VLVL2 (4) Erasing the past (still a Finesi romance)

[Paul Nightingale]

My original post didn't address the child labour laws and whether or not
they were being broken. However, all labour is exploited by those who
profit from it. Quite possibly, Prairie's workplace isn't unionised, for
example, and as a shift-worker she might be dependent on her boss' good
will; all of which means she might have to work hours she'd rather not.
None of this (of course) is in the text ... although we do see her
working an early shift quickly followed by a late shift; so the least we
can say is that she probably doesn't enjoy a regular working day.

However, neither is it stated, in the text, that child labour laws
aren't being broken. If they are, quite possibly Prairie couldn't care
less, because she can't see any further than the next pay check. The
text simply offers the fact of child labour, in different sectors, as
part of characters' daily routine. (As we shall see, once given the
opportunity, Prairie can even demonstrate management skills.)

As regards child labour in the agricultural sector ... not only is this
recognised (even by the US Govt) as a problem, it's also widely
recognised as a problem with regard to education. The future school
careers of Morning and Lotus aren't addressed by the text; and I'm quite
happy to accept that they'll be well-taught, at home, by their parents
(which again isn't in the text). What is in the text is the relationship
between casual work and the mainstream economy: this is a feature of the
(post-Fordist) 1980s (both within industrialised nations and between
industrialised and developing nations), and also central to the way the
narrative is organised in Ch4. The children equate work with play; their
parents don't. Nothing odd about that at all.