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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page book review/research paper that examines this novel in order to discern the plight of labor unions in the steel industry from the late nineteenth century through the early twentieth. First published in 1941, Thomas Bell's Out of This Furnace is novel that tells the story of three generations of a Slovak immigrant family. The writer argues that this novel can be read as more than fiction, as it can be seen as an accurate representation of immigrant acculturation to America, as well as an historical account of how labor developed during the decades covered by the novel. No other sources cited.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khbelfur.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
takes place in small mill towns in western Pennsylvania, which is also where the author grew up, according to the afterword by David Pp. Demarest, Jr. In his comments on
the novel, Demarest shows that there are numerous parallels between the novels saga and Bells family history. As this suggests, the novel can be read as more than fiction, as
it can be seen as an accurate representation of immigrant acculturation to America, as well as an historical account of how labor developed during the decades covered by the novel.
The novel begins with George Kracha coming to America in 1881. While the novel tells the story of Krachas family and personal life, from the beginning it also chronicles
the realities of life in the steel mills. Kracha hears of how a man died, "They were tapping the furnace and the iron burst out and splashed all over him...he
died yesterday" (Bell 32). The men try to strike, but Andrew Carnegie, the steel mogul who own the mill, hires Henry C. Frick to crush the union organizers. The
workers comment about how Carnegie will utter "impressive sounds about democracy and workers rights" in his speeches (Bell 39). As this statement suggests, Carnegie was devoted to American principles only
in words, never in deeds. In actuality, Carnegie was totally ruthless in his business practices, coldly treating the workers as if they were no more than indentured servants (Bell 39).
Summarizing this part of the novel, Frick shut down the mill to forestall a strike. Altercations ensued involving Pinkerton men hired by Frick. The situation wound up with ten
men dead, "seven of them steelworkers and sixty wounded" (Bell 42). Soldiers arrived and arrested the union leaders and charged them with murder (Bell 43). At that time, Frick sent
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