Out of this Furnace
The book Out of This Furnace by Thomas Bell expresses a story of the triumph of man over his place in society. It illustrates this point through the story of George Kracha and his offspring and their struggle to adjust to the world they had arrived in. Their new home was an unforgiving place. It was filled with ignorant people who were not tolerant of the new peoples coming to share their homeland. Thomas Bell, author of Out of This Furnace, grew up in the steel mill town of Braddock, Pennsylvania. He drew on many personal experiences to create a full picture of the environment in which the story takes place. This fictional portrayal of the steel mills is based on the true history of steel production over three generations beginning in 1881. Bell illustrates the lives of the steel workers and the conditions under which they live and work.Firstly, the living conditions in these mill towns were appalling for the steel workers. They lived their lives working as hard as they could, for someone else. In those days, as well as in these days, the very system of work and money was geared to keep lower class down and keep higher class up. This is called capitalism; the method of governing that allows unlimited accumulation of w
Bell's fictional representation of the lack of support from city and state officials of the union is a way of reflecting true historical aspects of the difficulty of organizing successful unions. Because of this premier principal of capitalism, it is possible to state that this system of government ifs faulty. Yet if he were to look closely at the system under which the steel of the Brooklyn Bridge was produced he might have realized that in actuality the bridge did not represent democracy. To them it really reflected little if not none of their concerns and problems. Bell makes it apparent that the mill supervisor is not interested in helping the representatives. Yet through the examination of Thomas Bell's representation of the steel mills, and Paul Krauss's historical accounts of class separation, we see that the production of steel in the mills was not done under a truly democratic system. In fact, this is a horrible way to govern the masses. When in fact, the very idea of capitalism is what draws the separation of the classes. Because even though the story was written a bout a specific era of our country's past, it still relates today. In 1883, Abraham Hewitt sees the bridge as a democratic symbol because he is on the receiving end of the hard working laborer. This was the way that the capitalist system kept the classes distinct and separate. It shows that, though the government is often un-confront-able, it is possible for people to rise up out of the position which life and society dictates for them. We also learn that when people say democracy, often they mean capitalism. So while the upper class accumulates wealth and possessions, the lower classes just stay in the same spot, always fighting with all their might just to stay above the water.
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Acceptance Essays
