Post World War Two was a period when industries were crucial as this was when the country needed an economic improvement. To be involved in part of a growing industry was a real social boost, and was thought highly of within the working class, and provided a good salary. Arthur Seaton was part of this industrial growth as he worked in a bicycle factory. However he seemed to take a laid back and unperturbed approach towards the factory, both in his work and towards his ‘gaffer’. “…if the gaffer got on to you now you could always tell him where to put the job and go somewhere else” , which provides the reader with an insight into what Arthur is really like. This shows us that Arthur does not really care for his job, and that he is really only …show more content…
So for Arthur he would have never known any different socially; however you can start to see Arthur try and break through and become an individual as his attitude changes towards the factory. Arthur begins to act as if he is more superior and socially important than anyone else in the community, as Ozum states, “Arthur 's appreciation of the social status to which he belongs is quite care-free and expresses the notion of hedonism clearly”. This brings back the point of individuality and growing up by wanting to be different from everyone else, and not feeling the need to follow a social group. Instead Arthur wants to find his own social identity, whether that fit in with society or …show more content…
This becomes clear in his attitude towards Jack, and how Arthur finds it humorous that Jack is even with Brenda, who Arthur believes is too strong a woman for him. Lewis states “Jack’s position as cuckolded husband is, for Arthur, deserving of disrespect rather than sympathy” , however this could be seen as Arthur comparing Jack to men in the army, rather than people in the community he lives in. This therefore forces Arthur to believe he is in a higher social category than him, and he is cognitively mapping him, by believing he is above Jack in terms of women, masculinity and work, due to working in the
Yafa’s description of the mills presents a setting that is ugly, monotonous, and rigidly regulated. The mills is a common fixture to a manufacturing factory in modern society, so the readers can identify with the uniformity Yafa describes. From five until seven in
Although, Conventional wisdom dictates that the age at which children started work was connected to the poverty of the family. Griffith presents two autobiographies to put across her point. Autobiography of Edward Davis who lacked even the basic necessities of life because of his father’s heavy drinking habit and was forced to join work at a small age of six, whereas the memoir of Richard Boswell tells the opposite. He was raised up in an affluent family who studied in a boarding school. He was taken out of school at the age of thirteen to become a draper’s apprentice.
Rivethead is an account of the entire life of Author Ben Hamper, from his long family lineage of “shoprats” and his catholic school upbringing to his numerous different positions on the General Motors assembly line and his equally numerous lay-offs from the GM Truck & Bus Division. Unfortunately the many years of back breaking labor combined with Hampers own personal demons led him to check into an outpatient mental facility (at the time of the completion of this book) where he learns daily to cope with his many years of mental anguish. Rivethead is a social commentary on industrial America, assembly line work , and the auto industry. This essay, however, will focus on the more specific aspects Hamper considers, such as the monotony required on a (then) modern assembly line, the relationship and hierarchy among workers and their interaction with management as well as both collective and individual responses to work and job satisfaction (or lack there of).
In the nineteenth century, various inventions like the steam engine stimulated demand for products, thus introducing factories and workshops to manufacture those commodities. The popularization of Manchester initiated assorted reactions towards the industrialization of the cities surrounding Great Britain. While the industrial revolution ensued, numerous concerns occurred which all contemplated the affects of factories and industries engaged by the working division of society. As industry began to evolve for the operational lower classes, the positive, negative, and mutual reactions are denoted by various speakers whom were among the diverse social classes of society.
He described how women were forced to work in shops and factories instead of focusing on how the United States helped people to earn more money. He tells the history of the industrial revolution in a dark but true way. An example of that is the way he tells how angry the Irish immigrants were because of the racism in 1849. “The anger of the city poor often expressed itself in futile violence over nationality or religion. The crowd, shouting ‘Burn the damn den of aristocracy,’ charged, throwing bricks” (227).
