Caroline Paul addresses the main theme of the first half of the book, to be the "sexism" of the San Francisco Fire Department personnel. While she was employed with the San Francisco newspaper, after graduating Stanford university with hopes of acceptance into the media masters program, she wanted to write about the actual issue of the sexist firefighters. It was very tough to get a job with the department if you were a female. There were only a few that were already employed. Paul had heard many rumors about this supposed sexist actions. She wanted to really find out for herself if these rumors were true, and write an article exposing them if they were. If these actions were proved to be true, Caroline would have her hands on an exclusive, factual story. She applied to the SFFD with expectations of not getting any reply. A few days after she applied she was called for an interview. After self training she took the test, and before she knew it she was already in. She was not sure if she really wanted the job or not considering her family paid for a full education. This was she would have left ruined her fathers dreams and the money he had spent on her education would have all been a waste, and as a result she decided to keep it a secret. She was so into the job that she forget about the scam she originally wanted to uncover. Before she knew it she accepted the job, soon to remember the sexist actions she wanted to uncover.
Philosophy
