Out of This Furnace

The first five chapters establish George Kracha as a strong-willed man who is both stubborn and hardworking. In the first few pages, George both ruminates on securing a better life and spends all his money on trying to impress an already married woman. This contrast between the hard worker and the playboy within him foreshadows his eventual downfall due to the same issues of finances and poor choices that will close out Part 1. The chapters also establish his resolve, as George walks the nine days to White Haven, begging for food and sleeping wherever he can along the way. The concept of providence is also glimpsed in the early chapters as George somehow manages to walk into White Haven without even knowing it.

Though seemingly possessed with steady resolve, George is nonetheless unable to let his friends and family know how he lost his money. He lies to them so that he does not look bad, though he eventually tells Joe Dubik, who quickly becomes his best friend. When George eventually sends for his wife, he seems to be settling in to his role as husband and provider, though matters seem to be strained for the couple from the start. They have lost a son already, which has severely sickened and weakened Elena. When she arrives to America, George sees that she is not the same vivacious woman he left behind. The tension is palpable, and the women in the room must try and help the situation as George is incapable of showing the type of comfort to Elena that might make her feel better in the moment. Her physical appearance, including a goiter, shocks him. His reaction to Elena also foreshadows his later treatment of her when he has an affair with Zuska and justifies it.

George is still a provider, however, and as the couple has three girls over the span of a few years, he does what he can to provide for them. George moves his family around based on the dictates of the railroad company. This action highlights just how much the companies of the time could take advantage of their workers. Above all, George needed his job, and moved several times to ensure he kept it. This is one of the first glimpses into labor problems and the treatment of workers in the novel.

When Joe Dubik leaves for Braddock and the steel mills, George is introduced to additional labor disputes. The mill where Joe works goes through a lockout, and Joe warns Andrej about following for work. Andrej decides to go to Homestead, where the mill is not having issues due to a union contract. George decides to follow Andrej in a years’ time. Though the beginnings of labor issues that will stretch the length of the novel are evidenced at this early point, George is more concerned with the very concrete issue of secure work, regardless of where it is or whether workers are being treated fairly or not.

Francka greets her brother and his family at the train station as Andrej is off working in the mills. Walking to their home, Elena and George note how smoky the air is, and Francka explains that the thick smoke is because of the mills. When they arrive at Francka’s place, they find the houses are uniform and ugly, sharing a bathroom in the center. There is only one room, but Francka explains how rent is high everywhere. They have inquired about a place for George and Elena. They find out as well that Andrej has inquired about a job for George, though it is not certain that he will have one. George intends to move to another mill town if he cannot find any work in Homestead. Though Francka has inquired about a room directly across from her for the Krachas, George does not like the location as it is near the bathroom. Francka tells them they can try and find a place on their own but there are hardly any accommodations anywhere. George eventually agrees to take the room, though he plans on moving when he can.

Andrej arrives home the next morning and explains the job situation to George. Andrej says the job is not certain, but that the bosses are always noncommittal, so it should be no problem in the end. George and Andrej then go with the foreman to a bar and drink. While there, they buy the man’s drinks and slip him three dollars. The foreman then tells Andrej that he can bring George to work and he will see about getting him a job. George also finds out that Joe Dubik has not visited Andrej since he moved from White Haven. When George receives his first paycheck, he and Andrej make the trip to Braddock to visit Dubik. When they arrive, they see Dorta, who has had a child. George notes that she is the same bright woman as before. They finally wake Joe, who is skinnier, and all share whiskey while reminiscing and catching up. Joe relates how the steel mill workers earn more money than when the three worked for the railroad, but they work more hours, at least at the mill in Braddock. Dorta talks about wanting to take in boarders to make more money, while Joe talks about making enough to have a farm and not have to work in the mills. Andrej and George then leave for work back in Homestead.

