The United States from the 1880s to the 1930s Essay

The United States from the 1880s to the 1930s - Essay Example These poor working conditions are eminent throughout the novel, indicating that the poor working conditions for the workers persisted during the period 1880s to 1930. The poor working conditions would see most industrial workers move from one industry or factory to the other, in search for more favorable working conditions. This can been seen from this novel, where Joe tells George that his family is moving to Cherry Alley, where life is more expensive, but it is worth, just for the sake of getting away from the cinder dump (Bell, 53). The working conditions of the industrial workers during this period were such dangerous, that losing life for the workers was a normalcy. Another social issue facing the industrial workers during this period is lack of adequate health facilities, despite the dangerous working conditions they were operating in, which leaves the workers either ill or injured (Foner, 26). While George is lucky to get some employment, he notices some deep boom on the floor of the industry, and feels the earth shake only to realize that an explosion had occurred which injured many of his co-workers. George and other co-workers go to find a doctor for the injured workers, which proves impossible and they have to put them in a train and take them to Pittsburgh, the only place they could find a hospital (Bell, 112). Social situation was also imbalanced during this period, with more men than women in the industrial towns, which triggered infidelity and marriage breakups (Bell, 91).