Summary Of Out Of This Furnace

The second section of Out of This Furnace is about the life of Mike Dobrejcak, and his experiences at Carnegie’s Steel Mills. Mike Dobrejcak, an immigrant who assimilated into American culture through learning about American history and learning English, was a man who appreciated politics, and worked to keep his family alive. Dobrejcak married Mary Kratcha and had four children, which made it difficult to survive on his steel mill income. Like most steel mill workers during the early 1900s, Dobrejcak faced dangerous working conditions with little pay, he and his family had to take in boarders to be able to save money, and he eventually was met with the cruel reality of death that many faced. Therefore section two should be title “Debt,

Although the steel industry was one of the most profitable businesses, many workers were not paid well. Mike was given only three turns a week at one point, in which as an unskilled laborer, he only earned 13.5 cents and hour (145). This poor payment and rise in costs left many workers, especially those with families struggling to survive. Mike and Mary needed new clothing and food, which cost them most of Mike’s paycheck. Mike even said, “I’m exactly where I was ten years ago,” demonstrating that the minimal amount of money that he had earned over the years had done nothing to improve his situation (146). Layoffs of steel workers was also common, which put many workers into a panic. The longer periods of time off, the more in debt the workers became (159). The steel mill was also facing some economic troubles, although not nearly as bad as many workers faced. The mill had to pay the workers with Clearinghouse scrip briefly because there was a shortage of cash (160). Mike had little saved causing him and Mary to go into debt with many people including the butcher, grocer, and landlord (182). The debt that Mike faced, along with many other laborers, makes debt being the first part of the title fitting. Mike and Mary found that the debt they were facing could be solved by taking in

Hesitant at first, Mike did not want Mary to have to worrying about taking care of boarders, but their economic needs were too great (153). After deciding to take in boarders, Dorta gave Mary advice on how to treat them, “Don’t be afraid to yell at them. The more you yell the easier you make it for yourself,” (151). The boarders ended up offsetting many of the costs, even allowing Mike and Mary to go to a ball at Turner Hall (152). The life with boarders was hard work, but it made life for the Dobrejcak family easier economically. Still Mary was worked so hard that when she was having her fourth child they had to let the boarders go (177). Since the boarders played an important role in making Mike and Mary’s lives easier for a period of time, boarders also appropriately fits into the title. Since the mills were so dangerous, death, even for Mike, was expected in the mills at some