Dorta and Joe receive word that a man from their old village, Mike Dobrejcak, will be arriving in America and needs a place to stay. This solidifies Dorta’s desire to have boarders, and she rents a house for this purpose. Her boarding house becomes popular and she manages to have several boarders before the house is destroyed by fire around Christmas. George offers to give Joe the little money he has saved, and is relieved when Joe refuses. He says they will soon get back on their feet, and they do when the steel company builds new houses for all the affected families right on top of the old ones. The following summer, Francka buys a house in a rundown place called Munhall Hollow. It is close to Homestead, and she sets about fixing the house up. Later, she is surprised when the doctor confirms that she is pregnant after twelve years. She has a son that the couple name Victor.

The families’ home life is then interrupted by work life when the owner of the mills, Carnegie, hires a partner named Frick who goes about negotiating worker contracts. Frick is known to have broken the union at another mill, and so George and the others assume he will try the same thing in Homestead. One day, the mill is surrounded by a fence to keep workers out. Searchlights are also put up during the entirety of the negotiations. Rumors abound that trouble is brewing, though George does not pay much of it any attention. While the men all talk about the possibility of a strike, George is more afraid of being without a job and not getting paid.

As expected, Frick shuts the mill down before the end of the current contract. This is known as a lockout, not a strike. On July 6, the town awakes to find that Pinkerton guards have arrived to try and force the union’s hand. George himself is awakened by the sounds of sirens coming from the mill, and rumors about a bloody battle and many deaths are being spread about the town. People can hear gunfire, and know something is happening, but George simply goes back to sleep. When he awakens, he finds that he cannot get to the mill and does not want to risk getting injured. There are reports still going around about deaths, so he goes to find Andrej instead.

George finds Francka and is told that Andrej, too, left to see what the trouble is about. When Andrej finally meets up with George, he reveals that the battle is over. The Pinkerton men were arrested, with casualties on both sides, though the workers suffered a greater loss. The guards are arrested and funerals are given for the dead. Though the union is in control for a short while, an army general arrives and arrests the union men, and the workers are then forced to return to work on the terms that the mill has laid out for them. Not too many people accept the terms, and those who do not are evicted from the housing that the company has built. Frick is later shot by an anarchist, though he survives the assault.

Frick writes to Carnegie and boasts that the union has been broken. Though the Homestead mill opens again, George finds a job at the mill in Braddock where Dubik works. George and Elena’s family lives with Dorta and Joe in the couple’s new house, but eventually find housing on the grounds where the old fire took place. Like Dorta, Elena rents additional rooms and begins to take in boarders to supplement George’s income. The harsh environment of the mills is explained in more details. Though George has moved to a new mill, the work in the mills is pretty much the same regardless of the town. The workers must endure two twelve-hour shifts, and they work every single day. The weeks are split between night shift and day shift, meaning that on the Sunday they change to the new shift they must work twenty-four hours straight. George knows firsthand how this type of work leads to short tempers and only fuels the possibility for accidents on the job. The working conditions are already unsafe, but human error is added to it with sleepy, grumpy workers. 

This set of chapters finds George and his family arriving in Homestead with the hope of a better life working for the steel mills. George soon finds that situations in Homestead are just as bleak, with the housing situation being an early indication of how cramped and scarce space is. Though George does not like the location of the room that he and Elena are to take, there is no real answer to the solution as there are hardly any places to rent. George takes the room though he hopes that, in time, he can find a better place to live for his family. His acceptance of this fact shows how immigrants had to accept their fate time and again. George was of a generation that could not question what was offered them. Like George would soon find out of the mills, the power for change was not entirely in his hands.

Shady business practices are also highlighted in this section, beginning with how George obtains his job in the mills. He and Andrej effectively bribe the foreman by buying him drinks and giving him three dollars. Though this act is not a guarantee, it is revealed that this sort of transaction happens all the time. As such, George finds himself complicit with the abuse waged against him. He must accept the way things work because he needs a job more than he needs to think about the fairness of the situation. Likewise, when Frick forces a lockout, George does not allow himself to get swept up in the mania going around town. George simply wants to get paid. Even though Frick is trying to force the union’s hand, George cares about little more than having a job at the end of the day.

