My fascination with this book came when my students had to
read an excerpt in my Middle School English class. They struggled to understand why someone
would purposely get themselves committed to an asylum. Nellie Bly had a lot of
guts in my mind. First of all she was a female living in a male dominated
world. Many women were put away by husbands who no longer wanted them around.
Nellie Bly wished to let the world know what actually went on inside. Why you
may ask. There was no one to speak for those women. Bly came up with a plan to
tell their story. She got herself committed by acting like she was insane and
used a fake last name. They sent her to the asylum where she spoke with these
women and documented the abuses they suffered.
She had pre-arranged with her editor to have them get her out after ten
days. She exposed the atrocities and created change.
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