I Know Papa Thinks This Fire Summary

Melanie Crowder talks about the exasperated effort that Clara Lemlich (the main character) put into the rights of women factory workers. Clara Lemlich lead grand strikes against poor working conditions in the early 1900s. The author uses imagery, devices of poetry, symbolism, and other ways to get her point across about the movement.
The author’s tone is defiance. The story has an overall tone of defiance because it tells of going against the traditional Jewish norm for women. Not only that but it also tells of strikes against improper working conditions and treatment in the early 1900s. On page 38-39 it says “I know Papa thinks this fire in me stands against the faith he holds so dearly but I see our faith as the thing that lit this fire

On page five, in the first four stanzas, there are multiple repeated smiles, she compares her common external look to be as “common as a wren meek as a robin”. Later in the stanzas the author writes that “does not mean what is inside me is also common as a wren meek as a robin.”, telling that Clara is special and not ordinary. Another example of imagery is the smile on page 253, the quote describes the setting (Central Park), “petite trees like a garden of clouds round and white sparkling with the laughter of the sun.” This quote also shows personification with giving the sun

The book is split into four sections each starting with a different word relating to fire. As the amount of book read increases as so does the tone word about fire. Before the first section the word/numbers “tinder, 1903” state that in the beginning of the main character’s life the “spark” of determination started. At the beginning of the next section the words/numbers “flame, 1905-1907” show the increase in her rebellion against the traditional Jewish roles. Before the next section the word/numbers “fire, 1908” are shown for the reader to see the defiance growing as the story goes on. Prior to the last section the word/numbers “blaze, 1909” reveal a foreshadowing hint about Clara’s most defying act yet which is joining the union and striking against the conditions of her workplace. Another example is on page 25, is “I learned long ago to douse these angry flames to make the coals burn low but steady.”, this line uses symbolism to show Clara keeping her anger on the inside and be calm on the inside. The line follows the actions of her father burning her books, because it’s not proper for a traditional Jewish girl to have