As you know our second book report is based on Out of This Furnace, by Thomas Bell. This book is a historical novel that looks at three generations of a working class family of Slovak ancestry living in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For this assignment you will write a report of at least 1000 words (this is equal to at least 3 typed, double-spaced pages) in which you address the following:
(1) Summary of the Book: Briefly discuss the setting of the book, noting where and when the action took place. Discuss some of the key scenes and events in the book and how they are connected to important characters in the book; how they viewed the world and themselves, for example, and how their outlook and character changed over time. Be sure to use occasional brief quotes from the book to support your analysis and give a sense of the language of the author.
(2) Industrial Working-Class Life: What did you learn from the book about the nature of work and living conditions for members of the industrial working class in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? Please be sure to use ample specific examples from the book to support your ideas.
(3) Reasons for Writing the Book: Out of This Furnace was first published in 1944. What do you think Bell’s purpose might have been in writing the book and who was the intended audience for the book?
(4) Personal Reaction: How did you respond to this book emotionally and intellectually? What did you learn from the book that had the greatest impact on you?
Sample Solution
