This Machine Called Man | Teen Ink

This Machine Called Man

August 10, 2009
By Jennax3 SILVER, Palos Verdes Estates, California
Jennax3 SILVER, Palos Verdes Estates, California
6 articles 0 photos 113 comments

Setting: It is the year 1832 in the county of Lancashire, England. The scene opens in Cotton Textile Factory #26, where children are lined along the machinery and busy at work. Many are operating the cotton looms, while others are occupied with weaving and spinning. The screeching sound of running machinery is apparent. All the children are dressed in tattered garments, and their faces are blackened with grime from the machines.

MATTHEW is eleven years old, a scrawny boy with wispy brown hair. LILLY is nine, a petite girl with blue eyes and straight blonde hair. MR. HARRIS is the manager of the factory, a sturdy man in his forties with a rather rotund face.


(LILLY stumbles in from STAGE RIGHT, followed by MR. HARRIS. There are tears running down her cheeks, and MR. HARRIS has an irritated scowl on his face.)

MR. HARRIS: (angry tone, pointing to Matthew) Over there! Go to the boy! He’ll tell you what to do. You’re unbelievably worthless, you know. (muttering to himself) It’s a shame I hire these dimwitted lasses.

(LILLY staggers over to MATTHEW, who is tending to the spinning machine. MR. HARRIS exits)

MATTHEW: (not looking up from his work) First day?

LILLY: (rather ashamedly, choking on tears) Yes.

MATTHEW: (sympathetically) Well, don’t make a fuss about it. I been working here for three years, and trust me, it gets easier. You get used to it. Mister Harris’s got quite a temper, but if you work well, he won’t bother ya. (looking up at her) Matthew Henry, by the way. Pleasure.

LILLY: Lilly Walter.

MATTHEW: (still working) Aha. So Lilly. You’re going to need to listen real carefully. You see when the thread comes around like this? It’ll spin twice every time, and that’s your cue. (demonstrating) Pull the lever up, and then push it down, but be mindful not to knock the copper switch on the right. Go on, give it a whirl…

(LILLY does as she is told, but hesitantly)

MATTHEW: Yes, that’s it. You’ve got it. A little faster, now.

(MATTHEW, satisfied with her progress, resumes his own work. The two work side by side.
(There is a pause. They are always working while chatting.)

LILLY: (regaining composure) Matthew?

MATTHEW: Hm?

LILLY: Why have you been working here so long?

MATTHEW: (shyly) I don’t really like to talk about it. (pauses) And you? What brings you here?

LILLY: Mother sent me. She told me to work hard because I’m her only hope. Ever since Daddy left, the money’s been low. And she has to look after the baby too.

MATTHEW: (nodding) Ah.

LILLY: (long pause) But lately, she’s been all frightened… like she’s keeping something from me. I’m not quite sure what to make out of it, but I think it was what Daddy said. (stops, as if in deep thought)

MATTHEW: (inquisitively) And what might that be?


LILLY: Well, he was very sore at her, and they were quarreling; only it was much worse than ever before. I had to cover my ears, but I heard what he said last to her, before he was gone. (pauses again, then recites) “They’ll find out what you did, Margaret, but I won’t be there to help you this time.”

MATTHEW: (long pause) That’s very queer… I’m dreadfully sorry. Honest.




LILLY: Oh, never mind that. (quickly changing the subject) You know, I used to go to school. St. Augustine’s, just two miles from here. We learned grammar and all the like… I suppose you’ve gone to school also?


MATTHEW: No, never been. But I’m going to be a captain one day. (Voice rises in excitement) Captain of a ship. I’ll know the sea better than anyone, because I’ll be an explorer! A famous one, too!

LILLY: (dreamily) That sounds just grand! I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to sail on a real ship.


MATTHEW: (examining her face closely, furrowing his eyebrows) Its odd, Lilly, but you remind me of my sister.

LILLY: Is that so? I’d love to meet her. She must be here!

MATTHEW: (shaking his head) No, she… never made it through. (a troubled expression crosses his face) Really, it was only a foolish mistake. But Mister Harris did it anyways--

LILLY: (interjecting) Did what? What did he do?


(Abruptly, LILLY’S arm slips and hits the copper switch to the right of the lever. There is a sudden silence as every machine in the factory slows to a complete stop. The thread spools, fabrics, and assorted textiles tumble out of the machinery, and grey smoke swirls in the air. All the children whisper in hushed voices, peering fearfully at each other)

MATTHEW: (panicking) Bloody hell, Lilly! What have you done?! He’s coming now, he knows we’ve stopped; you’ve no way around it!



LILLY: (whimpering) Oh, it was only by accident, I--

(MR. HARRIS enters, outraged)

MR. HARRIS: (shaking his head furiously) You bloody scoundrels! Good-for-nothing rats! I’d like to know which one of you twits decided to play this one on me! Go on, show yourself. Or you’ll all get a lashing!

(The children, stunned, do not speak or move. LILLY’S eyes begin to swell, and she breathes harder, pursing her lips. There is a lingering silence.)

MR. HARRIS: No one? (flailing arms savagely) You lying fools! I’ll take all your heads off!



