Peg-Leg Cassidy Character Analysis in Out of This Furnace

Dobie and Julie’s one-legged, grumpy Irish neighbor and the patriarch of the large Cassidy family. Despite the historical animosity between Slovaks and Irish in Braddock, Peg-Leg becomes good friends with Kracha. The two men have a friendly rivalry over their respective gardens, and Kracha amuses himself by observing the antics of Peg-Legs two ever-quarrelling daughters.

Peg-Leg Cassidy Character Timeline in Out of This Furnace

The timeline below shows where the character Peg-Leg Cassidy appears in Out of This Furnace. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The American Dream vs. Reality Theme Icon

...as Kracha pumps water for his hillside garden while arguing with their Irish neighbor, Old Peg-Leg Cassidy. (full context)

Industrialization and Destruction Theme Icon

...the side thanks to a collapsed mine from the previous century. Yet Dobie’s neighbor, Old Peg-Leg Cassidy, claims he can remember “when the hill was lovely with trees, when there was... (full context)

Immigration and American Identity Theme Icon

...the hillside, he sees his neighbors, the noisy Cassidy clan, led by the cantankerous patriarch, Peg-Leg, who is named after the peg that replaced a leg he lost in the steel... (full context)

...life, Kracha largely keeps to himself. He spends his days “contemplating his garden's superiority to Peg-Leg Cassidy's miserable patch of clay and weeds,” yelling at his hens for not laying enough... (full context)

...Kracha “pitied Dobie for having been at work and missing that.” He evens befriends Old Peg-Leg, despite his long antipathy for the Irish. Julie lets him own chickens and a dog... (full context)

...one of the Cassidy children runs up to tell them that something has happened. Old Peg-Leg has discovered Kracha “sprawled out on the kitchen doorstep, half in the house and half... (full context)

...of a “dull thump” somewhere inside or outside of the house. She at first suspects Peg-Leg Cassidy, but it is too late at night and the sound is too slow. They... (full context)

...Dobie stares at his grandfather, as he has never witnessed anyone die before. Dobie tells Peg-Leg that his friend has passed. (full context)