When George and Elena move to Braddock, he finds that matters are no better with Joe and Dorta. The couple manages to buy a house and take in boarders, and Elena does so as well after a period. The treatment of workers at the mills, however, is the same. The workers experience slave labor, with horrible working hours and subpar wages. The working conditions highlight how families had to be prudent and resourceful with their spending. Elena and Dorta take in boarders to make extra money, but this means they are also saddled with more work because the extra people they must take care of. All anyone can do is hope that one day, and that somehow, things will change for the better.

One night George and Joe are walking to work and discussing their futures. Joe begins to talk about how he is going to move his family to a better part of town, then the two part. George works at “F furnace” and Joe works at “H furnace.” George begins work and laments how tiring the work is, and how dangerous it is, as the men have been working for so long. It is the most dangerous shift. George is thinking about how they only have a few hours left for the shift when he feels a large jolt and a boom shakes the entire place. It feels like a shift from underground, and the workers look out to find a huge cloud of smoke arising from H furnace, where Joe works. George leaves his post and rushes over to his friend’s worksite. The explosion injured many of the men, and killed others. Joe is injured as well, having been burned badly from an explosion. Though George is told to take him to see a doctor, Dorta arrives and instructs George to take Joe home.

The company doctor arrives to Dorta’s place angry, relating how he was supposed to be taken to the station to be attended to. A wagon arrives and Joe is placed inside and taken to the station with the other injured men. The men are all placed on a train to Pittsburgh, where they will be treated for their injuries. Two days later, Joe dies from his wounds. Though the accident was explained officially as something unavoidable, the workers knew the furnace where Joe worked had problems. For many, the deaths were a result of greed, not happenstance. Dorta and other widows are given $75 for their loss and funerals are held for the victims.

George and Mike Dobrejcak discuss life in the mills several weeks later while sitting in Dorta’s kitchen. George finally recalls his desire to go into business. Dorta remembers how he and Joe would always talk about leaving the mills to start their own businesses. Though George feels embarrassed by Dorta’s reminiscing and sadness, he lets her talk. She finally says she will continue to take in boarders to support her family. George then explains to the two how he wants to buy a butcher shop. He has researched the situation, and understands that, though the shop is being run by a widow, she is not a businesswoman. She also has two men doing the work for her. George has experience butchering animals from his time in Hungary, and knows he can get meat cheaper as well. George feels he can do a better job and turn a profit as well, and has decided to talk to the widow after payday, when she might feel the lack of funds more and be more apt to sell. He eventually buys the business and it becomes a success. Though George comes to realize that there is a lot that he must do to keep the business running smoothly, whenever he hears the mill whistles, he knows that he has made the right choice. He is also careful not to spend too much money. He has bought new furniture for the family, but they still live in their same house. Elena no longer needs to take in boarders, either.

When George and Francka’s mother dies back in Hungary, their sister Borka writes and announces that she will be coming to America. Francka and Borka do not get along, and Francka makes it clear that she does not want to house her sister, not to mention the fact that Francka has recently had another child, Andy. George agrees to house Borka instead. He hopes that Borka can help Elena with the children and the chores, especially since Elena has become more and more withdrawn and sick. Elena’s changing mood is highlighted when Mary finds her mother crying for no apparent reason all the time and George questions her about it.

As a businessman, George must be careful what he does and does not do so as not to upset his customers or the powers that be. When election time comes around, Mike is excited about the candidates, and throws his weight behind Bryan because he believes the man to be for the “little men.” George reminds Mike that he cannot vote as he is not a citizen, though Mike has filled out his papers to become a citizen as he is finally of age. George also tells Mike that the upper class and the politicians in America are like the dukes and emperors of Europe. They make the rules, meaning that none of them are really “little men.”

