Out of This Furnace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Out of This Furnace | |
 Paperback Edition |
|
| Author | Thomas Bell |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel, Family saga |
| Publisher | Little, Brown & University of Pittsburgh Press |
| Publication date | 1941 (rediscovered & reissued 1976) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 424 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-8229-5273-4 Paperback |
| Preceded by | All Brides Are Beautiful |
| Followed by | Till I Come Back To You |
Out of This Furnace is an historical novel and the best-known work of the American writer Thomas Bell (1903–1961).
The novel is set in Braddock, Pennsylvania, a steel town just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River. It was first published in 1941 by Little, Brown and Company. Based upon Bell's own family of Rusyn and Slovak immigrants, the story follows four generations of a family, starting with their migration in 1880 from Austria-Hungary to the United States, and finishing with World War II. The novel's title refers to the central role of the steel mill in the family's life and in the history of the Pittsburgh region.
Long out of print, the novel was rediscovered in the 1970s by David P. Demarest, Jr., a professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, who convinced director Frederick A. Hetzel at the University of Pittsburgh Press to reissue it in 1976. The book quickly became a regional bestseller. By the 1980s, however, it found an even larger readership on American college campuses. Out of This Furnace is regularly used as required reading in universities to introduce students to the history of immigration, industrialisation, and the rise of trade unionism, as well as to the genre of the American working class novel.
[edit] Plot Summary
[edit] Part One
Part one focuses on Kratcha, the first-generation immigrant of the family that is described in Out of This Furnace. Kratcha, an immigrant from Hungary, sails to the US to find work and start a new life. He is told to seek out White Haven where he will find relatives and a job.
During his trip over, he meets a young girl named Zuska with whom he becomes infatuated. Zuska is married and her husband is on the board with her, but this does not discourage Kratcha from wanting her. When Kratcha hears that Zuska is turning 19 during the trip over, he buys some Whiskey in order to throw her a party. Unfortunately for him, Zuska resists his advances and he gets out of the party with nothing to show for it.
Upon arriving to the United States, he begins his journey to White Haven. Having spent his train ticket money on Zuska's party, he is forced to make his way by foot. His journey, however, is fairly trouble-free and he arrives to White Haven in short order. Upon arriving there, he meets his brother-in-law Andrej and another Hungarian named Dubik. Dubik is the one to find Kratcha a job a the steel mill and, as time goes on, becomes good friends with Kratcha.
Some time after working in the mill, Kratcha sends for his wife, Elena, to join him in America. When she arrives, he is somewhat dissappointed - she is less energetic than he remebers her and she is afflicted with Goiter which has disfigured her neck. She also fails to meet his needs and so Kratcha is rather disappointed with her.
After some thought, Kratcha comes up with a plan to open his own butcher shop. He has found a suitable place to rent in town, and has saved some capital in order to put it together. He shares his plans with his friends and relatives, who are on the whole supportive and excited about his venture. Just one year after opening the shop, Kratcha is a well-off business owner with a thousand dollars to his name and living an affluent lifestyle.
While tending to his shop, he meets Zuska again. She has grown older and fatter but he still lusts after her. He begins seeing her at night after work and soon this becomes no secret to anyone. After some time Franka reveals this in front of his wife. His wife is not quite destroyed with grief and Kratcha's behavior changes little, except that he no longer shares a bed with Elena. However, after some time, Elena asks him to join her in bed, showing her resignation to the whole affair.
After his affair is exposed, Kratcha's customers begin to frequent other shops instead of his to signify their disapproval. He takes solace in heavy drinking. Shortly after, he is sent to prison for excessive debt and loses his business, his wealth and, arguably, his spirit for life.
[edit] References
- Bell, Thomas (1991, 1976, 1968, 1941). Out of This Furnace, 50th Anniversary Edition, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-3690-9.
- Demarest, David P. Jr.; Domike, Steffi (producer) (1990). Out of This Furnace: A Walking Tour of Thomas Bell's Novel (video). University of Pittsburgh Press (distributor). ISBN None.
