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Part 4, Chapter 9
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
That fall, work in the steel mill picks up and stays steady through the winter. By springtime, Dobie has earned enough for him and Julie to pay off their furniture. Julie has long wanted a washing machine, but she worries about going back into debt if they purchase one. “Don't back down on me now,” Dobie tells her, “just when I was figuring I wouldn't have to rinse clothes or crank that damn wringer any more.” He convinces her to at least look at washing machines with him. They end up buying a washing machine before going to the drugstore for sodas.
Mike and Mary once viewed a house with its appliances and furnishings as a tangible representation of the American Dream. Dobie and Julie follow the earlier couple’s example by purchasing a washing machine. Having the opportunity to own the items that signify domestic success places steelworkers’ families in the same plane of existence, if not the same income level, of wealthy “Americans” like the Dexters. Thus, the ability to purchase the fruits of American industry helps solidify American identity for groups like Slovaks, who have been historically denied access to such an identity.
Themes
Julie and Dobie run into Hagerty and Julie is amazed that he is able to take care of ten children. They discuss the washing machine purchase further, settling on the fact that it will save them from purchasing more clothes and thus will be worth the debt. Julie talks about the other appliances they would like to own, including a refrigerator, a vacuum, and a sewing machine. “We'll get them,” Dobie assures her, “it just takes time. Look at what we've managed to get already and we ain't married two years yet. Nice furniture, a radio, and now a washing machine. I think we're doing pretty good.” They fantasize about their ultimate goal of owning a house with a car and a front yard. They also want children. Julie claims she would like the first to be a girl.
Although they are very much working-class, Dobie and Julie embrace decidedly middle-ideas about the American Dream that involve purchasing luxury items and owning a home. In this respect, Dobie’s generation believes that achieving the American Dream means differentiating themselves from the previous generation of Slovaks who rented rooms, owned little furniture and appliances, and did not make enough money to own their own homes, let alone cars. Whereas older immigrants like Kracha saw the American Dream as the chance to have a job, Dobie’s generation sees the American Dream as the chance to have a job that pays enough to buy the material things that signify Americanness.
Themes
When Julie and Dobie arrive back home, 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 out.” He suffered a small stroke but has since awoken and insists that he does not need to see a doctor. He explains that he collapsed at the door after feeling as though he had been hit in the head. His left side is partially paralyzed, but he feels fine. He asks for whiskey, but Dobie explains that there is none in the house. The next day, some stiffness notwithstanding, Kracha is feeling just fine. The stroke does slow Kracha down a bit, though the stiffness departs after a week or two. He spends the warmer days sitting in the sun with his dog at his feet.
This passage marks the first moment in the novel that indicates that Kracha’s health is finally declining. It is significant that this decline does not begin until he has settled with Julie And Dobie. The fact that Kracha’s stroke happens around the same time that Dobie is fighting for the union’s recognition, but has not yet achieved his goal, suggests that the struggles of the old generation are about to fall and the new generation will soon reap the rewards.
Themes