Like other businessmen in the area, George invests in property he believes will make a good profit later. He uses nearly all his available cash in the hopes that the railroad will buy the lots from him at a higher price. Borka arrives before Christmas, and to George’s delight, puts herself in charge of household duties. George is also strangely delighted one day when a woman enters his butcher shop and reveals herself to be none other than Zuska Mihula. George finds out that her husband has died and that Zuska and her two children now live in Braddock. The two flirt a bit while catching up, and when George fills Zuska’s order, he does not charge her for the meat.

Tragedy soon strikes close to home for George. When Joe Dubik is killed in a mill accident, he loses his best friend and his voice of reason. Joe was always the one to counsel George about matters of marriage and life in general. He and Joe always talked of leaving the mills behind and becoming businessmen, but now Joe has been killed by the anonymous power of the mills. To make matters worse, the explosion could have been avoided, as the mill knew about the furnace’s problem of overheating. As Bell mentions earlier in the novel, America’s education during this time in history was the result of many deaths and disfigurements. These injuries and losses of life were chalked up to growing pains, and families like Dorta’s were paid something for their loss. The larger loss, however, was the cycle of debt, poverty and stress that these events forced families back into. With Joe gone, Dorta barely has time to grieve before she must think how to best ensure her family’s survival. George, too, must think clearly despite grief so as not to harm himself absentmindedly while on the job.

Joe’s death shows how the cycle of poverty and hope had to continue for the immigrant families in the steel mill towns. Hope for a better life was all they had to hold onto at times, especially during times of grief. Joe’s death also helped to push George into action with getting away from the mills. He tells Mike and Dorta that the only way to make it in America is to go into business for oneself. George makes good on this promise by buying a butcher shop and making the small business rather successful. His success highlights the hopes and dreams of immigrants in attempting to ensure security for their future. George notes how hard the work still is, but it beats working in the mills any day, at least for now.

George’s personal life begins to show hints of strain during this section as well. He regarded Joe as a friend and counselor, but Joe is gone now. Moreover, he is relieved to see his sister Borka arrive and take over the task of running his house. Elena has become more withdrawn and sickly, and cries for no apparent reason. Her behavior is tiresome to George, and he wishes she would snap out of her rut. Another instance of foreshadowing happens when he is reacquainted with Zuska in his shop. Though she is older, she is still attractive to George. He fills her order and does not charge her for the meat. He allows himself not to get paid based on his fondness for Zuska, though his business cannot survive based off fondness alone.

Now that Zuska is back in George’s life, he begins thinking about the problems that might arise from having an affair. Unlike other men he knows, George has never cheated on Elena. Not to mention the fact that, since his time with Zuska previously, he has not had the opportunity to cheat. He lives in tight quarters with his friends and family, and there is not a time that he could slip away or engage in an affair without someone knowing. Furthermore, for him to dress up nicely for a mistress would instantly arouse suspicion. Not to mention the fact that there are hardly any eligible women around. The balance between men and women has always been against men. He also notes how women do not stay single for long, such as Dorta, who has remarried three months after Joe’s death to Steve Radilla, a widower.

Though George tells himself that he is happy, and that the roles are now reversed between him and Zuska, he begins to think about her often. She returns to his shop to buy meat, and he says that she will probably be the next woman to be married, though she replies that she is too old. He flirts with her but is interrupted by customers. When Zuska’s sister talks to George, she reveals that she and Zuska are going on a picnic with one of her gentleman boarders. She thinks that Zuska will marry the boarder. Zuska later tells George that she met Borka and his daughters at the picnic, and that she had hoped he would have gone. She then confides that Borka related to her the fact that he had to walk to Pennsylvania all those years ago from New York.

