Difference between revisions of "Week 9 Questions/Comments-327 09"
From McClurken Wiki
(→A Sioux Tale, “A Woman Kills Her Daughter”) |
(→Harriet Farley, “A Letter from Lowell,” 1844) |
||
| Line 95: | Line 95: | ||
== Harriet Farley, “A Letter from Lowell,” 1844 == | == Harriet Farley, “A Letter from Lowell,” 1844 == | ||
I found it interesting that Harriet Farley, who was a minister's daughter, was writing a fictional letter that made the mill look like a happy place to work. '''The timing of the letter shows the way the mill owners utilized the journal for their own benefit--perhaps to counteract the female labor reform movement. It was interesting that she asked in the letter if anyone was really content. So, it's not just the work at the mill that could be making someone discontent, but that no one is content no matter where they are or what kind of work they are doing.''' '''''Although the journal certainly could be considered as a "creative" outlet for the workers, how many people outside of the mill read it and how many were aware that the mill owner's owned and controlled the editorial policy?'''''--Nancy Lee | I found it interesting that Harriet Farley, who was a minister's daughter, was writing a fictional letter that made the mill look like a happy place to work. '''The timing of the letter shows the way the mill owners utilized the journal for their own benefit--perhaps to counteract the female labor reform movement. It was interesting that she asked in the letter if anyone was really content. So, it's not just the work at the mill that could be making someone discontent, but that no one is content no matter where they are or what kind of work they are doing.''' '''''Although the journal certainly could be considered as a "creative" outlet for the workers, how many people outside of the mill read it and how many were aware that the mill owner's owned and controlled the editorial policy?'''''--Nancy Lee | ||
| + | |||
| + | I found Harriet Farley's "Letters from Susan", and in particular the excerpt that we read, to be very interesting. In the letter, "Susan" describes her tasks and typical work day while also responding to a question asking if she, as well as the other mill girls, was content working at Lowell. I wonder how much of the letter is really Harriet speaking and her voice and thoughts and feelings coming through, and how much of it was written to "please" and satisfy her employers, the mill owners. Because the mill owners subsidized the "Lowell Offering", it makes me question how much they may have censored it, in a way, or restricted what was being printed to only those pieces that looked upon themselves in a favorable and satisfactory light. I also wonder what "Susan" (or Harriet) meant when she talked about "Methodist bonnets" at the very end of her letter. Is it a particular style of bonnet or head-covering worn by that denomination? -Allison Godart | ||
== The Voice of Industry, “A Spirit of Protest,” 1846 == | == The Voice of Industry, “A Spirit of Protest,” 1846 == | ||
| − | When the author is speaking about "not living to self altogether, but have the good of mankind in view" do you think she is talking about a larger working class movement or about the tendency of factory workers to just go with the flow because they know they will not be at the factory long term? Or both? | + | When the author is speaking about "not living to self altogether, but have the good of mankind in view" do you think she is talking about a larger working class movement or about the tendency of factory workers to just go with the flow because they know they will not be at the factory long term? Or both? Also was this type of view typical of the time or held by just a few who tried to start a labor movement? --[[User:Shauser|Shauser]] 08:08, 22 October 2009 (MDT) |
