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Life In The Iron Mill Analysis

679 Words3 Pages

Erick Ceballos 5th Block

Rebecca Harding Davis Author Rebecca Harding Davis, who is considered one of the great American authors, wrote during the realist period. Particularly, in her work titled “Life in the iron mills” written in 1861 we can see evidence of the characteristics, themes and style identified with the realist movement which was extant in American letters between 1860 and 1890. As a representative of such a movement, Rebecca Harding Davis then remains one of the most identifiable and iconic writers of her time. Born June 24, 1831, to Rachel Leet Wilson and Richard W. Harding, Rebecca was the eldest of five children. At the time, Wheeling was developing into a productive factory town, the concentration of which was iron and steel mills. The environment of Rebecca's home town would later affect the themes and vision of her fiction, like Life in the Iron Mills. Despite …show more content…

For example; the hope that these characters have throughout the selection. The story includes some of the features of realism, including a stark portrayal of urban existence. Davis portrays industrial America in vivid detail, beginning with grim descriptions of the smoke and stench dominating the mill town. The factories invoke images of hell. Furious engines clamor incessantly, producing fiery pools of metal. Workers, exhausted after twelve-hour shifts, return home to dark cellars, slimy with moss. Davis confronts readers with the dreary and demeaning realities of immigrant life, acknowledging the poverty, disease, and substance abuse. There are many characters such as Hugh, Deborah and Quaker woman don’t fit into the realism. From Hugh to Deborah, then from Deborah to Quaker woman, they all carry certain characters of Romanticism. Hugh and Deborah both went to the church, but Hugh still felt into the wrong way while Deborah went onto a brighter future by the help of Quaker

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