Question

Explain in a few sentences why a historian might not think that Engels’s description reflects a completely accurate picture of what life was like in England during 1844.

Answer 1

Friedrich Engels(1820-1895), wrote “The Condition of the Working Class in Englan” in 1844. In that work, the author concentrated in the difficulties of the working class in England. But what he missed –according to some authors- is that he did not take into consideration the benefits they got with the arrival of the industrialization.  

Engels made his own research and observed the daily work of the people in Manchester, England. That is why he talked about the precarious conditions they lived in their workplace. Those specific stories are accepted by some chroniclers.

Some analyst affirm that industrialization offered better opportunities to workers, instead of the poor living conditions workers had when they made a living in farms or agriculture.

So, the main critic is why Engels did not show both sides of the coin, instead of just focusing on the adversities.

Answer 2

Sample response: Engels was a communist who wanted to inspire workers to revolt against the upper classes. Therefore, he might have written descriptions of workers' lives that made them seem worse than they actually were.