At the age where our minds and lives begin to blossom, we hear a particular phrase repeatedly “You can become whatever you want as long as you work hard.” When we are born our minds are basically an empty slate. We were neither familiar with the world we were born into, or its ideals. As we began to grow, we discovered that there was this object called money and that it could buy us whatever we wanted as long as we had enough of it. A numerous amount of people have an ambition for money and that ambition can lead them to break the laws of their country. In “Life in the Iron-Mills” Hugh Wolfe became annoyed at his miserable life of working in iron mill and, as a result, decided to keep the money that his cousin Deborah stole from Mitchell, the son in law of the mill owner in which Hugh worked. Hugh decided to not return the money because she was tired of living the life he was and thought he deserved to live more comfortably. Hugh questions why he did not live the life the wealthy did. The physician of the town told him that “A man may make himself anything he chooses.” I agree with the doctor because we are in control of our own lives so we can decide whether we prosper or fail.
Whether we come from a impoverish neighborhood or wealthy one, we have the ability to become doctors and lawyers as long as we put in the effort required to do so. Many years ago people like Hugh lacked the resources when they were young to obtain an education, and embark on a career path. However, in today’s society there are an infinite number of organizations that are dedicated to helping people who lack the resources to attend a university and become successful. Almost every major corporation offers scholarships and grants to motivated students for them to be able to rise above their strained lifestyle. If one is willing to work hard and not allow obstacles to stop one from becoming successful, we can change our lives and set it towards a positive change.
Lupe, I agree with your thoughts on humans having the ablility to decide their fate. However, I believe this idea applys more to modern times than it does to the setting of the story. The society in which Wolfe lives gives people little hope for upward mobility. Though the doctor tells Wolfe that he can move up in society and make something of himself, I think that he may be mocking the mill worker when he says this. It is virtually impossible for Wolfe to, “…live a better, stronger life than I…” says the doctor (Davis 2775). His one chance to accomplish this was to steal the money, which, in the end, landed him in jail.
It’s worth noting that Hugh and the rest of his family are immigrants. Immigration was seen as a way to improve one’s life (at least that’s the narrative that we generally have of the process), but there seems to be little change in Hugh or his father, whom we are told worked in a similar job before coming here from Wales. Upward mobility is something that our country believes in, but Davis questions how accurate that belief is.