Florence Kelley Child Labor

In Florence Kelley’s speech, she discusses her anger about child labor. She gives numerous examples of how child labor is immoral and wrong, which creates a vindictive and scolding tone. Primarily through imagery, parallel structure, and exemplification, Kelley calls attention to the horror of child labor. Throughout Kelley’s speech, she utilizes imagery to help prove her view that child labor is wrong. She points out that while “we sleep” there are “several thousand little girls… working in the textile mills, all the night through, in the deafening noise of the spindles and the looms spinning and weaving cotton and wool.” The listener of the speech can visualize the dreadful scene in which thousands of little girls are working in the textile mills. This imagery evokes a sense of sorrow from the listener. Also, the word “deafening” adds to the listener’s understanding that not only are young children working, but they are working dangerous and dreadful jobs. She also depicts an image of a girl who “ on her thirteenth birthday” could work from “ six at night until six in the morning.” This detail suggests that there is little happiness in the lives of these young children

For example, she shares details that young children “ make our shoes in the shoe factories; they knit our stockings, our knitted underwear in the knitting factories. They spin and weave our cotton underwear in the cotton mills.” These details of labor suggests that there are many children working a wide variety of jobs. The details also indicates the severity of the situation: child labor is immoral. Kelley also enumerates specific laws that are outrageous that support child labor. She asserts that in Georgia, a girl who is as young as six could be working. A child of the age of six should be enjoying childhood — not working at a factory — which adds to the immoral view of child