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Part 1, Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Out of This Furnace, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Immigration and American Identity
Industrialization and Destruction
The American Dream vs. Reality
Women’s Work
Capital vs. Labor
Summary
Analysis
When Kracha arrives in New York, he bids farewell to Zuska and John at the immigration port, but he does not tell them that, because he cannot afford a train ticket, he must get to Pennsylvania “by the tedious process of putting one foot before the other.” Kracha has Zuska’s sister’s Pittsburgh address and vows to keep in touch with the Mihulas. He begins walking towards the town of White Haven, Pennsylvania. Taking direction from police officers, Kracha walks into New Jersey and finds himself traversing the countryside by dark. He sleeps in a haystack overnight and resumes walking in the morning. He avoids towns in favor of farmland and takes shelter in old barns to avoid the elements. When he runs out of food, he relies on handouts from strangers.
This is the first, but not the last, time that Kracha’s weakness for short-term gratification costs him both monetarily and physically, as his careless spending means he’s forced to undertake the long walk to Pennsylvania. Nonetheless, his resolute qualities also shine through in his determination to make such a journey. Throughout the novel, Kracha’s foolishness and his resoluteness often work in tandem in this way. Here, Bell also introduces the theme of the myth of the American Dream vs. reality. America purports to be a land of opportunity, but, as Kracha’s immediate hardships demonstrate, that opportunity comes with much suffering.
Themes
After a week of walking, Kracha arrives in a town and learns from a Swedish lumberjack that it is indeed White Haven. He follows the railroad tracks until he arrives at a shanty to the sounds of chopping wood. Kracha is overjoyed when he meets a man whose language is “understandably Slovak,” but with a noticeable Rusnak accent. The man’s name is Joe Dubik. He is a Greek-Catholic Slovak who tells Kracha that Kracha’s brother-in-law, Andrej Sedlar, is the person chopping wood. Dubik takes Kracha to the cook shack, where he reunites with Andrej and his wife, Kracha’s sister Francka.
This is the first indication of how important it is for Slovak immigrants to maintain their ethnic ties and traditions in America. Hearing Dubik speak Slovak provides Kracha with a sense of belonging in an otherwise alien landscape. The first meeting between Kracha and Dubik is also the beginning of a close friendship that will have significant ramifications throughout Kracha’s life.
Themes
