Author Laurie Halse Anderson evokes an eerie and unsettling vibe for both the reader and the girls in this section from Forge. The author employed revealing nuances like word choice and characterization to assist and establish this particular mood in this section. Anderson uses vivid details, such as "legs quivering, head pounding, heart leaping" (para. 9). The syllable of the syllable. The reader can better grasp the creepy atmosphere and the girls' fear by reading this quote, which also illustrates how the girls are responding to their current circumstances.…
Women were overworked, considered “lowest antebellum worker” and segregated based on gender(Stansell 105). Not only did this work segregate and exploit these women, the outside work system, in particular, reinforced women's reliance on their family as a result of the low wages and forms of labor they did. The system of working individually in their homes made it hard to combat unfair treatment from employers, as they could not come together and unite(Stansell 116). Later when factory work became more popular, inside work, especially those that lacked heavy machinery, women began to experience some freedom(Stansell 120). In this piece, we see an economy run by mass production of textile related…
“Life in the Iron Mills” by Rebecca Harding Davis is a story that provokes feminism as defined by Lerner within its characters. It is easiest to see this correspondence when you break Lerner’s definition down into its integral points. Namely, “the awareness of women that they belong to a subordinate group”, one that is deemed so by society, that women “must join with other women to remedy these wrongs”, and, finally, that women should “provide an alternate vision of societal organization” that better reflects gender equality (Lerner). Davis’s characters go through a period of awakening where they begin to reflect all of these hallmarks of feminist consciousness.…
In antebellum America, radical change metamorphosed the nation towards equality in both class and race. Despite these formations, fire began to float from city to city burning the underprivileged as only those with money and power were left unscathed. Working class people were focused on living day-to-day, rather than saving for a day scattered of flames pouring from the skies. Lofting safely in a small town—more than likely, Wheeling, Virginia—Rebecca Harding Davis writes a depressing, eye-opening novella centering around the life of poor workers slaving away to keep their bosses happy and rich titled, Life in the Iron Mills.…
As depicted by Green’s Blacksmith at the Forge (1855) and Menzel’s The Iron Rolling Mill (1875), how did the process of industrialization alter people’s relationships to their work/occupation?…
In present day, society has developed the common misconception that in order for people to be happy and attain a high quality of life, they must undergo many hardships, as demonstrated by the ‘American Dream.’ In the short story, “Dead Man’s Pockets” by Jack Finney, Tom Benecke believes in this misconception; and in order to achieve this false idea of happiness, he works countless hours to change his life without appreciating the good that was already present—in other words, his family. Such struggles are paralleled when Tom Benecke encounters yet another hardship and fortuitously traps himself outside of his apartment window in an attempt to catch a sheet of work-related notes. In comparison, however, the situation allows Tom to reflect upon his past decisions. While both the ledge and Tom’s work represent obstacles that he must surpass, his responses to these situations differ greatly. Tom’s response to long work hours is based on his ambitions where his goal is to work harder in order to bring his family riches. In the other setting, Tom’s response to his isolation on the window ledge is that of reflection—a response that Tom never had towards his work. Ultimately, Jack Finney presents the idea that under dire circumstances, people will reflect differently upon past decisions from which they may regret.…
The life of Andrew Carnegie is a good example of a real "rags to riches" story. He was born to a poor Scottish family that immigrated to the United States. Later, Carnegie became a powerful businessman and a leading force in the American steel industry. Now, he is remembered as an industrialist, millionaire, and philanthropist. With Carnegie's creed that the wealthy population had an unwritten obligation to give back to society, much of his fortune was donated to causes concerning peace and education.…
"Life in The Iron Mills" is a short story set in the beginning of the industrial revolution where the protagonist, Hugh Wolfe and his cousin, Deborah Wolfe live in poverty. Hugh works long hours in the iron mills turning pig iron into wrought iron by puddling. In his off hours from the furnace Hugh chips away at blocks of korl which is a delicate waxen of flesh colored tinge. He sculpts strangely beautiful figures. One figure is a statue of a woman that is noticed by some conventional visitors at the iron mill that don't really respect his art. Hugh knows he's talented and realizes that there could be an improved life for him. One of the men, Doctor May, raises his hopes, but offers no tangible aid. Thus, Hugh eventually takes problems into his own hands-literally. Deborah is a hunchback that works as a cotton picker. She loves her cousin incredibly and wishes to free him from his slaving life in the iron mills. Deborah also notices her cousins artistic talent and desperately desires a better life for him, perhaps as an artist, which ironically leads to the despair and yet worsened hardship. She ends up stealing a wallet for Hugh and they end up paying for it for it for nineteen years. The iron that once had a restrain on him back at the iron mills now restrains him in a cell. Only now he can't carve those beautiful sculptures he once took for granted, all that is left to carve is the jail bars with a piece of tin in hope to free himself but again from another misfortune. Greed drove them to what seemed like the worse life into overall a worse life lacking the only things they ever loved and appreciated in the first…
