It's A Hardknock Life For Us

Life in the Iron Mills is a very depressing story which follows the lives of workers in an iron mill. The story develops by setting the scene which incases a smoke-covered factory in which hunger and poverty rates run extremely high. Some people are so poor that they can not even afford the mill's cheap housing and instead have to sleep on the stacks of the iron dust. After that sad description, we learn of Deborah, a work-working woman who is quite homely. Her body shows years of malnutrition and hard-labor. She is delivering a sandwich to a worker named Hugh. She walks many, many miles and once she arrives and gives Hugh the sandwich she can tell he is eating the sandwich out of pity instead of hunger.


While at the mill, the group realizes four strange men walking around the factory. Instead of continuing their work like they normally do when the routine inspections come along, the workers, this time, stop their work and analyze the strange men. They seem to be discussing voting amongst the workers. The men stop and recognize a small, beautiful statue of a woman. The level of detail and detail in the woman in tremendous. The artist, Hugh, should not be forced to work in these slums because he has potential to be a great man. All he needs is money to dig himself out of this hole- money that he has no way of acquiring until a friend named Deborah gave him stolen money. Hugh puzzled over whether to keep the money or give it back but ended up deciding to keep the money because he was "worth it". In the end, Hugh should have given up the money because he is later arrested and sentenced to nineteen years in prison. While in prison, Hugh commits suicide. 


The meaning of the story is very confusing. While it serves to show the truth on the American industrial industry, it also shows that America was not the land of prosperity that it set out to be. America has said to be the land where someone can go from nothing to something with enough hard work and dedication. This story rejects that opinion because Hugh had worked many hard years in the iron mills, and when he finally got his break to become something, the prison door was shut in his face. Hugh didn't steal the money and he was seemingly penalized for believing in himself. 


Hugh is the model of many American hopefuls who end up becomes nobodies. How many wannabe starlets move to LA or New York only to end up working in McDonalds or some other lower society position. The opportunities are open for those who already have their foot in door. No door will magically open unless you already have the means to make it happen. 


Question: Have you ever felt as though your dreams were smashed because of where you fell on the social ladder?