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Part 1, Chapter 5
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
Francka leads Kracha and his family through the streets of Braddock, and Elena comments on the acrid smoke in the air. Francka tells her the smoke is pollution from the steel mills and that its presence is a good thing. “During the strike there was no smoke. But no money, either,” she says.
In this passage, Bell comments on the dual nature of industrialization. The steel mills are both a creative force and a destructive one. The pollution they create corrodes life by making the air dirty to breath, but the jobs they provide are necessary for life to go on for the thousands of workers that rely on them. Thus, Francka paradoxically views the foul and dangerous smoke from the mills as a good thing, because it means the mills are running. The workers can live with smoke, but they cannot live without jobs.
Themes
As they walk, a drunk taunts them in slurred Slovak by calling them “greenhorns.” Francka leads the Krachas to her home, which only has one room. Rent is high and accommodations are scarce, she explains. The Krachas settle in with Francka until they can find boarding for themselves. The next morning, Andrej comes home after working the long shift in the mill. He eats a large breakfast of steak and coffee, then goes to sleep. The following day, Andrej introduces Kracha to his Irish sub-foreman at the mill. The three men go to a saloon, where Kracha buys the foreman a beer and Andrej pays him three dollars to hire Kracha. “I work hard,” Kracha tells the Irishman in rough English. The Irishman instructs Andrej to bring Kracha to work with him that night. Kracha now has a job in the steel mill.
The drunk’s taunts highlight the social importance of abandoning one’s ethnic roots in America: greenhorns (that is, newly arrived immigrants) stand out. Meanwhile, Kracha continues to benefit from family connections. Francka’s generosity allows Kracha the time to find his lodging for his family, while Andrej’s foreman in the steel mill hires Kracha on Andrej’s recommendation (and his money). Here, Bell also indicates that the saloon is as an important place in the lives of Slovak males. It serves as a social club, a place for conducting business and political activities, and a retreat from the harsh reality of work life.
Themes
