They Will Say

Carl Sandburg's They Will Say

Carl Sandburg’s They Will Say is a brief yet searing indictment of industrialization’s dehumanizing effects on the working class, particularly children. Written during the early 20th century—a period marked by rapid urbanization, labor exploitation, and the rise of corporate capitalism—the poem crystallizes Sandburg’s socialist sympathies and his deep empathy for the oppressed. Though concise, the poem is dense with thematic weight, employing stark imagery, deliberate diction, and an accusatory tone to critique the moral failures of modern society. This analysis will explore the poem’s historical context, its use of literary devices, its central themes, and its enduring emotional resonance.

Historical Context: Industrialization and the Exploitation of Labor

To fully appreciate They Will Say, one must situate it within the Progressive Era (1890s–1920s), a time when American cities swelled with immigrant labor, factories dominated urban landscapes, and child labor was rampant. Sandburg, a journalist and poet deeply engaged with social justice, frequently wrote about the struggles of the working poor. His Chicago Poems (1916), where this piece might thematically belong, exposes the brutal realities of industrial capitalism—long hours, meager wages, and the erosion of human dignity.

The poem’s opening line—"Of my city the worst that men will ever say is this"—suggests a prophetic condemnation, as if Sandburg anticipates future generations looking back in horror at the exploitation normalized in his time. The reference to children being taken "away from the sun and the dew" evokes an agrarian past, contrasting the natural freedom of rural life with the claustrophobic drudgery of factory work. This was a period when child labor laws were either weak or unenforced, and many children toiled in textile mills, coal mines, and sweatshops. Sandburg’s imagery of "walls" and "dust in their throats" mirrors the grim conditions documented by reformist photographers like Lewis Hine, whose images of soot-covered child workers shocked the American conscience.

Literary Devices: Imagery, Contrast, and Diction

Sandburg’s poem relies heavily on visceral imagery to evoke sympathy and outrage. The "glimmers that played in the grass under the great sky" conjures an idyllic, almost Edenic vision of childhood—one of unrestrained play and natural beauty. This stands in stark contrast to the mechanical imprisonment of "walls," where children are "broken and smothered." The verb "smothered" is particularly potent, suggesting not just physical exhaustion but the suffocation of youthful vitality.

The phrase "reckless rain" is ambiguous yet evocative. It could symbolize nature’s untamed freedom, now denied to these children, or perhaps the relentless, unfeeling forces of industrialization that drown out individual lives. The "dust in their throats" is another powerful metaphor—industrial waste literally chokes them, but it also represents the silencing of their voices, their stifled dreams.

Sandburg’s diction is deliberately harsh where it needs to be: "broken," "smothered," "empty-hearted." These words accumulate into a damning portrait of systemic abuse. The final lines—"For a little handful of pay on a few Saturday nights"—underscore the cruel economy of their suffering: their entire lives are reduced to a pittance, a transactional exchange where their labor is extracted and their humanity disregarded.

Themes: The Cost of Progress, Lost Innocence, and Moral Indictment

At its core, They Will Say grapples with the moral cost of industrial progress. The poem does not merely lament child labor; it frames it as a civilizational sin. The future tense in "They will say" suggests that history will judge this era harshly, much like we now look back on slavery or feudalism with revulsion. Sandburg positions himself as a witness, ensuring that this injustice is recorded.

The theme of lost innocence is paramount. The children are robbed not just of their labor but of their fundamental right to joy, to nature, to a childhood unmarred by exploitation. The "great sky" they are taken from is more than a physical space—it represents possibility, wonder, and spiritual expansiveness. By contrast, the factory walls symbolize a mechanistic world where human beings are reduced to cogs in an economic machine.

There is also a subtle but biting critique of wage slavery. The children work "for bread and wages," but the phrasing suggests that even these meager rewards are illusory. "Die empty-hearted" implies that their labor grants them no fulfillment, no sense of purpose—only survival at the barest level. This aligns with Marxist critiques of alienation under capitalism, where workers are estranged from the fruits of their labor.

Comparative Readings: Sandburg and the Social Protest Tradition

Sandburg’s poem resonates with other works of social protest literature. It shares thematic DNA with Charles Dickens’ depictions of child labor in Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, where industrialization’s cruelty is laid bare. Similarly, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) exposes the brutal conditions of immigrant workers in Chicago’s meatpacking plants, reinforcing Sandburg’s indictment of urban exploitation.

In the poetic tradition, Sandburg’s work echoes William Blake’s "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Innocence and Experience, where child laborers are victims of societal neglect. Both poets use stark contrasts between innocence and suffering to provoke moral outrage. However, Sandburg’s modernism strips away Blake’s religious symbolism, opting instead for raw, unadorned language that mirrors the bleakness of factory life.

Philosophical Underpinnings: Humanism vs. Industrial Dehumanization

Sandburg’s poem aligns with early 20th-century humanist thought, which emphasized the intrinsic value of individuals against the dehumanizing forces of modernity. Philosophers like Karl Marx and Erich Fromm argued that capitalism alienates workers from their labor, their selves, and their communities—a concept Sandburg illustrates vividly. The children in the poem are not just physically confined but spiritually hollowed out ("empty-hearted"), their labor stripped of meaning beyond survival.

The poem also engages with the Romantic critique of industrialization, recalling William Wordsworth’s lament in "The World Is Too Much With Us" that humanity has forfeited its connection to nature for material gain. Sandburg updates this concern for the industrial age, showing how the most vulnerable pay the highest price for so-called progress.

Emotional Impact: Outrage, Sorrow, and a Call to Conscience

What makes They Will Say so enduringly powerful is its emotional precision. Sandburg does not sentimentalize the children’s suffering; he presents it with unflinching clarity, forcing the reader to confront an uncomfortable truth. The future-tense condemnation ("They will say") implicates the reader, suggesting complicity if no action is taken.

The poem’s brevity amplifies its impact. In just seven lines, Sandburg captures an entire system of exploitation, making it impossible to look away. The final image—"a little handful of pay on a few Saturday nights"—is devastating in its understatement. It underscores the grotesque imbalance between the children’s sacrifice and their compensation, reducing their lives to a transactional afterthought.

Conclusion: Sandburg’s Enduring Relevance

Though written over a century ago, They Will Say remains tragically relevant. Child labor persists in many parts of the world, and exploitative labor conditions continue under global capitalism. Sandburg’s poem serves as both a historical document and a timeless warning: that progress built on the backs of the vulnerable is not progress at all, but moral regression.

Ultimately, the poem is a masterclass in economical yet profound social critique. It does not just describe injustice—it demands accountability. In an age where workers’ rights are still contested and economic inequality vast, Sandburg’s voice resonates with urgent clarity. His poem is not merely a lament; it is a challenge to the reader: What will you say? What will you do? In this way, They Will Say transcends its era, becoming not just a poem, but a call to conscience.