Well, now that you know that a 15 foot wave of molasses travelled through the streets of Boston at 35 miles an hour--what do you think of that? I never knew about it until I read this book (and I have lived in Massachusetts for 40 of my 50 years).
Whose fault was this terrible accident? Was anyone negligent? Do you think who the victims were makes any difference? What does this incident tell you about whether or how victims of accidents should be compensated?
I am curious to know what you thought...
So far, this novel is very interesting. As I read, I keep thinking that if people start saying or doing something about the leaks in the tank, besides painting it, the flood could have been prevented.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments so far--now, WHO should have said something to WHOM? WHO should have taken care of the leaks?
ReplyDeleteWhat continues to amaze me is that this incident REALLY happened. Therefore, this is a work of non-fiction, not fiction(a novel.
Maybe the reason people failed to listen or act was because of who said something or who might have been hurt. Think about the WHO.
Couldn't agree more Dr. G. I think a major factor why nothing was said about the crippling tank was who would be hurt. The tank was put in the Italian heavy North End, among immigrants who were fiercely discriminated during the time period. The prejudice against Italians only further increased when WWII began causing major tension as Americans were concerned with the anarchist Italians in our country. And thus very few people in USIA and other higher organizations cared for the North End Italians.
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ReplyDeleteThe other thing is, Arthur Jell had seen the leaks. I feel that he did not want others to know because he was able to complete the construction of the tank on time. However, he was only able to do this because he did not fill the tank like he was told. He only filled it to the first rivet and since it did not leak, he assumed the rest was fien too. Once it started leaking, he did not want anyone to know, especially his supervisor, because it shows he did not take the time building it.
ReplyDeleteI certainly do! It took the death of Milena Del Valle, a native of Costa Rica, to call attention to the corruption and carelessness of the Big Dig. It is sad that it takes a deat to get those responsible to own up to what they have permitted to happen.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to find the parallels between these two Boston disasters.
Are you prepared to advocate for victims of negligence? Remember, effective writing is your best tool.
I also see a connection. I agree with Dr. G about it taking a death to get those responsibel to own up to their mistake. Also, both events took the lives of innocent people. I feel it is important that the novel mentions those who died from the flood because a majority of the people had nothing to do with the tank. They were regular people going through what seemed to be a regular day and just were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
ReplyDeleteWith the consrtuction of the tank just going through the first couple of pages, one event leads to another faulty event. For one the tank was tested with only six inches of water. Jell was only concerned with the speed of the work but not the quality. Perhaps the flood could have been avoided if the tank was more carefully tested?
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Olivia said. If Jell hadn't focused as much on the deadline and put more of his attention towards the success and security of the tank, this problem may have been avoided. Even though this novel is told through various perspectives, it seems that most of the blame would be put on Jell for not making sure the tank was able to use and focusing more on what upper management would think of him.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Olivia and Amanda. Jell spent too much time focusing on finishing the job on time so he would have a good reputation with the people of upper managment. Jell did not properly test the tank which resulted in the colapse. Due to the colapse of the tank the USIA gained an aweful reputation from most of the boston public. Jell was too self centered in trying to create a good reputation for himself but instead ended up ruining the reputation of such an important company at the time.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book I also thought about all those comments that were made because they are important to recognize and analyze. I just want to also comment on how the book was written. I loved the way Stephen Puleo wrote this book with all the different perspectives and lives of the people included in it. With the little designs separating each scene or topic Stephen wrapped the book up well enough that people did not get confused and/or bored while reading it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree Jell should have taken more time to construct the tank, he was under immense pressure from the USIA. He was told to complete the tank before the new year or get fired. Who is to say he didn't have a family he had to take care of? I don't think he acted careless intentionally and if he knew the outcome he would have acted differently. But these were very difficult economic times and he was looking out for himself and his family. It is hard to put your family in jeopardy even when you know you are probably making the wrong decision. I think Jell was put in a diccicult position and the blame shouldn't entirely fall on him.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Gina that Jell had a very difficult work schedule, however he should've at least had an expert on scene to review the necessary materials and blueprints. Having someone on scene wouldn't have taken up as much time and perhaps could've convinced the company to back off a little.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Gina, Neil. But I also believe that he shouldn't have let it get to a point where Issac was so paranoid about something happening to the tank that he would sleep there. There were plenty of warning signs that he should have paid attention to, because no matter how much demand there was for molasses, so much damage and destruction was not worth it.
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