bangladesh.  On February 23, 2006, fire engulfed the three-story structure killing 91 people.  This same story is unfortunately repeated in the history of many developing countries today.  Better working conditions are needed to insure the safety of so many young, innocent lives. 

Every year a chalk brigade walks around New York writing the names of those who lost their lives in The Triangle Fire.  It is important to remember the mistakes of the past; otherwise, we will be doomed to repeat them in the future.  Marrin does a remarkable job in helping us all to remember the tragic story of The Triangle Fire in Flesh & Blood So Cheap:  The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy.

Awards and Honors

• Flora Stieglitz Straus Award from the Bank Street College of Education for a distinguished work of nonfiction which serves as an inspiration to young people, 2012
• Amelia Bloomer Project annual list recognizing Flesh & Blood So Cheap as a well-written book with significant feminine content, 2012
• Sydney Taylor Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries, 2012
• Booklist Editor's Choice:  Books for Youth, 2011
• National Book Award Finalist, 2011

Review Excerpts

"The writing is compelling and detailed, and the author effectively manages to bridge the gap between detached expository writing and emotionally charged content. For those looking for an intriguing, readable account of a turning point in history, or doing research on immigration, this is a useful and thoughtful addition to any American history collection."  Jody Kopple, School Library Journal 5/1/11

"The highly readable book design features black-and-white photos on every double-page spread as well as newspaper accounts and biographical profiles.  Sure to spark discussion, this standout title concludes with source notes and suggested-reading lists that will lead students to further resources for research and debate ."  Hazel Rochman, Booklist 4/1/11

"Marrin's message that protecting human dignity is our shared responsibility is vitally resonant."  Publisher's Weekly 1/17/11

Other Books by Albert Marrin

Years of Dust:  The Story of the Dust Bowl

The Great Adventure: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of Modern America

Sitting Bull and His World

Visit his website for more information:  http://www.albertmarrin.com/

Book Connections

Worlds Afire:  The Hartfield Circus Fire of 1944 by Paul B. Janeczko

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson

The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully

Connection Activities

•  Collect books such as The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein, The Triangle Fire:  A Brief History with Documents by Jo Ann E. Argersinger, or Through Women's Eyes/The American Women's Movement 1945-2000/The Triangle Fire by Ellen Carol Dubois.  Have students create a poster of all the information they learned from these books.
• Listen to the sound recording of Flesh & Blood So Cheap:  The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy (ISBN 978-0-385-36152-1).  Allow time for the students to reflect on what they have heard and how that makes them feel.