Don't Sing at the Table by Adriana Trigiani Literary Analysis Essay

‘Don’t Sing at the Table’ by Adriana Trigiani explores the history of the author's grandmothers and their successes they reached during their lives. One of her grandmothers grew up in Pennsylvania and stayed in that relative area her whole life while the other grew up in Italy and came to America in search of work. Both had great and successful careers and ended up in the United states but both had different methods of gathering their successes in their lives even though they both were involved in the garment industry. Overall I would say that hard work pays off  and we see this for both of these people in this story. They both have characteristics that helped them build strong businesses.

Trigiani first writes about her grandmother Viola. She grew up in the United States and started and ran her own business with her husband, the Yolanda Manufacturing Company. She was said to have a strong work ethic and was extremely determined to own and run a successful business and be successful in life, she was said to be the engine that drove her business. Trigiani believed that part of the success was due to her grandparents' great compatibility with one another. I found this when Trigiani said “he(her grandfather) was strong, intelligent, and possessed an easygoing nature, while she(her grandmother) was a relentless fighter and demanding boss”(4). This is an important part because successes come in many different ways. For their company to succeed they needed different kinds of characteristics in their leaders that the employees can look u[ to and base their work off of. A good business characteristic Viola had was that she was very relentless. This is a characteristic of a strong business because everyone involved has to work hard every day to be successful whether you want to keep pushing or not, if they stop working as hard they likely would have failed. 

Viola was also said to not be very wasteful. Trigiani said “my grandmother never threw anything away(clothing, bank records, contracts, wills, newspaper clippings, and photographs)”(5). This is a good example of strong business characteristics because almost everything she saved probably had some important significance for her businesses success. By keeping costs lower, she was able to hire more people which in return helps for greater gain in the long run because she was able to produce more. The clothing could be recycled and used to make new products to sell which saves on material cost, bank records would show where her businesses money is going to make sure she makes money honestly and pays her workers, and she also saved a lot more. Viola was not wasteful of her time either, she woke up early and got the perfect amount of sleep to maximize her productivity each day. If she wasn't busy, she'd find something to do to make sure that she was always working. 

Viola’s successes were not obtained easily, she really had to work for what she earned in life but she also had to be smart about how she went at it. Trigiani said that her grandmother “led by example”(57)  in the factory. She did this by following her own rules she set for her factory to ensure good business and good quality of products. Some of these rules included hiring the best employees and using their talents to the fullest, working alongside her employees and being able to do what they are supposed to, take the place of an operator who was out, stay humble about your success. Trigiani said it was known that “Viola was a tough boss”(58) but that is what made her a good leader of employees. She made sure that she was going to have a successful business and did so through many different aspects. Viola had her workers work by the principle, “if you wanted to eat, you had to work”(60). They had to work if they wanted to get paid which is essential for survival. If needed  during times of deadlines, she frequently asked her family and friends to help and they often did. She had her sisters, cousins, her children, and friends come help to ensure success. Viola also said “You must rise to meet every challenge, because if you fail, you lose your mill, and the jobs that you provide with it.(60) She was somewhat picky with who she hired but she made sure she was putting them to their best use and assigning them to work in an area where they would be able to excel in. Viola was also frequently found working for missing employees and made sure she knew how to do the job herself before hiring someone to work in her mill. She knew how to use and service the machines in her mill which was likely another contributing factor to her success, she didn't have to wait for someone to come fix the machines if needed. But most importantly, Viola was incredibly humble. She was in the business for the long run and being humble was essential for long term success which is what she achieved. She figured out that pretty much all of her success was not just her, though she was a large part, her employees are what drove most of her income and she knew that her success was dependent on them and had to look and work in the perspective of an employee for the greatest success. 

Looking at Adriana Trigiani's other grandmother in the reading, we saw similar success but through some of the same and some different characteristics and methods. Her other grandmother was named Lucia and grew up in Italy but moved to the United States for work. She met her husband Carlo in New York and together they moved to an area called the iron range to become shoemakers because they were in high demand for laborers like miners. The two opened “The Progressive Shoe Shop” and ran a good business together. Lucy was an honest business woman who also strived for greatness. It was said that “Lucy wouldn’t sell a pair of shoes that didn't fit properly and always encouraged parents to buy function and fit over style. She would rather lose a sale that fit a child's foot improperly.(33) While Carlo continued to make shoes, Lucy opened a sewing shop in the back room of their shop. After Carlo died, Lucy never remarried and continued to work in the back room and sell her husband's shoes after he died. Similarly to Viola, part of her success was partially relying on others but Lucy didn't need them for work, she needed them for child care. With all her work Lucy became very busy and couldn't raise a family all on her own. With lots of help, she “relied on her extended family of friends; the Ongaro, Uncini, Sartori, and Latini families looked out for her children as she did for theirs.”(37) Being a widow was probably very difficult for her but she managed to still be successful. Lucy, like Viola, also liked to save money, “one of Lucy’s solutions to saving money was to do as much labor herself as possible”(39) This is essential to keeping business costs low and saving money because labor was and still is very expensive. When comparing the two,  we can see Viola would work herself but had started a large enough business where she was forced to hire laborers while Lucy was a one-man-show because she did everything herself.

Another difference between the two people was the way they actually ran their business. Viola ran her business to create products en masse while “Lucy preferred creating for the individual client.”(71), she made custom one of a kind clothing. Lucy preferred quality over quantity almost like the luxury brands we see today. She worked hard to make the best products she could and this didn't go unnoticed. Adriana wrote “Lucy ripped out hems, over and over again until the seams were straight and perfect. She spent hours draping fabric to show off its texture and create the perfect shape.”(74) Lucy was in the business of making quality products rather than extremely cheap and profitable ones like those made in a factory like Violas. She wouldn't stop until she was happy with the work she had done on each garment.

Overall, I think the main point of this story is that hard work pays off but it does it in different ways. Both of the women started and ran successful businesses but had some different desires and methods of reaching success. Viola was ambitious to get her products out and into the world for sale and sell them to gain success. Her products may not have been the quality of the products of Lucy but she still managed to achieve great success. Lucy was in business to satisfy customers through a garment or dress. Her garments were not for just special occasions, but they were everyday use while having quality where. She was putting in her time so her products could be treasured and passed down from generation to generation. Hard work is something that should be treasured and it will pay off in the long run, you just have to keep working if you want to succeed like the women in this story.