In the novel Out of This Furnace, by Thomas Bell the lives of three generations of Slovak immigrants are expressed. The story starts out with the journey of George Kracha who not only deals with the struggle of getting to America, but also with the daily struggles of living in American. In this novel the lives of three men are expressed through their daily lives at work, with politics, and with family. George Kracha came to America in 1881 leaving his family behind. He was funded off of borrowed money that his brother in law had sent for him. Kracha was to take a ship and, once on the ship, take a train to hard-coal country in Pennsylvania. While Kracha was on the ship, he met Zuska and spent all but 55 cents of his money on her, and her party. Kracha had to face his first hardship in America and travel to hard-coal country by foot. His journey lasted nine days. Kracha had to ask policemen for directions and beg for food. Once Kracha …show more content…
arrived, he stayed in the boards and became real close; to one man in particular, Dubik. Dubik and Kracha, both 21 years old at this time worked in factories. Kracha’s wife came over after giving birth to their first child, a boy who then died of illness. They then had three girls: Mary, Alice, and Anna. Kracha’s main job was to repair what was already built on the railroad. Kracha’s family moved around a lot during this time chasing the company. Over time Kracha wanted to move to Homestead. In Homestead, it only took Kracha two days to get a job in the steel factory. Mike Dobrejcak was the eldest son of a carpenter who was coming to America trying to escape having to serve military duties. Dorta, Dubiks wife took him in as a motherly figure. Mikes journey had took about three weeks to arrive in Homestead (Bell). Mike had worked in the first class kitchen on the ship coming to America and made ten dollars. Both of these mean Krasha and Mike came to seek a better life than what they left . The “Homestead Strike” had not begun as a strike but as a lock down.
It was workers stopping the work not the companies. There was no violence in this strike until July 6th this is when the company’s powerhouse whistle finally blew. Kracha had been awoken by this just like many others. Kracha continued to sleep. By the time he woke again the war was several hours old; at this time when he went and investigated. There was news that dozens had been killed and wounded (Bell). Andrej, then returned with the news that the war had ended. By this time ten men were dead, seven of them were steelworkers and sixty had been wounded (Bell). The union leaders had been arrested and charged. The men were notified that they had ten days to return to work. All the tenants of company houses that were not returning to work were given eviction notices. Over time Homestead mills went back into production. After the strike Kracha and his family moved to Braddock. His work changed once again, he still worked in factory but this time he produced raw
ore.
At the negotiations, AA leaders requested a wage increase. Frick countered with a proposal for a significant decrease and threatened to stop recognizing the union if it did not agree to the new terms, as Carnegie had authorized him to do. On June 29, 1892, the day before the end of the current contract, Frick locked out the Homestead workers. In protest, AA began a major organized strike, preventing the steel works from hiring replacement laborers and reopening. Carnegie and Frick requested assistance from local authorities, but they were ineffective in dispersing the
Out of This Furnace tells a impressive story of a multigenerational family of Slovakian immigrants who comes to the United States in search of a better life in the New World. The patriarch of the Slovak family was Djuro Kracha, who arrived in the New World in the mid-1880s from the "old country." The story tells of his voyage, his work on the railroad to earn enough money to afford the walk to the steel mills of Pennsylvania, his rejection by the larger mainstream community as a "hunkey," and the lives of his daughter and grandson. As the members of this family become more generally acculturated and even Americanized, they come to resent the cruel treatment and the discrimination they suffer.
During the Colorado Coal Strike from 1913 to 1914, one of the largest losses of life was the Ludlow Massacre, or sometimes referred to as the Battle of Ludlow, on April 20, 1914. Colorado was the epicenter for mine-related violence in the West. From 1913 to 1918, the United Mine Workers of America launched a full-scale unionization campaign by sending forty-two organizers to the Trinidad coal mine located in Ludlow, Colorado. Ludlow was the largest tent colony in Colorado and a major source of tension during the Colorado Coal Strike. Strikers were asking for better wages and pay for “dead work” (unpaid work necessary for maintaining workable conditions), an eight-hour workday, the right to elect their own checkweighmen, the right to choose what resources they buy and use, and the enforcement of the Colorado Mining Laws.
The Depression hit the steel industry with a blowing force massively cutting hours and wages and the silence echoed through the mills with massive layoffs leaving them empty for months at a time. Entering the mill was like walking through a “deserted city” and “Leaving them was like coming out of a tomb.” (p.269). With the blame being placed on the rich and powerful because of the outspoken way they were handling the devastating hit to the mills, the worker became very upset sparking the movement for a union.
Thomas Bell, author of Out of This Furnace, grew up in the steel mill town of Braddock, Pennsylvania. His novel reflects the hardships faced by his family during the time when the mills ruled the area. The book also focuses upon the life of immigrant workers struggling to survive in the "new country." All events in Bell's novel are fictional, however, they create a very realistic plot and are based somewhat upon a true story. In this novel, Bell refutes capitalistic ideals and the lack of a republican form of government by showing the struggles and success of immigrant steelworkers.
For thousands of years people have left their home country in search of a land of milk and honey. Immigrants today still equate the country they are immigrating to with the Promised Land or the land of milk and honey. While many times this Promised Land dream comes true, other times the reality is much different than the dream. Immigration is not always a perfect journey. There are many reasons why families immigrate and there are perception differences about immigration and the New World that create difficulties and often separate generations in the immigrating family. Anzia Yezierska creates an immigration story based on a Jewish family that is less than ideal. Yezierska’s text is a powerful example of the turmoil that is created in the family as a result of the conflict between the Old World and the New World.