Moreover, Freeland explained that the issue of income inequality is “the fruitful source of our political troubles and of our social broils. ”4 At this time in American history, the number of people employed in factory jobs had increased significantly; however, the rise of industrialization brought negative consequences for the poor, working class people who filled these positions. The average factory worker put in an incredible number of hours; in his “Address to the Workingmen of New England”, Seth Luther recalled that there were employers who would not hire “ten hour men” or men who refused to work more than ten hours in a day.5 Furthermore, Luther recalled that the workers were plagued by continuous labor, poor nutrition, and mental and intellectual degradation. Despite the amount of labor these people put in everyday, they were not adequately rewarded.…
There are various accounts in the world in which the setting or time period plays an infinite roll, but in Harriet Jacobs, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, and Rebecca Davis’s “Life in the Iron Mills”, the characters make all the difference. From the amazing role of Hugh Wolfe, to the vital words from Harriet Jacobs, we will explore how these stories have shaped our past, present, and future. Most people have experienced challenges in life that cause them to either act or suppress those times as if they did not happen. In Harriet Jacobs’ case, she chose to take her experiences and place them at the core of her existence, in order to press for change. On the other hand, Rebecca Davis was able to illustrate the distinct differences between upper class and lower class lifestyles.…
The culture of New England in the 1830’s and 1840’s expected young girls and women to be submissive, moral, and domestic. The factory girls families weren’t too happy with their daughters working outside the home. The industrialists had to convince the public that textile mills were appropriate places for young girls to work. Working at the textile mills provided young women with financial independence that they wouldn’t get staying at home and working on the farm. This idea of financial independence really challenged the role of women in society prior to this time. The girls no longer had to rely on their father’s income for support and this didn’t sit well with the daddies. Working in the mills also provided the girls with more opportunities to extend their education and learning. Often, these working girls would become more educated than their mothers and grandmothers.…
The American Dream: one of the most prevalent themes found in literary works of the Modern and Postmodern era. This phenomenon defines itself as the idea that any American is capable of achieving success, riches, and happiness through hard work alone. However, people who spend too much time and energy striving for wealth sacrifice their health and happiness, thus creating the American Nightmare. We all know someone, friend or relative, who works to the point of utter exhaustion in order to afford the big house and fancy cars. In fact, there is a piece of highly acclaimed literary work that illustrates this exact archetype: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The main character of the play, Willy Loman, represents that friend or relative we all know. He works his life away in an attempt to achieve the seemingly intangible American Dream, only to end his life living in the American Nightmare. As Willy becomes older, his formerly successful career begins to falter and his mental health begins diminishing due to years of mental and physical exhaustion catching up with him.…
Money is the want for most of the characters in the book; most of the characters talk about money a lot. Nick in the quote, “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice…haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had,” (Fitzgerald 3) is talking about if you are not begging anyone for money, it would be easier to be…
The book, Bread and Roses by Watson gives an account of the 1912 textile workers, the strike of the workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. This is an excellent piece of work that captures the labor history of America that many people seem to ignore. It gives an account of the plight of workers in the textiles. It shows a hard working group of masses who are ready to do whatever it takes to live better lives; to make sure they are economically stable and get whatever they want. This is all in the pursuit of the American Dream. However, the Watson shows the results of such expectations in the American Dream which are humiliating at some point. The workers in the mills are frustrated by the twist of events in the work place. Some are not willing to work and go on strike. The people’s ambitions and high expectations are met…
To other people around the world, everyday life of Americans may seem luxurious. Americans wake up, go to their jobs, go home to their families, and then go to bed. Americans tend to complain about how hard life is, however, some Americans have reason to gripe because they are facing extreme financial issues and even homelessness due to today’s depressed economy. This still does not compare to the life of the everyday “French Worker”. During the late 1700s through 1860s, people of lower class had difficult living conditions and had to fight for survival. Mark Traugott vividly depicts the life of the French lower class and the French worker in his The French Worker: Autobiographies From The Early Industrial Era. In his book, the difficult situations of life, including struggles within the family and the constant moving around, are detailed through the stories of seven French workers.…