Immigrants During The Gilded Age

Imagine a high school student transferring to another school in the middle of his sophomore year. What would their adjustment be like? All of the sports teams have their rosters set for the year, students have already formed their friend groups, and every class is half way through the curriculum. What would that feel like? What if this new student did not speak the same language as everybody else in the school? What if this new student looks and behaves differently? What if this student believes in a different religion than what most of the other students believe? (anaphora) This is exactly what the experience was like for the people who were immigrating to the United States of America during the Gilded Age - the period from the end of the
Throughout history, immigrants from every country have had difficulties keeping afloat in the rushing river of American society (Metaphor). Whether it be corruption in the workplace, or language barriers and racism, immigrants have struggled to succeed in society and keep their heads above the rapids. During the Gilded Age, the United States’ government had no control of factories. There were no regulations on safety, wages, or who was eligible to work so there was leeway for companies to choose what they wanted, or did not want, to do with their workers. In Charlie LeDuff’s “At a Slaughterhouse, Some Things Never Die,” LeDuff explains how immigrants get, “the dirty jobs at the factory… Where a person might make more than $8 an hour,” (LeDuff). Upton Sinclair puts this into perspective in his novel, The Jungle, where Jurgis’ father Antanas works in, “a ‘pickle room,’ where there was