In The Book of the Dead, Rukeyser uses the theme of social injustice as well as using poetry to stress and expose the hardships and truths of the silicosis disaster. She uses poetry to deliver the stories of the ones who witness the neglect of the workers. In the poem, “Statement: Phillp Allen”, he testifies about the 2,000 workers that were hired by contractors and spent two years drilling 3.75 miles of tunnel no. 1. The whole time, these contractors with about 30 years of experience, were aware about the high silica content, and consciously put all of these people to work without any precaution. This poem highlights the fact that figures of power sacrificed the safety of these people who did nothing but try and fulfill their daily duties, only for them to be hurt in the end while these bosses profit from their hard work.

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