93 pages • 3 hours read
Margaret Peterson HaddixUprising
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Fire
In Uprising, the symbol of fire is imbued with complex and even conflicting resonances. Haddix links the image of fire to the many hardships that threaten to destroy women. When Bella becomes dangerously ill, her “tragic eyes burn like embers” (157). In vulnerable moments, Yetta repeatedly reflects that women are “like tinder” (271). The fire is also compared to the strikers’ desire for political change, the spark that keeps their struggle alive and burning.
These resonances are harmonized by Rahel’s description of the violent pogrom she witnessed. Rahel explains that back in Russia, she watched a woman “who might have been you or me” as she burned alive, her whole life “gone in a flash” (241). This story functions as a kind of warning to Yetta: her fire for political change could consume her whole life.
The Triangle fire also provides an opportunity for Yetta, Bella, and Jane to actualize their political values. Faced with imminent destruction, Yetta is able to focus not on future change, but on helping others in the here and now. Jane demonstrates independence, putting out a fire in her skirt and refusing privilege-based help from others. Bella ultimately lives to tell the story of The Triangle women and the strike, a story which assumes historic importance because of the fire.
Fire Escapes
Fire escapes are also imbued with both positive and negative value in Uprising. Throughout the novel, fire escapes are sites of refuge from the struggle in women’s lives. Bella dreams about romantic scenes with Pietro on the fire escape. Yetta, Bella, and Jane spend happy evenings sharing icecream on the fire escape of their tenement building. For this reason, it is interesting to consider the threatening connotation fire escapes have for parties who seek to repress women. Pietro notes that The Triangle’s fire escape stairs are not visible because wealthy neighbors find them unsightly. When Bella attempts to bypass long end-of-the-day lines by going through the fire escape, the boss assumes she is trying to steal from the factory.
During The Triangle fire, the fire escape proves to be a false refuge. The stairs do not reach to the street and many women die trying to use them. In this sense, fire escapes can be read as a symbol for the unsafe working conditions at The Triangle, and the factory’s superficial measures to appear safe. As Bella explains to Harriet, people “took our deaths personally” (319) and the whole city was unified in collective mourning.
Clothing
Clothing immediately identifies the class and social standing of its wearer. As the makers of clothing that they are too poor to purchase themselves, no one appreciates this more than The Triangle workers. While Bella recovers from sickness in Jane’s luxurious bed, she can’t help but notice the ruffles of Jane’s dress, sympathizing with the worker tasked with sewing such an elaborate garment.
Bella also demonstrates her progression as an American by becoming conscious of class in clothing. When Signor Carlotti attempts to charm Bella with the gift of a shirtwaist and skirt, she recognizes that the fabric is of low quality. Seeing her in Jane’s blue serge dress, Rocco Luciano remarks that Bella now looks like an American. Clothing also plays a critical role in Bella’s assessment of Harriet Blanck as a woman “who would rather know the truth than have new clothes” (4). This assessment ultimately leads Bella to tell the story of The Triangle fire.
Clothing—corsetry, in particular—also serves as a metaphor for the social roles that imprison women. Jane and Eleanor speak of their corsets as a way to keep women in their place, and Eleanor describes the gradual loosening of her corset as a subversive act. When Jane observes young Harriet Blanck wriggling in her itchy lace sleeves, she identifies with the child’s discomfort. Realizing that Harriet is much like a child version of herself, Jane sees an opportunity to empower the Blanck girls as she wishes she’d been empowered.
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