Nellie Bly, a young journalist working for the New York World in 1887, posed as a patient in order to be admitted to the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island. After ten days inside, she emerged with detailed accounts of beatings, contaminated food, and unsanitary conditions. The exposé prompted a grand jury investigation and significant public funding for asylum reform.
What is the main purpose of the text?
- A
To compare nineteenth-century asylums in different cities.
- Bcheck_circle
To recount Bly's investigation and the institutional reforms it produced.
- C
To argue that journalism should always rely on undercover methods.
- D
To define the term 'lunatic asylum'.
Explanation
The text narrates Bly's investigation and its reform consequences. B captures this narrative purpose.