Zuska is very independent, and moves out of her sister’s house in the fall. Borka tells George that Zuska has a bad reputation as a “dark woman.” Also, the rumor is that she was kicked out by her brother-in-law because she was carrying on with the boarders and refused to marry one who wanted to make an honest woman out of her. The next time he meets with Zuska, he teases her, though she explains that it was not her fault. George than asks her if she sleeps naked like everyone says she does. When she admits to it, he tells her that she should not have been sleeping naked with strange men in the house. This, says George, is probably why the boarder tried to get into bed with her. After months of flirting and thinking about the situation, George finally asks Zuska to invite him to her place. She does, though George regrets his decision. He drinks at Wold’s Bar and tries to convince himself not to go to Zuska’s, but ends up going in the end.

George is now carrying on an affair with Zuska and feeling very happy with himself. He does note, however, how difficult it is to see her when she lives in the same quarters as her two sons. He has also begun giving Zuska money, and she moves into a larger place. George tries to keep their affair a secret by visiting her only at night. They are almost caught at one point, and another time one of her sons wakes up and sees them together, though she puts the boy back to bed. Though George tries his best to keep matters secret, the town eventually comes to realize that George and Zuska are more than good friends. The affair is fully known by practically everyone by Thanksgiving, though no one says anything about it yet. When Francka finally confronts George about the affair, however, all hell breaks loose. Elena is sitting in the same room and remains quiet, though Francka and Borka are in the room. Francka derides George for doing something so shameful to his wife who is frail and loves him, while George admits that Zuska gives him what Elena can no longer give him, and remains stubborn in the face of criticism. Elena begins crying, and though George warns Francka, she continues to verbally abuse him. He then slaps Francka, though Borka comes to her aid. George leaves the house and all the women behind, finding solace in drinking at a social club as Wold’s is closed.

George finally visits Zuska again after a time and relates to her what has happened. Zuska says that they can stop seeing each other if the affair is causing him pain, but he refuses to stop and says that the worst is probably over. During the week after Francka accused him, George spends hardly any time at home. One night, however, he is sleeping on the couch when Elena comes and tells him to come to bed. He remains quiet, and she gathers his belongings and says that he needs to get a good night’s rest in his bed. He eventually follows her to their bed.

The hardest aspect of the affair for George is that it affects his business. Many of the reserved wives who bought from him previously, and who bought for large households, have taken their business elsewhere, most notably to his competitor, a Hungarian Jewish butcher named Spetz. George had predicted that Spetz would soon be out of business, but when his affair finally came to light, Spetz’s business prospered. While his business has taken a hit due to the affair, George is also suffering from paying for two households, his and Zuska’s. Moreover, the bank now wants additional money from the principal of his loan on the lots, asking for five hundred dollars. He asks advice from the businessman who suggested he buy in the first place, Joe Perovsky. Joe suggests that he hold on to the lots, but if he wants to, to negotiate with the bank. George does not want anyone to know that he has spent all his extra money buying the lots, and had hoped that the railroad would have bought the lots already, which they never showed an interest in doing. George finally renegotiates with the bank, then puts the lots up for sale that very night, though there is little hope that the lots will be purchased for more than he paid for them. He then goes to Zuska’s that night and tells her all his financial problems.

Amidst his financial problems, George must also deal with the reality that Elena has become gravely ill again. She is confined to bed and can barely move. They send for the doctor, and Borka wonders if they should send for the priest as well. The doctor finally agrees after a while that they should send for the priest. George decides to remain behind with Elena, and when they are alone she suddenly regains her strength and attempts to talk to him about their marital problems. She apologizes for not being healthy or the wife he wants. George tries to quiet her and tells her to rest. He says they can talk about all of it when she is better. Elena, seeing that she is getting nowhere with George, falls back into a stupor, and then dies. George then goes downstairs and tells his daughters that their mother has just died. Elena is buried in a lavish funeral, the likes of which few have seen in the town.