In a country full of inequities and discriminations, numerous books were written to depict our unjust societies. One of the many books is an autobiography by Richard Wright. In Black Boy, Wright shares these many life-changing experiences he faced, which include the discovery of racism at a young age, the fights he put up against discriminations and hunger, and finally his decision of moving Northward to a purported better society. Through these experiences which eventually led him to success, Wright tells his readers the cause and effect of racism, and hunger. In a way, the novel The Tortilla Curtain by T.C Boyle illustrates similar experiences. In this book, the lives of two wealthy American citizens and two illegal immigrants collided. Delaney and Kyra were whites living in a pleasurable home, with the constant worry that Mexicans would disturb their peaceful, gated community. Candido and America, on the other hand, came to America to seek job opportunities and a home but ended up camping at a canyon, struggling even for cheapest form of life. They were prevented from any kind of opportunities because they were Mexicans. The differences between the skin colors of these two couples created the hugest gap between the two races. Despite the difficulties American and Candido went through, they never reached success like Wright did. However, something which links these two illegal immigrants and this African American together is their determination to strive for food and a better future. For discouraged minorities struggling in a society plagued with racism, their will to escape poverty often becomes their only motivation to survive, but can also acts as the push they need toward success.
... were left unprotected and abandoned by the unions. How is it that the unions can demand labors lose months of wages, be subject to labor blacklisting and ultimately sacrifice their lives without any protections for the strikers and still claim success? They can’t. If anything, the Pinkertons who dispersed the crowd did more to help the worker, by reopening the Homestead, than the union had done. Thus, the unions were an utter failure in furthering the position of the laborer, as the laborer was better off before hand. Before unions the laborer had their life, as many died in failed strikes, and their dignity, as society at least held an intrinsic value in their lives. However, unions succeeded in decimating any chance of advancement by tarnishing the reputations of all laborers, leading to a direct decline in the socio-economic position of the blue-collar worker.
Moving from the unpleasant life in the old country to America is a glorious moment for an immigrant family that is highlighted and told by many personal accounts over the course of history. Many people write about the long boat ride, seeing The Statue of Liberty and the “golden” lined streets of New York City and how it brought them hope and comfort that they too could be successful in American and make it their home. Few authors tend to highlight the social and political developments that they encountered in the new world and how it affected people’s identity and the community that they lived in. Authors from the literature that we read in class highlight these developments in the world around them, more particularly the struggles of assimilating
against their employers, employees were able to go on strike and prove a point. Some
The unions resorted to many forms of tactics such as boycotts, picketing, and the less prominent “closed shop”. The most prevalent of these methods, however, was the formation of riots. During the late 19th century riots included: the Haymarket Square Riots (1886), the Homestead Lockout, and the Pullman Car Company strike. The Haymarket Square Riots of 1886 took place at the McCormick plant in Chicago, Illinois in response to the worker’s need for an eight hour workday. The first two days were innate, but the third day was where the the situation actually instigated the cause. The owner of the plant, McCormick, attempted to bring strikebreakers (scabs), and a battle had begun between the scabs and the strikers. The riot, wistfully, ended the lives of four men when the police began to attempt to impede and halter the situation. These four deaths initiated a chain reaction resulting in the calling for the revenge of the four men by German radical Johann Most. Despite Johann’s reaction, 200 more Chicago policemen ordered the remaining strikers to leave the area. In the crowd, in the moment, a homemade bomb was hurled leading in the death of one policeman; acting as a predecessor of events, this event lead to a shooting between the policemen and the strikers concluding with the death of four workers and seven more policemen; entirely approximately one hundred people were injured. The Haymarket Riots caused public opinion to turn against labor. The Homestead Lockout took place in Homestead, Pennsylvania at Andrew Carnegie’s steel plant and was instigated by Henry Clay Frick’s wage cut. In this riot workers walked out of the company and then Frick ordered company doors to be locked and trapped the workers inside. Employees rebelled and caused about 200 Pinkerton detectives to come up the river to protect company property and created a battle.
In the book, The Children’s Blizzard, David Laskin wrote the stories of immigrant families from Europe who, after coming to the United States with high hopes, experienced a heartbreaking blizzard in January 1888. The immigrants had staked their future on the land and instead of rewarding them for their commitment, the land brought them heartbreak. The blizzard led to different outcomes for different families, but the outcome largely included loss.
The Coal Strike of 1902 occurred as a result of many problems that were faced by miners. At the time of the coal strike there were 150,000 miners working in the mines (Grossman) Due to the depression of 1893, miners had their wages cut and were living in poverty (Grossman). Many miners were dissatisfied and looked to the United Mine Workers for support in raising their standard of living. This proved difficult since employers refused to recognize labor unions for fear of giving them significant control over the industry. In most instances of employee demands before 1902, employers would use government troops or hire immigrants to take the jobs of the strikers (David Kennedy).
In “Barn Burning” the setting is a time when people drove horse wagons and the workingmen were generally farmers. The major character in this story is Colonel Sartoris Snopes, called “Sarty” by his family who is a ten-year-old boy. In the beginning, Sarty is portrayed as a confused and frightened young boy. He is in despair over the burden of doing the right thing or sticking by his family, as his father states,” You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you.”
The society in the story must be altered so their culture can survive with its people like Lillian, who symbolically talks about herself to John;“The furnace may have some wear and tear, but the fire still burns hot.’ Her breath was now growing wheezy. ‘I bet you say that to all the old dying women” (Taylor 53). This represents that John is leaving his Indigenous Peoples’ ways for a more modern approach as Lillian passes on. She was vital to their way of life in the story. The furnace is a metaphor for Indigenous Peoples that suffered under the government due to the fact that Indigenous Peoples died in places like residential schools which is a loss in culture. This destruction of the unpreserve history prevents the community to celebrate their way of life therefore it is best to retain the history as soon as possible. Time severely impacts preservation, so it is in the community’s best interest to preserve their culture, so that their culture may