Out Of This Furnace: The American Dream Flawed or Not

America during the 1850s moving towards the end of the Gilded Age was going through a phase where developments, jobs, and industrialization of cities played a key role toward modernizing America. The development of the transcontinental railroads generated job opportunities for immigrants seeking to achieve the American dream. Along with a new wave of immigrants coming to America, westward expansion became an important point in time as the gold rush impacted immigrants to come to America claiming wealth and territory. Despite these advances, immigration and expansion were also the source of the problem. Businesses became too powerful and corrupt that it resulted in the establishment of political machines. Immigrants, living a normal life in America, were treated no better as they dealt with the cruel reality that they will not be able to move forward to achieve the American Dream. Kracha, a character in Thomas Bell’s Out of this Furnace, saw that social mobility was difficult to achieve because of the poor working conditions, establishment of political machines, and this false reality of the American dream that prevented immigrants from living out their lives in America.

Americans were desperate to find workers for various projects. As America became more developed in the 1850s, immigrants came to America to find jobs such as being labors in steel mills and other projects to make ends meet for their families. The working conditions and the long hours were difficult to manage because of how businesses never took considerations about workers’ safety and exhaustion. Bell’s Out of this Furnace explains how Kracha’s family experience working in the steel mills and the challenges the family deals with on a daily basis. “They do that here too. But at least you have your Sundays off. Here the work never stops. The furnaces are going day and night, seven days a week, all year round” (32). The work done by Kracha was very dangerous without any safety regulations to where workers have to do non-stop labor-inducing work. The working conditions were demanding towards the workers that they became fed up and worried about their safety which is why there were many deaths in the workplace. This captures the idea that workers despite their hard work and effort to support their families they did not feel safe in an environment where their life was on the line. As a result, worker unions strikes were created as a way for workers to protest for better working conditions and high pay. “If Frick doesn’t give them what they want there will be a strike. It will be 1889 all over again” (39). This is in reference to an event in history called the Homestead Strike in 1892, which addressees the problem about the working conditions of the workers but also wages cuts. Kracha point toward the strike implies that there was an imbalance of power between workers and the higher up. There were union labors helping workers to get some answers, but businesses wanted to break up these union labors to keep workers in check. This resulted in a huge dispute with workers demanding better wages and improvement on the working conditions. The imbalance of power represents why social mobility was impossible for these immigrants. Those in power were too focus on their greed that they did not see the core root of the problem which was the abuse and working conditions these workers risk their lives for to support their families.

The emergence of political machines, a group of powerful people that have control over businesses, created the American dream to be unachievable for these immigrants. These political machines created problems that bribe people to vote for their representative parties established by major businesses or risk losing their jobs. Kracha’s does not put his trust on any politician because of how political machine and businesses restricted immigrants to vote for a certain party taking away the workers freedom of choice. “…don’t think they’re going to let you interfere every few years with your miserable vote. Get that into your head. Your vote mean nothing. The company always wins.” (67). Kracha’s point about political machine suggested that immigrants did not trust those in power because of the amount of control these political machines have with these businesses. Workers voting in the elections at work did not have any meaning because of how companies wanted workers to vote for their specific party restricting their choice or their paychecks would be cut. These elections and campaigns were the key to how political machines were make a lot of money by being authoritative to the workers in exchange for vote for their representative parties. “Flinger of pebbles against a fortress, his impunity was the measure of his impotence” (190). Mike, Kracha’s son-in-law, wanted to vote against the businesses party for a different party because of how he did not believe that current party is going to make any changes to improve in the workplace. Mike put himself at risk with his job and paycheck to prove a point about his rights to make decision and voted for a different party. Political machines were criticized because rather than promoting themselves as the best candidates these wanted to gain wealth for their own benefit. People’s involvement in political machines resulted uneven distribution of wealth but also took away the workers freedom to speak out against these unethical practices which prevented them from achieving the American dream.

The naivete of people chasing the American dream resulted in this false intuition that made people assume that coming to America would be the easy way out of poverty. Most immigrants came from parts of Europe and Asia were seeking anything to support their families and to give their children an opportunity for a better life. Immigrants assume that coming to America would be the easy way out of poverty, but it was the opposite. “I feel restless. I want things I can’t have-a house with a front porch and a garden instead of this dirty alley-a good job-more money in my pocket-more time for myself” (148). The development from Kracha’s family had been filled with hardship from immigrating to America to life at work barely making any money. Before his death, Mike mentioned how he wanted to live a life that immigrants were seeking which was wealth, prosperity and easy life for their families. The reality of the American dream was nothing more than an obstacle of hardships that keeps moving from one person to the next. “Johnny, like the majority of workers, believe the changes had been ordered by the government, by Frank told him that was exactly what the company wanted him to think” (239). Johnny, Mary’s son, was working in the steel mill to earn money to help support his family after Mike passed away in a tragic accident. Even with the entire family working, the family still a struggled to make enough money to support the family. The false intuition of the American dream was created to be a road of hope that looks attractive and achievable. In reality, the American dream became a trap for immigrants where people using their powers of position to lure immigrants to a path that they cannot get out of. The false intuition of the American dream represent how life in general for the immigrants will have many obstacles. No matter how hard they work to achieve wealth, it will be unreachable because of their class status.

Kracha’s points about the corrupt business, working conditions, and the naivete of people chasing the American dream was an important aspect that showed what immigrant has to go through in order to live a normal life. The quote, “What we save in good times we have to spend to keep alive in bad, Where can we get at this rate? Nowhere. The poorhouse” (60) refers to how Kracha and his family are unable to move forward to achieve the American dream. There were many factors that prevented immigrants from moving up the class. Around 1850s when immigrants took job opportunities, there was tension between these immigrants and the American about how these immigrants were taking over their jobs and robbing their wealth. Kracha’s point about the American dream being unachievable proved that the American dream became flawed leaving behind a legacy that will create more problems moving toward the 1900s.

Reference

1. Bell, Thomas. Out of This Furnace. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1941.