Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Out of This Furnace, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Immigration and American Identity
Industrialization and Destruction
The American Dream vs. Reality
Women’s Work
Capital vs. Labor
Summary
Analysis
Mike Dobrejcak, the son of the carpenter in Dubik’s native village, writes that he is moving to Braddock, and asks Dubik to find him work. Dorta rents a house, and by Christmas, she is keeping three boarders, including Mike, who is young and one of the few literate refugees from his Hungarian village. Several months later, a fire burns down many houses in the First Ward where Dorta boards. She and Dubik manage to save most of their clothes and furniture and soon move into a new house built by the steel company. Joe Wold, the Jewish owner of the First Ward’s most popular saloon, also loses his business to the fire but vows to rebuild. The following summer, Dorta buys a three-room house in Munhall Hollow that is close to the steel mill. There, she gives birth to a boy named Victor.
Dorta constantly works to provide accommodations for her family, as well as for her extended connections (like new boarders such as Mike). Her efforts highlight the hard work and effort women put into establishing stable households for the Slovak community, work that men usually take for granted.
Themes
