Iruka's Blog

I think that I maybe had a quiet voice, even though I myself did not think so. I should probably improve this as I am not the one listening so perhaps I should not pass judgement on that. I am proud that I answered all of my lawyer’s questions in character and that I did it with limited time. I would definitely ask myself the question that the opposition did ask me (why do you still employ children if you are against child labor) and basically that is the root question that could go on to lots of different questions on the way I run my factory. I did not do very well in answering that question; as some remarked it was almost if I was supporting child labor instead, so maybe I should have said that I did not employ children at all. After some thought, I did come up with an idea that was somewhat credible – but at that time it was much too late to answer, so it was to no avail. However, for the benefit of the reader, I will put it down here. “When my father (the late Mr. Hardy) passed away, he bequeathed his property and factory to me to keep in good condition, at least until my heir reached manhood where he there can do what he will with it. As my son is currently 11 years old, I must wait in patience for another 7 years for my son to grow up, and in that time I must educate him and pay the bills. I have know fear that he will forbid child labor in the factory when he is at that age as he has many friends there. So, to fulfill my father’s last dying wish, I must do the very thing I oppose – employ children in my factory.” – James Hardy.

Final argument from your side answering the question: Should child labor be allowed? (~200+ words, discuss some of the strongest arguments from both sides and then give your final decision)One of the strongest arguments for child labor came from Lead Attorney Fred Ward. So very persuasive that it very nearly swayed my forceful stance against child labor. Some of the main arguments in his piece were that child labor was one of the greatest and most profitable assets in the Victorian Age. “Without child labor”, said he, “the Victorian Era would not have been nearly as great.”.  He also argued that the real problem is not that the labor is too great or demanding, it is that there is not enough work for everybody to go around. Now, being a factory owner (character), I know that this second statement is not nearly true but the way he cleverly phrased it to sound most trustworthy accurate had me slightly convinced. However, I still believe that child labor should be outlawed because it is a cruel practice and is damaging to children.

How does your personal opinion differ from your character’s?
My personal opinion does not differ greatly from my character, James Hardy, ‘s opinion as he was a factory owner who was against child labor. I think that hard child labor should not be allowed (as I also am a child and would dislike it greatly if I had to labor) and that childhood is all about having time to play and have fun. However, I think that if James Hardy really strongly opposed child labor he would not have employed children at all – when the opposition asked me (then James Hardy) why I still did, I could come up with nothing but that I needed the extra money. After a little thought, I came up with the idea that my father (the late Mr. Hardy) had put in his will that he wanted me to keep the factory in good condition until my son had come of age – but at that time it was much too late to make that argument. So, even though as I child myself I have a very biased opinion, I conclude that I am similar to factory owner James Hardy in the sense that we both oppose the brutal cruelty of child labor.