(LILLY is on the verge of sobbing. Suddenly, MATTHEW steps forward)

MATTHEW: (placidly, head down) It was me, sir.

(All the children gasp, clearly shocked)


MR. HARRIS: (in a malicious tone) We have a taker, I see. Very well then.

(MR. HARRIS storms over to MATTHEW, grabs him by the hair, and drags him to a large cistern of steaming water. Holding one hand on MATTHEW’S neck, he forces his head into the water. With the other hand, he whips MATTHEW’S back with a brass rod. Muffled screams are heard. Curtain closes.)

(Curtain opens. The machinery is running again, and children are back to work. MATTHEW’S body is a heap on the floor. LILLY is standing over him.)

LILLY: (frightfully) Matthew?

(Curtain closes)

The author's comments:
This piece is meant to be a scene in a larger play. I was inspired to write this after I learned about the horrors of child labor during the Industrial Revolution. My intent was to give the scene a dramatic feel, while also integrating some historical knowledge for the reader.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 10 comments.


Yoodle15 said...
on Nov. 11 2009 at 12:13 pm
Oh, this is so mournfully moving, it has the exact dose of drama without bordering on mushiness. Actually, the piece reminds me of Dickens and his poor mistreated children!

Jaquie BRONZE said...
on Aug. 24 2009 at 8:56 pm
Jaquie BRONZE, West Palm Beach, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 407 comments

Favorite Quote:
This is certainly one of my favorites: "I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." -2 Samuel 6:22

Wow, this is fabulous. Its hard to find a well spoken playwright these days but you have a remarkable talent. Brava! Keep writing.

God bless,

...,

on Aug. 22 2009 at 8:57 pm
kiwi12 PLATINUM, Austin, Texas
28 articles 10 photos 365 comments
I have written a piece similar to this, in place of the industrial revolution. Yours truly surpasses mine, it's beautiful and so terribly, dreadfully mournful.

tor10jax GOLD said...
on Aug. 21 2009 at 7:14 pm
tor10jax GOLD, Livingston, New Jersey
10 articles 0 photos 143 comments
That was so sad :'( . You should definitely keep going with this story. Maybe tell us more about Matthew after he dies. Great job!

Keep writing!

Joanna said...
on Aug. 21 2009 at 4:57 pm
Joanna, St. Catharines, Other
0 articles 0 photos 165 comments
My goodness! This is extraordinary! I always love stories that are set in England during the Industrial Revolution. It's so professional, the way you instroduced the setting and characters. I can't say much more than Sydney already has -- plus, I haven't really ever seen script before (other than Shakespeare). I would just love to see some more British sayings and stuff. Then again, I'm not too sure what saying there are...

By the way, thank-you very much for commenting on my poem. I really do appreciate it.

on Aug. 21 2009 at 3:57 pm
Inkspired PLATINUM, Whitby, Other
26 articles 0 photos 493 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If one will scoff at the study of language, how, save in terms of language, will one scoff?&quot; - Mario Pei<br /> &quot;I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn&#039;t, I would die.&quot; Isaac Asimov

LOVE THIS! It's so sad, and it tells the brutal truth. You've written a really deep piece. Just one question- what did her mother do? I'm really curious.

Jennax3 SILVER said...
on Aug. 19 2009 at 10:03 pm
Jennax3 SILVER, Palos Verdes Estates, California
6 articles 0 photos 113 comments
to sydney:

Hence, my side note on how this is meant to be a mere scene in a larger play. The part about the mother and father is not supposed to be resolved in this scene... and the ending is not really the ending haha. I agree on the Mr. Harris elaboration comment though. Thank you so much! That helped sooo much.

on Aug. 19 2009 at 2:21 pm
Meredith Munro SILVER, Spring Lake, New Jersey
9 articles 0 photos 12 comments
Playwriting?! That's fantastic. I'm big into the Fine Arts, including the theater. I'm very impressed by the development of the charactres AND how you included stage direction! As an actress I recognize how difficult it can be to create a 'vision' without people to move about a stage. Beautiful!

on Aug. 18 2009 at 7:14 pm
Sydney(: BRONZE, N/a, New Hampshire
4 articles 0 photos 47 comments
I really liked this. I could tell how developed your characters were. Matthew really had a disticnt personality in the way he talked and acted. It is hard to come by a sotry where the author knows exactly who their characters are. And you did.



I think the ending was slightly abrupt. I think Mr. Harris could have been elaborateed on a little more. And you sort of just threw in the part about the mother and the father. It seemed like that was the direction that the story was going in, and I believe that you should keep going, explaining more of the terrible tortures children were put in. And also Lilly's rough family life. This story has the potential to get a huge message across!



Great job! Keep Writing!



Check out some of my work(:



~Sydney

Zero_K DIAMOND said...
on Aug. 18 2009 at 6:45 pm
Zero_K DIAMOND, Moosic, Pennsylvania
83 articles 0 photos 435 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Life&#039;s no fun if you&#039;re not insane, otherwise you grow up to be an accountant.&quot; -Moi

This is so sad and beautifully written. I should like to read the play in it's entirety. Thank you for commenting on my work!

ZERO