Dionne Quintuplets Research Paper

The Dionne Quintuplets

As children, we watched reality television and were enthralled by the lives of those on display, closely following their day to day interactions. These shows are still littering cable stations today in shows like Big Brother, the Bachelor and the Kardashians. The impression given is that everyone wants to be a reality star. However, being a star is not all the glamour that others perceive it to be. When considering the case of the Dionne Quintuplets, we see this to be true. They lived in a glass case on display causing physical and emotional trauma. The Dionne Quintuplets were victims of the Canadian escapism during the Great Depression, and were exploited by three major groups: state and local businesses, their

The states was more concerned with the publicity and keeping the children alive as a novelty rather than giving them the love only a parent can give. Even when they were taken to the hospital home, their parents were treated as unwanted, infrequent visitors. They were deprived of parental love by the state. The government took the infants and made a hospital called Quintland into entertainment that unseated Niagara Falls as the top tourist attraction in Canada. Quintland was a property enclosed by a seven foot fence and officers patrolled the many buildings, including the nursery, staff and guard houses, playground buildings, and the observational gallery. Furthermore, large parking lots and guests rooms were installed for travellers. In Quintland, the girls personal privacy was exploited. They were put on display three times a day! They could be watched from their playground, nursery and observation gallery. The Quintuplets were seen through one way glass. Three thousand to six thousand people came daily to view the girls, coming as early as six o’clock, regardless of the fact that the first viewing started at 9:30 am. Viewers came in groups of a hundred at a time. When interviewed later, one of