Though George finds himself ruminating about whether he should have an affair, he finds himself drawn to Zuska even after her fifteen-year absence. Though she is older and fatter as he puts it, she is still desirable. Moreover, she has many of the traits that he wishes Elena had. Though he knows it will be difficult to carry out an affair, and even makes an argument against it, he one day finds himself complicit in an affair with Zuska. When the affair is found out, he reasons that it is no one’s business but his own. Francka eventually bursts his unrealistic bubble when she accuses him of the affair right in front of Elena. Francka’s accusation highlights the reality of George’s actions. Before this time, he has been living in his own head with the pros and cons of the affair. Now that it has finally been addressed, and in public, he must face the accusations.

George’s reaction to Francka is indicative of his guilt. He defends himself by saying that Zuska is giving him what Elena cannot. Though he hurts Elena by saying this, George is tired of others’ opinions about his life and business. He stubbornly insists that he is doing nothing wrong, and even hits his sister when she continues to verbally attack him. George’s actions show the unraveling of a man once held in high regard. He has made several foolish decisions, and they are now compounding to bring ruin upon his head. Though George does not see the affair as one of these bad choices, the reader can see that much of his woes began when Zuska came back into his life. He is also stretching his finances thin by supporting Zuska and her family. George is too stubborn, however, to see that the American Dream can be taken away from him just as easily as he seems to have found it.

The compounding problems of losing customers due to the affair and the bank going up on his premium cause George to take heavy losses. Even when Elena reaches out to him and lets him sleep in his own bed again, he does not apologize. Moreover, when Elena is on her deathbed and tries to apologize for not being whom he wanted her to be, George dismisses her apology and tells her to get some rest. This could have been the moment the two made their peace. George, however, and as he later admits, is too ashamed to think of what he has done, and too disconsolate over having lost Elena a long time ago and not wanting her in her frail state to connect with her again. George reveals a large flaw within himself with how he reacts to Elena’s passing, noting that, though he is genuinely sad, he is more relieved than anything at her passing.

Though George gives Elena a grand funeral, he tries to dismiss the conversation they had on her deathbed. He does not know what to think about her apology, and knows that he does not miss her as he should, as a husband should miss his wife. Yet he regrets being so cruel to Elena while she was alive. He even regrets having the affair with Zuska. George finally seeks out a priest to confess his problems to, and feels better immediately after the visit. After a month, he begins the affair with Zuska again.

George’s butcher shop has not bounced back after losing some of his top customers. Moreover, he has spent a lot of his money on Elena’s funeral, and is heavily in debt. One day he finally confesses everything to Zuska. She suggests that he try to sell the lots again, but he tells her it will be at a loss. He ruminates on how he feels like a foreigner, and that he has no idea how to make things right. He knows there is a way to improve matters, he just does not know what he needs to do. Zuska then reveals that she is pregnant with his child, which shocks George at the timing of it all. He says that he will marry her, despite what others might say.

The United States eventually declares war on Spain, and George hopes that business will pick up. He is afraid, though, that with the war, the railroad will not need the lots. He and Zuska get married, but come summer, George loses everything, even Zuska.

One night he gets drunk and beats Zuska. He is then jailed, and Zuska leaves him. In the end, George has lost everything. When he is finally released from jail, Mary meets him and brings him to Dorta’s place. When Mike and the others go off to work, Dorta recalls how the day is the third anniversary of Joe’s death. George recalls how Joe always knew what to tell him, and how he would have never gotten into the mess that he did if Joe was still alive. He wants to leave Braddock, but Dorta informs him that Mary has a potential job in Braddock come summer and does not want to leave. She can watch the children of a wealthy family. Dorta then asks George if the rumors about Zuska taking money from him are true, to which he admits that they are. Zuska began taking money from him despite them being married. Though he bemoans his situation, Dorta tells him that he would take Zuska back if she returned. George admits that Zuska made him feel like he was worth something.

George does not go back into business for himself. He finds a job at the mill in Munhall and rents a small room. He sends money regularly to Francka as she is taking care of his two younger daughters. Though he is still saddened by his failure, he eventually gets over his loss, though it takes him longer to get over losing Zuska.