Work in the mills was hard and dangerous. The men worked from six to six, seven days a week. One week on day shifts and one week on night shifts, at the end of every shift the workers worked twenty-four hours. When the men worked the long shift they where exhausted, this made it fatally easy to be careless. Accidents were frequent and the employers did little or nothing to improve the conditions that the workers h...
He is the shown as the mean and hateful owner, who could care less if his workers are well because he could always get more people. He knew this because during the Industrial Revolution there were more people than there were jobs, so people had to settle for worse conditions because that was all there was. When two men some into his shop wan... ...
This confusion can be seen in two reports from separate journals that differ greatly--so much so that the ability to attribute them to the same issue seems unlikely and unrealistic. William Alexander Abram, a journalist and historian in the 1860’s, wrote an article about the vast improvements made during the industrialization process (Doc 6). Abram specifically mentions the Hours of Labor in Factories Act of 1844 that prohibited excessively long work days. Additionally, Abram mentioned the increased wages and the subsequent increase quality of life. Abram attempts to justify any issues with the industrialization by addressing the new, more spacious cotton mill and the lower sickness and mortality rates. Abram describes the positive forces that arose during the industrialization to outweigh the mass concerns people had about the laboring class’s working conditions. This positive opinion is counteracted by an image included in a magazine from the 1870’s that shows the visual of a bridge and its surrounding factories at the time (Doc 7). The Graphic, a weekly magazine that dealt with social issues, included the view from Blackfriars bridge over the River Irwell that contained the numerous factories concentrated in the one location. The Graphic was famously influential within the art world for its use of imagery and attempt to conquer grand social issues with art. The factories are all emitting gas and the general conditions of the streets and buildings is less than ideal. This negative portrayal of the industrialization sheds a different light on the effects of industrialization. Between these two conflicting articles, it is difficult to see the true extent of the industrializations process’s benefits and harms. This uncertainty also supports the proposed
When it comes to Jack’s fear of not being chief, it brings out the worst in him and it has an effect on others. For instance, when the boys are deciding on who should be the chief, Ralph wins by a landslide. “Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification” (Golding 19). That is the first physical evidence of Jack being humiliated by Ralph and judging by Jack’s personality, he is not used to failure so it has a big impact on him. This motivates him to destroy Ralph and the rivalry between the two begins. Another point is that Jack uses fear and threats to control the boys. For example, when Robert tells Roger “’He’s going to beat Wilfred.’ ‘What for?’ Robert shook his head doubtfully” (Golding 176) it shows that Jack is violent and is using his...
The first impression of Arthur Birling is in the initial stage directions, when he is described as ‘a heavy looking, rather portentous man in his fifties.’ The fact that he is described as ‘heavy looking’ and ‘portentous’ suggests that he has a fairly comfortable lifestyle, and has an inflated opinion of his own importance. Priestley has done this to fit the typical man of the house during the 1910’s.
O'Brien, Patrick, and Roland Quinault, eds. The Industrial Revolution and British Society. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.
In my opinion, this tragic experience of English workers can be attributed to that people had not yet detached from the old concept (feudalism). But it was the impact of industrialization which has broken the original balance, and stimulates consequently the working people, in after a long struggle and exploration, to really have the ability to protect themselves.
The setting for this novel was a constantly shifting one. Taking place during what seems to be the Late Industrial Revolution and the high of the British Empire, the era is portrayed amongst influential Englishmen, the value of the pound, the presence of steamers, railroads, ferries, and a European globe.
Evans, Eric J. The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain. London and New York: Longman, 1996.
The Victorian Age was characterized by a rapidly growing economy, an expansion of the British Empire, relative peace, and the social and economic problems associated with industrialization. Victorian society was conflicted by the changes; they admired the material benefits industrialization brought, as it encouraged great optimism and spurred the growth of the industrial working class and a modern middle class, but it was also a time of social concern. Brutal factory conditions and slums bred poverty and disease. (Literature, the British, 1996)