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The year was 1895 and immigration to the United States was becoming more and more popular by the second. Europeans had the idea that America was the land of opportunity and the streets were paved with gold. Filled with optimism, they had no clue what was coming to them. Thomas Bell’s Out Of This Furnace portrays what it was like for Slovaks new to the country, as well as displays the experiences of people who had been born in America with Slovakian descent. After reading the novel, one can argue that as time went by, immigrants and unskilled workers of European descent were able to gradually gain more control in the government, leading to great reform in the workplace. Bell does this through the eyes of three males the oldest being Djuro Kratcha, followed by Mike Dobrejak, and Johnny Dobrejak (Dobie). Kratcha came to America in 1895 and later worked in a local steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania when he got a first hand look at the dangers that occurred every single day inside the mills when his best friend Joe Dubik died on the job. “The explosion blew out the top of the furnace. Three men were killed instantly and eleven injured, three of them fatally.” This was very common at the time, however the plant owners