Against the "norm"

What interests me most as I read through The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker is the rapid development of the narrator. Readers are given the initial impression that this girl, or young woman, is basically naïve to the true meaning of the strike, and the dire consequences that come with being involved with a union. A union is never meant to be thought of as a game or as a fun event, but this young woman revels in the excitement and passion of the surrounding working women, without truly relating to the desperation that the majority of them face. As her experience with the union strike progresses, it affects the way she speaks about the situation, a passion seems to develop, and an attachment to those who need to be there, rather simply find the situation an interesting even to be a part of. Just as we see the maturity growth in this young woman, we see growth and change in the power or women in society. As we discussed in class, are women being pre-programmed for a life filled with days of raising children and completing routine household chores? The father proclaims his view by saying how he does not “think it’s a woman’s place to be hangin’ around street corners, fighting with rowdies and be taken to jail”(91-92). I like how the passionate response to her father’s words becomes symbolic of the entire women’s suffrage movement as she is maturing into her own sets of beliefs, away from predisposed ideas.