Analysis of Slacks and Calluses

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Recommended: Women and patriarchal society

Slacks and Calluses is a captivating book written from the perspective of two high-school teachers, Constance Bowman and Clara Marie Allen. Their stories are about their life working in a bomber factory in the summer of 1943. The book follows the two women as their lifestyle transitions from wearing heals and dresses to slacks and calluses. The women had to embrace hard working conditions, learn trades, and learn how to operate huge machinery. The women found out quickly this would cause many changes to the social aspect of their life, many of which changed the way women were viewed among the country. Patriotism and a chance to widen their opportunities is what fueled the women to take on these circumstances. This would forever change the beliefs of the workplace and views on women. In 1943, most women worked as teachers, nurses, or done some sort of domestic labor. Their opportunities were nowhere near as vast as the men’s. This caused the women to feel left out or unequal. Women fought for more equal opportunities as well as equal treatment. This along with their sense of patriotism is what led them to work in these factories. They wanted to be viewed as equal counterparts and have the same opportunities as men during this time. Not as many opportunities were open to the women so they jumped at the chance to widen them when the idea of working in the factories came up. This also paired with their sense of patriotism, making their determination to work stronger. The women knew the men were off fighting for their freedom so this would give them a chance to contribute to the cause as well as help war production. This challenged the views of the workplace as well as the beliefs of where women belonged in the workplace. Numerous men... ... middle of paper ... ...ns. This seems as to if they were scared to describe them too harshly in fear that they might be looked down upon or prove the men to be correct about them not belonging there. Perhaps we may never know truly how harsh these conditions were. In conclusion, Slacks and Calluses is an excellent book that should be read by every generation. Slacks and Calluses portrays life lessons that all ages can twist into their own understanding and grasp knowledge on an important time in our history. The social life of women has forever been changed by this in a positive manner. This could have never been possible if the country wasn’t eager with this idea in the first place. Women gained more equal rights, opportunities, and jobs by this which helped women tremendously. Patriotism played a huge role in this situation as well as the opportunities and new jobs that came with it.

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